What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing based on brand/influencer partnership and includes endorsements Most influencers who are endorsed by a company are people with large highly engaged social media followers. But this is not always the case.
Influencers are often subject-matter experts. Their dedicated social media followers turn to their favorite influencers when they need more information on a topic.
Brands pay perks or payments to influencers and they sponsor them. It can be a large discount or a free product In exchange for an endorsement, the influencer will be shared on their social media pages.
The power of influencers
The social media landscape today is fragmented and brands are finding it increasingly difficult to grab consumers’ attention, increase brand awareness and gain new customers.
According to, an Oracle study, 80% of consumers purchased products directly in response to relevant social media content. 37% of respondents said that they trust social media influencers more than brands. These figures suggest that consumers trust the advice and tips of influencers they follow. It’s not surprising that the influencer marketing industry is currently estimated at over $16 billion and is rapidly growing.
Also read: Top 10 Influencer Relationship Management Tools
State of the influencer marketing industry
Instagram first Instagram launched ads towards the end of 2013 and 2014, but it was easier to stand out on Instagram in 2014. All you needed was quality imagery and a strategy to develop an ad strategy. Although influencers still have to create the right aesthetic for their audience, many people are now able to turn their influencer marketing skills into full-time jobs.
Why? The most influential thing in modern consumers’ lives is what they hear and see.49% of consumers say they rely upon influencer recommendations. There’s no better time than the present to create an influencer marketing strategy.
These statistics will convince you that influencer marketing is still a popular trend.
- Many marketers believe that influencers are a great way to get more customers.
- 71% of businesses plan to increase influencer budgets within the next 12 months
- 42% Most people use ad-blocking technology to block interruptive digital advertisements from their online experience. This makes sponsored content and native ads more effective.
- 89% of Companies believe that influencer marketing ROI is comparable to or better than other channels
Influencer marketing offers brands the opportunity to expand their reach and drive sales through content that speaks directly and effectively to their target audience.
What is an influencer marketing strategy?
An influencer marketing strategy leverages digital influencers that have a strong influence on specific industries or target groups to make purchasing decisions. These individuals can be partnered with you to promote your brand and products through curated messaging if you have a winning strategy.
Here are some benefits of developing an influencer marketing plan:
- Establishes credibility and trust with influencers’ fans
- Share your brand story with valuable content to increase awareness
- Your content strategy is incomplete without filling in the gaps
- This allows you to reach audience members who are already interested in your products or services.
5 Ways To Build A Influencer Marketing Strategy
You need to create a strategy to promote your brand to influencers. This will allow you to maximize exposure and optimize campaign performance. It also allows you to track progress at every stage. These are the essential steps that will help you get started.
1. Define your marketing goals and budget
To ensure consistency throughout your campaign, you will need to establish your goals and budget. You might want to consider the following goals:
- Increase brand awareness and brand image
- Increase your brand’s presence on social media
- Your content will get more likes, shares, and comments.
- You can improve your sales funnel and marketing efforts by offering a promotion or Lead Magnet.
- Consumer purchases should be increased
Backlinks can help you improve your search engine optimization strategies
Budgeting is based on the influencer’s follower count and the number of sponsored posts requested. Influencers are paid a fixed rate. 19% spend between $1,000 and $10,000 per year, while 18% spend between $100,000 and $500,000.
There is a wide range of prices, and it will depend on what industry you are in and whether or not you plan to reach out to micro-or macro-influencers. Micro-influencers can earn $100-500 per engagement, while macro-influencers usually make $5k-10k per post.
Also read: Digital Marketing KPIs and Metrics: A Ultimate Guide
2. Select your type of campaign and key messaging
Once you have a good understanding of your buyer personas and target audience, you can decide what type of campaigns to run. Influencer campaigns should encourage people to read more about your content or engage with it. They also need to be compelling enough to get the influencer to want to work for you.
Here are some examples of typical campaigns:
- Guest posting
- Sponsored content
- Mentions
- Giveaways and contests
- Takeovers
- Affiliates
- Discount codes
While the messaging should be natural and conversational, you want each influencer to post in line with your brand values and voice. You may want to collaborate with each influencer on creating landing pages and post graphics depending on the details of your campaign. To attract your audience and increase engagement, you might consider using common target keywords and terminology.
3. Qualify influencers and start the outreach process
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in — gaming, fashion, beauty, technology — there’s someone who can build credibility and influence purchase decisions. There are many options to choose from social influencers, bloggers, thought leaders, and experts in the B2B sector.
You can promote your products on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram by using an influencer marketing tool such as Influence. Or, you could hire an agency to help identify potential partners. To increase your visibility, it is often more advantageous to work with an influencer that has multiple channels.
These questions will help you to qualify influencers:
- Is the influencer posting content that is relevant to your industry?
- Is the influencer credible in terms of engagement?
- Is this an influencer who has worked with similar brands before?
- Are the influencer’s style and personality consistent with your brand guidelines?
Next, reach out to your target influencers. Micro-influencers can be reached via direct messages on their most popular social media platforms. You might need to reach out to more well-known influencers via their website, or by email. You’ll then work closely with the influencer on the campaign requirements, content deliverables, and reporting activities.
4. Manage your influencer campaigns
Management of the campaign details is an important part of any strategy, regardless of whether you are starting with three or 30 influencers. You have the option to interact directly with each influencer or hire an agency. Or you can use an influencer market platform to help guide the process. This will depend on your budget and starting point.
Remember that influencers don’t work for you, but are brand ambassadors who help you build future customers. Here are some tips to manage influencer relationships.
- To ensure that each influencer is aware of your expectations, create a smooth onboarding procedure and communicate your style guidelines to them upfront.
- Ask your influencers about their work relationships with brands. Do they receive monetary compensation, discounts, or free products?
- Your influencers should have as much creative control as possible to ensure that the content is authentic for their followers
- Your campaign’s success depends on your influencer management. Micromanaging your campaign can lead to a disastrous partnership. However, you could also risk losing sight of your brand message if there is too much involvement. To be successful, you’ll need to strike the right balance.
5. Track your results and refine your strategy
It is essential to monitor campaign results in order to evaluate whether you should continue working with the same influencers, or if you need to change your strategy. First, determine whether your campaign achieved your goals.
These KPIs will help you measure your success.
- Brand Awareness: Website traffic and social mentions.
- Audience Building: Social Followers and Op-Ins
- Engagement: Comments, likes, and shares
- Sales: Leads and new sales.
To optimize future campaigns, you should keep track of the data for each campaign. A video reel generated more engagement than a traditional post. How did your dedicated landing page convert with a promo code to increase conversion rates? To get better results with your next campaign, track every variable of the campaign.
Grow your business with influencer marketing
Once your strategy is developed, it’s time to launch campaigns and drive business results. A well-crafted plan will allow you to build meaningful relationships with your target audience via their preferred platforms as well as with influential, trusted personalities.
Influencer marketing is here to stay. However, the best strategies and tactics for success are always evolving. A strong strategy must be developed by brands to not only attract their audience’s attention but also to scale up for future growth, as the industry changes.
