The Do’s and Don’ts of Working With Influencers For Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

Influencers. You see them everywhere, from your Facebook feeds to YouTube video recommendations. They are social media marketing personalities who regularly post engaging content and have a large following across multiple platforms. You can find influencers that post tutorials, photoshoots, travel vlogs, music videos, humorous content, and even photo and video journals about their everyday lives.

Influencer Marketing is one of the best ways to gain exposure for your brand on social media quickly if you have a business. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube can help your business grow by generating new leads.

Are they planning to work with an influencer? Here are the Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind.

Do: Know your target market and goals.

Before you can start looking for influencers for your brand, make sure you know your target market. Think like a digital marketing agency: understand your target audience’s demographics, buyer personas, and personalities.

Having a clear understanding of these things can streamline the process of finding the right influencers known to wield influence among your target customer market.

Don’t: Work with influencers without a clear goal and strategy in place.

Know your influencer marketing goals: what do you wish to accomplish by working with a famous social media marketing personality? Do you want to spread brand awareness and drive more traffic to your website? Do you have a limited-time offer you want to promote fast?

Then, have a plan or strategy in place. This can range from a simple campaign where they post about you, to something more integrated.

  • Decide on a deal. Pricing varies depending on the influencer’s reach and the kind of promotion you want them to share.
  • Be clear with your instructions, including the deliverables required from the influencer. For instance, you may wish to provide specific directions to add your website URL to an Instagram post or give them particular hashtags.
  • Track your results

Do: Find the right influencers.

Just because an influencer has a big following doesn’t mean they’re the right one for your brand. When sourcing influencers, remember your three R’s: reach, relevance, and relationship. Look into the following factors:

  • They must be active on social media, email, and blogs. See if they regularly post content.
  • They should be well-versed with the technical aspects of social media marketing. They should know the correct format for the network, including tagging and using hashtags.
  • Their followers should be engaged. See how much engagement (likes, shares, comments) their posts generate.
  • Their following must be aligned with your target market.
  • Their identity and their content must align with your brand’s values or the message you want to spread.
  • They’re not controversial. While bad publicity is still publicity, you don’t want people to associate your brand with someone who’s earned a bad reputation.
  • They genuinely like what you offer. You’ll have more authentic, passionate content from influencers who genuinely love your products and believe in what your brand stands for. The more they admire your brand, the easier it will be for them to promote it.

Don’t: Take control of everything, especially the creative aspect.

You’re reaching out to the influencer for help, so let them say in your campaign. Give them creative control: they know what their audiences want and fully understand their followers’ needs. Giving them the creative license allows them to promote your brand in the most authentic way possible.

Instead of dictating everything, it’s better to have a conversation about your brand identity and guidelines to guide them in the creative process. If you want something specific, like a script for the video plug, make a suggestion, but don’t be surprised if the influencer disagrees.

Do: Take advantage of the traffic from your influencer’s following.

Your social media pages and brand website should be ready to make the most out of all the new eyes coming in to check out your business. Are your pages engaging enough for viewers? Make sure you’re giving them the reason to follow you and like your content.

Go back to the basics of social media marketing: share engaging content like high-quality photos and videos, respond to inquiries promptly, and strive to build meaningful relationships.

Don’t: Ignore micro-influencers.

Yes, an influencer with a large following is perfect for increasing brand awareness, but don’t close your doors on micro-influencers (fewer than 100K followers). It can often be more useful to work with lesser-known but well-respected influencers.

Aside from the fact that they’re less expensive to work with, micro-influencers have a niche audience, which tends to have higher and more open engagement rates. They may also be more eager and available to work with brands.

Do: Repurpose influencer content.

One of the most significant parts of working with influencers is the content they made for and about you. Don’t let them go to waste! Repurpose them by reposting them and optimizing them. Here’s the best part: you’ll know the people who responded to it so that you can tailor your campaigns more specifically towards your key audience.

Don’t: Put off your influencer by being a cheapskate.

Compensate your influencer well. It’s not enough that you’ve sent them one of your products for promotion – they need cash to pay the bills. You may work out a commission or fee, along with product and service giveaways. You can also exchange features on your social media marketing platforms or blog.

One of the most excellent trade-offs is the meaningful relationship you’ve built with an influencer, which can be vital to your digital marketing campaign’s success in the long run.

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