Do you want to use influencer marketing? It can be a great option for some businesses. But consider a few things before you start working with influencers:
Your goals
Before you use influencer marketing, you should consider your goals from it. Perhaps you want to grow your following on Instagram, or maybe your goal is to make more sales. You should get clear on your goals for the influencer marketing campaign before you choose it. That way, you can choose influencers who understand your goals and who can work with you.
If you aren’t clear on your goals, you may choose an influencer who isn’t right for you. For example, if your goal is to make sales, Instagram may not be the best place because influencers can’t link to your product right in the post.
Your audience
You also have to think about the audience you want to reach. Consider what you sell, what your price point is, and your ideal customer. Think about what they like or don’t like and who they might be following online in terms of influencers. If you’re a technology company, it wouldn’t make sense to work with a fashion influencer. Sure, their followers use technology, but they may not be as interested in following you or making a purchase.
Once you know the audience you want to reach, you can choose influencers that align with that. Then, you can make sure you don’t waste money on your influencer marketing campaign.
Your platforms
Next, you should consider what platforms you already use to market your business. If you use Instagram a lot, working with Instagram influencers can be great because they can tag your profile. That way, you can get more followers and build your business. But if you don’t use social media, you may want to consider working with bloggers or YouTubers. Blogs and YouTube videos make it easy for influencers to link to their favorite brands.
So you can have the influencer include a link to your website in their post. You won’t have to worry as much about social media algorithms, and it can be a great way to get traffic more long term.
Their audience
Perhaps you’re ready to start influencer marketing, and you’re ready to start a brand ambassador program to find influencers. Before you accept anyone who applies, you have to consider their audience. Of course, you have to consider how big of a following they have to determine how to budget for that influencer. But you also need to consider who they interact with and how much engagement they have.
Consider how close their audience is to the audience you want to target so that you can reach your marketing goals.
Their content
Next, you should think about the type of content the influencer regularly posts. Perhaps you sell something demonstrable, like a unique vacuum system. You could have a lifestyle blogger promote your product on their blog. But that won’t give readers the full experience. In that case, it would be better to work with a YouTuber who can film themselves using the product to include in a video.
That way, you can make your product more clear to the audience watching the content. There are tons of different types of content out there, so consider what would best show off your product when choosing an influencer.
Their trust
You may also want to consider what other influencer marketing partnerships the influencer has done. Do they appear to take anything they can get? Are some of the partnerships pretty random? If so, that can be a sign the influencer will do anything for money, and that can mean their audience doesn’t trust them as much. So if you work with that person and they promote your product, the partnership may not come off as genuine.
Partnering with that influencer may look bad for your company, even if you get a few quick leads and sales. Overall, it’s not worth partnering with an influencer whose main focus is the money.
Influencer marketing can be a great strategy, but you have to be careful. Keep these things in mind before you launch your next campaign.
