Infographic: 8 steps to implement an Influencer Marketing campaign in 2023
With 75% of businesses wishing to implement Influencer Marketing, this is an ideal strategy to reach new customers, increase visibility, and build brand credibility. Activities in the field of Influencer Marketing are different from conventional Marketing.
In this article, CleverAds has summarized the important information in the infographic with 8 steps: The process of building, launching and measuring a successful Influencer Marketing campaign.
Step 1: Research your competitors
Market research is the first activity for an influencer marketing campaign. This will be the orientation for the campaign and, at the same time, update some existing trends in the market.
It would be best to list your top competitors and their social media statistics using the same channel metrics. Then, please analyze their content, significantly the posts with the most engagement.
Although it takes a lot of effort and time, this activity will help you get to know your competitors: What resonates with their campaign? Which method is effective? Which method should be avoided? You’ll also evaluate popular strategies used in the industry and their relevance. This helps you decide which campaign performance metrics (KPIs) to choose for later acceptance and evaluation.
Once you have an overview of the market and competitors, the next step is working with the metrics to ensure a successful campaign.”
Step 2: Define campaign goals and KPIs
1. Influencer Marketing builds trust through relationships
Brands all want to work with the right Influencer: brand image and, at the same time, have an audience that aligns with their Marketing goals.
For this reason, brands should focus on brand awareness and engagement first. Instead of measuring campaigns based on sales or return on investment (ROI), focus on tracking the metrics that show the success and results of the campaign.
2. Measure brand awareness
Metrics to measure brand awareness include increased website traffic and new followers on social platforms. Businesses should also monitor for new backlinks and brand mentions (both positive and negative) to check for campaign impact.
3. Engagement – Interactions
Engagement metrics paint your business a clear picture of how receptive your campaign messages are to your target audience. Metrics to track include: likes and comments, shares, views, and plays, as well as increased follower count and reach.
4. Reach – The level of reaching potential customers
Here, businesses can target the number of potential customers they want to reach through the campaign. You must know your lead conversion rate and Cost Per Lead – CPL.
5. Conversion – Influencer Marketing Conversion Rate
Set goals for: Click Through Rate – CTR, Cost Per Conversion – CPC, and conversion rate of new visitors. In many cases, Influencers will provide historical data to help you set goals more quickly. Setting specific goals will be the basis for future campaign adjustments. Businesses must ensure that the message is conveyed in a way that positively impacts the audience and can strengthen the brand image.
Step 3: Plan the budget and PR plan for the Influencer Marketing campaign
The cost of the campaign depends on the business. Be specific: the main message, the product or service to be advertised, the channel, and the target audience. There will not be a particular formula for pricing. Most influencers, however, will expect compensation that is commensurate with the size of their influence and engagement rate.
How much will influencers charge per post?
A series of studies across the globe show the ratio across platforms and the influence of influencers across different channels. Here is a statistics table from Semrush that you can refer to:
Instagram Influencer Rates
Youtube Infuencer Rates
Facebook Influencer Rates
Snapchat Influencer Rates
Tiktok Influencer Rates
However, these prices are not fixed – these are just a guide to help you budget for your ads and gauge which channels impact your brand most.
What is the ideal number of Influencers for a campaign?
Instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, plan the right amount for the first campaign. Remember, content creators can reach many different audiences on their channels. This affects your campaign results.”
Step 4: Choose the right Influencer
If you regularly update advertising communication activities, you will likely know influential people in your industry or market. Refer to the steps below to find the best content creators.
Get to know your competitors.
Let’s go back to the first step (research your competitors). Statistics and track posts from their influencers. It would be best if you kept an eye on engagement metrics. With the same Influencer, they can work with you, even after partnering with a competitor.
Lookup from Google
You can base on keywords about your industry to search for influencers.
Let’s say you want to promote a beauty product and need to identify the right influencers. Just search for that keyword, and Google will come up with an assortment of names to consider.
Most of these lists will have basic information like their number of followers and successful campaigns in the past. However, always remember that the number of followers is not everything. You must rate their posts, read the comments, and be brand-appropriate.
Search based on available Influencer Marketing campaign hashtags
Topic or keyword hashtags can help you find potential influencers. At the same time, it also allows you to categorize them according to the characteristics: geography, industry, hierarchy, etc., that are suitable for your campaign.
How to judge the quality of an influencer’s content?
Once you have a complete list of content creators, it’s time to focus on evaluating them. Here are a few factors you should consider:”
Messages and content conveyed
Take a closer look at their posts. You can assess tone, message, and overall feel. Does their perspective align with your brand? Do they support controversial topics with the brand?
Reaching new audiences to increase brand awareness is about more than just numbers. It is also about consumers receiving the right messages from the brand.
Channel’s target audience
Countless tricks to increase followers, comments, and engagement on social media. Unfortunately, these tricks often take advantage of a profile’s trending posts to increase engagement, such as spreading bulk words where their followers can see and interact with each other. This is a dishonest and unfair practice for influencers with a quality following.
You need to evaluate the content of the comments carefully if necessary. Surely the business wants to avoid being affected by these bad tricks. An Influencer that doesn’t align with a brand’s values or engages in controversial topics can do serious harm. You will need a detailed report on the intended audience before deciding to cooperate.”
Organic Content and Sponsored Content
Audiences can now easily recognize whether the posted content is advertising or not.
That’s why many Influencers choose to refrain from posting sponsored content continuously. Unfortunately, as a result, this can negatively impact engagement. Instead, ensure that the influencer you choose primarily produces their content with a fair number of sponsored posts for maximum engagement.
Step 5: Contact
Once you’ve got a list of creators you’d like to work with, you’ll need a schedule to reach out and engage them in your campaign.
Influencers get a lot of offers. Therefore, it is important to develop a respectful and appropriate approach for both parties. Be professional, sincere, and clear.
Besides economic benefits, influencers also consider a few other marginal factors. They also want to ensure the brand aligns with their values and messages. At the same time, they can also create buzzy content that attracts a lot of interaction. That is the personal brand that they have cultivated for a long time. Therefore, they will not choose to lose the trust of their followers by promoting inappropriate products.
Step 6: Agree on the product and execute the campaign
Some influencers may be able to offer a short-term cost, while others may need more information to base a reasonable fee. From there, they began to negotiate to get a fair agreement. There are also many cases where brands choose to “”pay”” in kind. For example, the brand will mention the Influencer’s name on their social networks or give away products and services for free.
However, end the negotiation professionally if the two sides cannot agree on a fee or if it exceeds the expected budget. Both parties must agree and sign before proceeding with the work according to the campaign plan.
You will need to commit to the following basic items:
- Number of posts and selection of posting channels
- Content form video, story, photo, live stream, etc.
- Posting frequency
- Campaign execution time
- Promotional message (approved and brand-appropriate)
- Monitoring and reporting metrics
- UTM tracking or hashtags for live tracking
- How and when to pay the contract
Step 7: Execute and track an Influencer Marketing campaign
After deciding on all factors: content, timetable, and stakeholder agreements. Now is the time to launch your campaign!
If this is your first time working with influencers, you should expect a high level of engagement when they post content. Make sure your team is keeping a close eye on all campaign activities. In addition, let customer service know that many customers may be coming in asking for support. The number of new customers approaching and contacting can increase dramatically.
Moreover, expect an explosion of interaction on social networking platforms. All should be monitored under control to handle the crisis (if any) in time.
Step 8: Analyze the results of the Influencer Marketing campaign
If the results meet or exceed your expectations, congratulations! Now businesses can establish a set of standards and a basis for evaluating the performance of future influencer marketing campaigns. However, if there is no growth in new followers, website traffic, or engagement, use this metric to refine your outreach activities on subsequent projects.
Please provide complete data from Influencer. From there, summarize and review the tactics that worked best, didn’t work, or suggested improvements. Influencers can give helpful feedback and recommendations for businesses. They may also express a desire for long-term cooperation.
So be professional, honest, and open to future partnerships.
Implement an Influencer Marketing campaign with CleverAds.
From researching to budgeting to building a list of the right content creators – CleverAds has analyzed the information you need for your first influencer marketing campaign. With the development and strong competition of social networking platforms, Influencer marketing in the future will be a potential land for brands to exploit.
Possessing 15 years of experience in operation with creative and professional staff, CleverAds has been asserting its position with more than 6,000 campaigns for partners in many different industries. CleverAds hopes you can seize the opportunity to enhance your business in the future.
Source: Sermush The 8-Step Checklist for Launching a Creator Marketing Campaign.
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