Developing an Influencer Marketing Strategy

Just a decade ago, the available influencer marketing partnerships that companies could utilize as part of their promotions were limited, only involving a dedicated number of industry bloggers and celebrities.

But with the rise of influencers on social media, the market has become quite saturated, and companies have a relatively easy time developing campaigns when working with the right influencers.

Most of the time, Instagram is the go-to platform for companies looking for influencers for their marketing campaigns.

In the last few years, however, plenty of other platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch, have created their own influencers and influencer audiences .

Sourcing Influencers

Just like with most other marketing strategies, the first step in developing an influencer marketing strategy is research. Companies have to first figure out which platform their target audience frequents and prefers to use. They need to look for people with large followings, or audiences that are similar to the company’s own. Influencer campaigns can always expand to another platform later on, but companies that are just starting out with their strategy should stick to using only one platform.

Ideally, the company itself should already have its own social media presence on the same platform, or should be looking to expand into that space. To learn where the consumers are, companies can utilize social listening strategies, which are also helpful in figuring out which influencers are popular with which audiences.

Management and Budget

Once a company figures out which influencers to collaborate with on a marketing campaign, it’s time to create a budget. When creating a budget, it’s important to factor in the time for planning, executing, and then reviewing the campaign, because these types of campaigns aren’t a one-and-done strategy. They constantly require monitoring and adjusting, because influencers are human and tend to have to balance a number of different partnerships.

Companies need to take the time to be more hands-on with the relationships they have with the influencers they’re working with. They should also refine their approach by considering their own experiences with what is and isn’t working in the industry. The fact that influencers have to balance multiple partnerships means that sometimes they end up falling behind on the commitments they make, such as making a post at a certain time or making errors in the company’s requested calls to action or tags.

Some companies find it best to work with influencer marketing agencies to coordinate the campaigns, while others might find it better to set up formal ambassador programs.

Campaign Refinement

The last step after executing a campaign is to constantly monitor its progress and performance. Even if an influencer marketing campaign is still ongoing, companies should still have predetermined dates for when they’re going to measure the progress of the campaign. Monitoring is an essential tool for tracking the results of a campaign, and it influences all future promotional efforts and activities from both the company and the influencer.

Companies can use different metrics to track the performance of a campaign, such as branded hashtags that track conversations, affiliate codes that track sales, or engagement rates. These metrics can all help companies learn more about how their consumers are responding to a promotion.

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