Is your brand or business looking to partner with an influencer to promote a service or product? Are you unsure of how to tackle an influencer campaign? The Social Ape team is here to provide you with a step-by-step guide to influencer partnerships. Check out a few of our tips ahead of your first campaign.
Ask The Important Questions
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What are the goals of this campaign? Would you like to increase brand awareness? Or, is your business launching a new product? Be sure to consider what you would like to gain from working with an influencer or group of influencers before you get started.
Research Influencers
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Find at least double the amount of influencers that would fit your campaign needs. This ensures that if you do not receive responses from all those you reach out to, you still have a solid list of potential participants.
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You can use websites like Tanke or an extension like Upfluence to determine influencer engagement rates (average influencer engagement rate is two to five percent).
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Be sure that their past or ongoing partnerships make sense for what you’re pitching them. Example: A foodie influencer would likely not be interested in promoting a new beauty product.
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Keep an open mind about follower count when researching. Influencers with large followings may not have the capacity to partake in every campaign. Similarly, an influencer may have a lot of followers but a very poor engagement rate.
Determine A Budget and Timeline
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Once you have determined influencers to contact, determine how much you are willing to spend on the campaign and when you would like the campaign to begin and end.
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Additionally, confirm what you are comfortable offering to the influencer or what they will receive in exchange – whether it’s merchandise, monetary compensation, gift cards, etc.
Draft Outreach Messaging to Send The Influencer
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Draft the pitch you’ll be sending the influencer to try and secure them for your campaign and outline the specific ask. What will they be expected to post? Where will they be posting? How many posts will go live and what will they receive in return?
Create Messaging For Influencers to Share on Social Media
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Once you have secured an influencer for your campaign, you will draft messaging or key points you’d like for them to share with their followers. Note that they can make adjustments to fit their voice and to remain authentic to their experience with your product or service.
Evaluate The Campaign
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Following the campaign, ask the influencer to share metrics from their posts. This allows you to see the reach and impressions from their content and what actions were taken from the campaign.
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If you are pleased with your results, consider ongoing partnerships with this influencer. It’s a win-win for everyone involved!
Interested in executing an influencer marketing campaign? Contact the Social Ape team to learn more about how we can help your business discover the benefit of working with influencers and how a successful campaign can drive results.
