Influencer marketing is still alive, in fact more booming than ever. It can help you connect with new clients, generate sales and grow your business. But to make sure you get these results, you first need to answer these 4 questions that you should ask before investing in influencer marketing.
1. How well do I know my clients?
Before investing in any new marketing channel, it is important to take a step back and think about who your clients are and what matters to them. Knowing your clients and their motivations will help you throughout the development of your campaign. These dictate which platform to focus on and which influencer to hire. It also shows you what type of content you should create and promote.
There are a lot of different exercises that you can go through to put yourself in your client’s shoes. We are only going to talk today about one of these known as the empathy map. The purpose of an empathy map is to try to understand better. We are talking here about how your clients think, what they feel, say, or how they act. When building an empathy map, you can choose who you want to get information from. It could be your employees, some of your best and most loyal clients, or a mixed group comprised of all these groups. By the end of the process, you should understand better who the clients are, what their goals are and what motivates them.
Source: Pixabay
2. What message am I trying to deliver?
You can hire the most popular influencer in the world, but your efforts could be fruitless. You need to have a solid understanding of the message that you are trying to deliver eventually to your audience. Never try to hire influencers to get your own sales up, at least not directly. Instead, you’ll create a partnership that will help you build connections and establish trust relationships with people. To do this, you need to have a clear idea of the message that you are trying to deliver to people.
3. What kind of person do I want to partner with?
One of the most difficult truths to understand in influencer marketing is that not all influencers are for real. Often things aren’t exactly what they seem. There are situations when they buy followers or get them by various methods. In these cases, the followers are not exactly real, just some fake accounts created for appearances’ sake. Therefore, some influencers are neither as popular nor as sincere as you would like your campaign partner to be. By hiring such a person, you risk losing a lot of money. At the same time, the process will not add value or profitability to your business.
The best way to avoid this is to think of influencers as business partners. It’s not just about people you pay to promote your products or services. A partner will ask questions. He will try to understand the clients and the goals and will help in developing a successful campaign. If the moment you contact an influencer all that matters to them is payment, you’ll probably be better off if you keep looking.
Source: Pixabay
4. What will success look like to me?
Influencer marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. That’s why it’s important to think about ways you can monitor success throughout the campaign. Before launching a campaign, you need to know how you will measure it. If there are no immediate and direct sales, what does success look like to you? Perhaps, it is related to increased involvement or traffic on the site. Or maybe it’s about a growing number of subscribers. Maybe all you want is to line up with someone well known in your industry whom your potential clients admire and trust.
What you need to know when working with influencers
If you have answered the above questions and are determined to work with trend-setters on social networks, you need to consider a few things:
Create in partnership with influencers
They are a direct extension of your brand, so you’ll have to act accordingly. Create content together. Instead of just telling them what to post, learn more about them and their audience. Discover how your brand fits into their everyday lives.
Take advantage of IGTV
By 2021 mobile video is estimated to account for 78% of total mobile data traffic, according to Instagram. Last June, Instagram launched IGTV to compete with YouTube. It was not a tremendous success, but marketing specialists should be constantly watching progress in this area.
Focus on Generation Z
Millennials still hold the reins in terms of purchasing power. However, generation Z is about to become the largest group of consumers. They represent a growing section of the economy generated by influencers on all platforms. Therefore, it is vital for brands to consider their base of future consumers.
Invest gradually in influencer marketing
Before you go down this road, be cautions and take care not to throw your entire marketing budget on YouTube stars. Instead, start small to find out what kind of influencers will have the greatest impact.
Keeping in mind all of the above, we can say that influencer marketing, like any other type of marketing, implies a number of obstacles. But if you answer honestly and realistically the questions above, you have every chance of laying the groundwork for a successful campaign. However, for added efficiency, we recommend a mixed marketing channel. Try SMS marketing campaigns using SMSO services.