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Get your influencer marketing questions ready. To begin let’s first summarize what exactly “influencer marketing” is, and what it means from the perspective of a brand. Influencer marketing is the partnering of popular social media users with various brands in an effort to shape the audience/consumer’s purchase decisions and behaviors.
Given that popular social media users hold a level of influence over their followers, they are a great source of marketing for businesses. In this blog, we outline all the frequently asked influencer marketing questions to allow you to increase your understanding and optimize your brand’s income and engagements.
Understanding Influencers
1. Where do I find influencers?
This is by far the most common influencer marketing question. You can locate influencers by scrolling through the web, looking at social media platforms such as Instagram, or by using an influencer marketing platform. Many marketing platforms offer search engines that allow you to type keywords, making the selection process more accurate and time efficient. Be sure to consider your audience demographics, target audience, and be sure to match the interests of your influencer with that of your audience.
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2. What is the difference between an influencer and a brand ambassador?
The difference lies within the type of work influencers vs brand ambassadors do. Influencers treat their blogs or social media networks as a business, with their “consumers” being their many followers. An influencer typically runs short term brand deals and campaigns. Brand ambassadors, however, may not have as large of a following and tend to work with brands for longer periods of time. Ambassadors are typically paid on a retainer basis or for representing a brand in a loud and proud fashion.
3. What are the top qualities to look for in an influencer?
This is another very common influencer marketing question. There are many factors that go into selecting the right influencer for a campaign. Two of the biggest factors are engagement and professionalism. It’s important that an influencer is interacting with the right audiences and that they’ll be reliable enough to carry out your campaign effectively. While different brands might have more important factors to focus on when making their selections, these two should always be considered.
4. Are micro-influencers worth it?
There are pros and cons to working with different micro-influencers that must be considered, but many micro-influencers provide quality audiences – instead of just a large quantity. Micro-influencers are more cost-effective and allow brands to corner the niche followings they want to reach. In addition, engagement rates are usually much higher.
5. Are influencers overpaid?
Influencers are worth whatever brands are willing to pay to work with them. However, the answer isn’t quite as simple as that. Take Addison Rae for example. She just signed a contract with American Eagle. The value Addison brings to the already well-known company will allow the company to grow even more, and the value an American Eagle sponsorship provides Addison will allow her to continue to pursue content creation. The approach is no different than many other types of marketing campaigns, brands carefully select and track KPI’s to ensure they’re making sound investments. In this instance, American Eagle felt partnering with Addison was worth the cost and would end up benefitting their brand overall.
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There is some speculation about issues of transparency in the influencer marketing industry. When paid agreements are transparent, it usually results in lower prices due and better quality which both stem from the improved competition. A good comparison, as said in this article on the issues of lack of transparency in influencer marketing, is how difficult it would be to shop in a grocery store if there weren’t any prices provided.
Running Influencer Campaigns
6. What are the four steps to running an influencer campaign?
Of all the influencer marketing questions, this might be the most important, but don’t worry… it’s not as complicated as it may seem. The four main steps are:
- Find your influencer. You must first find an influencer that will appeal to your audience. Be sure to pick an influencer that has the following equivalent to your target audience to ensure your campaign is as successful as possible.
- Hire and engage. After delivering your pitch, negotiate a timeline, and discuss compensation. Although this step is merely logistics, it is crucial to a successful campaign. You must ensure both the brand and influencer is satisfied with the terms before proceeding to step three.
- Track and monitor. Monitor your progress to ensure you reach your goals. For many, this may be the number of sales. Be sure to record and store data. This step will allow you to see if the influencer is performing well.
- Measure. Through analyzing your data, you can observe the impact of the influencer’s work. Through measuring the success of the campaign, you can make educated decisions pertaining to influence marketing in the future. For many, this step may include measuring your sales for the given period.
7. Does influencer marketing work with every brand?
Not necessarily. Although you can tailor your campaign to fit the needs of your brand, influencer marketing may not be for you. Evaluate your target audience and think of ways to reach that audience. If your audience is on social media, you are far more likely to benefit from influencer marketing.
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Social Media Platforms
8. What are the most effective social channels for influencer marketing?
The effectiveness of various social channels is dependent on your product, brand, and influencer. For instance, if you are endorsing home décor, Pinterest and Instagram may be more successful than Twitter and Snapchat. There is no definite answer to this question, as it is relative to your brand! Common social channels for influence marketing include but are not limited to: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, Google, etc.
9. What’s the best feature of Instagram for influencers to use?
Instagram stories are an extremely effective feature of Instagram for influencers to run campaigns on. Stories allow influencers to post content much more frequently and naturally. They also allow for swipe-up links that can lead to more conversions than regular posts. When users click on posts, they are intentionally going out of their way to see that piece of content.
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10. Is TikTok as good as Instagram for influencer marketing campaigns?
TikTok has been the origin of many recent influencer marketing questions. It has recently made a lot of strides towards being on Instagram’s level in terms of the value of campaigns; however, with the TikTok ban uncertainty looming, many influencers are diversifying their content to make sure they don’t get lost with the video app. All other factors considered, TikTok’s short video format makes it a dream platform for any company looking to run an influencer marketing campaign.
Instagram’s new video section, Reels, will be an interesting and exciting new feature for influencer marketing. With many similarities to TikTok, this feature could be revolutionary for partnerships on the platform.
