The go to guide book
Enhanced engagement, more knowledge and fantastic sales – you’ve probably already heard of the success stories of brands that have made influencer marketing part of their media mix. What is seldom mentioned, however, is all the work behind the scenes and the factors that have made those campaigns or collaborations so successful. Like most things in strong and effective marketing, there is a range of different strategies, goals and tools to help you in your future work with influencers. In this article we walk you through the important things to consider before, during and after your campaign – so you can reach the goals you’ve set and avoid the pitfalls.
To succeed with influencer marketing you need a thorough strategy for the collaboration. Always-on toward specific goals? Or purpose-driven for a specific campaign? Working with influencer marketing is significantly different from other forms of marketing, and comes with higher requirements on competence as well as time and resources. Consider how you want to approach the task, for example using your own in-house team, a self-service tool or a dedicated influencer marketing agency like Nine Agency.
Set Goals for Your Influencer Marketing
Do you want to increase brand awareness? Do you want to reach new audiences/markets? Are sales via influencers your most important KPI? Or is your primary goal to create relevant content for your channels? As you can see there are various purposes that can be achieved through influencer marketing. Start by determining a clear set of goals for the partnership – a crucial task as it sets the foundation for the entire campaign.
KPI – What Do You Want the Campaign to Achieve?
Major advantages of influencer marketing is how fast it moves and the ability to collect large amounts of data. Depending on your goal, use various KPIs – or Key Performance Indicators – to evaluate what works and measure the results of your investments.
If you’re working with brand awareness, the reach or number of impressions can in itself be points of measure. To get an idea of how far you’ve reached within your specific target audience you can also define the reach in relation to the total size of the target audience, called Share of Voice. Another goal is to decide on a target CPM (Cost Per Mille). This means that you calculate the return on your investment in relation to the exposure it has yielded.
Other common KPIs are engagement, number of video views (VTR, View Through Rate), number of clicks (CTR, Click Through Rate), and conversion rate. Professional influencers can often provide fresh stats on all this as it typically lays the foundation for the pricing beyond just the number of followers.
Create Content that Stands Out
What do we want to say, and how should we say it? The key to success in influencer marketing is communication that stands out, feels relevant, and is engaging. That’s easier said than done but will lead the receiver to take in the message, more so than compared to regular, forced push marketing.
This is where influencer marketing excels and offers creative opportunities to reach the target audience directly. It’s a common mistake, however, to approach content creation the same way you approach other types of marketing. Influencer marketing is about credibility and being genuine – and the influencer knows their followers better than anyone. So take advantage of the creative competence of the influencer, and engage them in the message you want to communicate to build the campaign together.
Target Audience
Wide or niched – one condition when working with influencers is that you define your target audience. If you don’t know who to direct your marketing towards it will be almost impossible to find the right profile(s) and channel(s) in which that audience exists.
Is influencer marketing only good for young audiences? Perhaps it used to be, but not anymore. Historically it has been primarily young audiences (age 18-35) that have been active on social media, but today pretty much all age groups have found their way here. The big difference is rather what channels they prefer to use.
Today there are many channels to choose between, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Instagram is still the most popular by far in Scandinavia, used daily by 96% of marketers in influencer marketing. But how do you make the right choice? We will guide you through the process.
Define a Channel Strategy
With a conscious and well-thought-out channel strategy, you set the right conditions to meet the customer at the right place and with the right message. The choice of channel should be connected to your goals related to influencer marketing, and how each channel works from a technical and creative perspective.
Reflect on what type of content you want to produce for the channel. Is it images, video, a mix or perhaps only sound like in podcasts? Start by building an understanding of the technical limitations of each channel, but also its soft values like community culture and policies. For example, if you want to work on brand awareness, the ability to link to external websites is not as important as it is for a company that wants to drive sales and ROI with its influencer partnership.
Beyond this, you also need to consider the role the channel plays in the media landscape as a whole. Are they growing? Has their growth slowed? What does the user base look like from a geographical perspective? Where are the users in relation to your customer journey and goals?
Get to Know the Most Common Channels
Instagram is one of the most common channels for influencer marketing. Here you can find everything from small, niched, nano influencers, to the biggest stars in the business. Throughout the years the platform has developed new and exciting formats that can support brand awareness as well as traffic and conversion optimisation. You can, for example, keep in mind that activations in the feed yield a better reach than stories. There’s also the possibility to boost and market material for a wider spread.
YouTube
YouTube owns a large part of our total video consumption online, and as the world’s largest search engine there’s content in an infinite number of niche categories. Among the most popular channels, the material is often well-thought-through and qualitative, causing viewers to stay longer in long sessions. For marketers, this means an opportunity to reach out with more informative content like for example guides, unboxing videos, and product tests. Another advantage is that your sponsored content becomes searchable, providing a great foundation to get more hits than the number of followers the influencer has.
TikTok
To many marketers, TikTok is still a somewhat unknown channel. The channel provides excellent opportunities to reach far, wide and in-depth with your message. Because it’s built on taking advantage of ongoing trends, the fast tempo puts a requirement on the messenger to stay up to date. In the past, TikTok has been especially great when the goal is to reach a younger audience, but today the demographical spread makes it suitable to almost any marketer who wishes to strengthen their brand.
Bathroom dreams or outfit inspiration? Pinterest is no longer just a platform for inspiring content – it’s now also an influencer platform. Through, for example, the format “Idea Pins”, creators can create unique content that is searchable with long-term relevance. Many of the visitors are in the exploring stage of their purchase journey, actively looking for inspiration for their next purchase. Of particular interest to marketers is the ability to capture visitors’ attention by building boards with direct links to their e-store.
Podcasts
Nowadays, podcasts have a solid spot in the channel mix of many marketers. People who listen to podcasts tend to be focused on the spoken content, which ensures that the right collaboration gets a very strong effect. Don’t mix podcasts with traditional radio advertisements though. Rather, let the influencer find their own voice and way of communicating your product or service in a natural way. Podcasts often belong to different networks, and depending on the network you advertise in, your marketing can be delivered in various ways – which is a good thing for you as a marketer to be aware of.
Blog
To many, blogs were the starting point of marketing through influencers. Today there are many alternatives, but blogs are still used by marketers to reach their customers. One of the many advantages of blogs is that you get the opportunity to let the clients get close to your brand and offer, and to show your best sides in a qualitative way. There’s also the possibility of being searchable, and to include links for conversion.
What Role Should Influencer Marketing Play in Your Media Mix?
To many, blogs were the starting point of marketing through influencers. Today there are many alternatives, but blogs are still used by marketers to reach their customers. One of the many advantages of blogs is that you get the opportunity to let the clients get close to your brand and offer, and to show your best sides in a qualitative way. There’s also the possibility of being searchable, and to include links for conversion.
Short-term supporting role or a long-term hero? To answer that question we need to turn to your goals for the campaign once again and check how you have chosen to split the budget. Common to many successful partnerships, however, is that they have taken the long-term route in which the profile is a natural extension of the brand.
Can anyone pick up the mantle and start representing your brand? Should you go for a strong talent or several smaller, niched profiles? We give you the insights you need to make the right choice and some tips for a good match!
What is a Good Influencer?
The answer to that question is split in two. On an individual level, it’s a profile that has built a stable and loyal follower base by continuously creating genuine, relevant and engaging content. This gives the person a high level of trust, influence and engagement among the followers. From your perspective as a brand, it should also be someone who is professional and serious, and who is a natural and obvious fit for your brand and its values. By offering a direct communicative shortcut to your target audience, or to new markets, the person will help you reach your influencer marketing goals.
Many Small Ones or Just a Few Big?
Nowadays, the influencer scene is both wide and deep, with profiles in both larger and smaller verticals. But don’t stare yourself blind at the number of followers. A small, niched influencer with a lower follower count can bring equal value – in some cases even greater value – compared to someone with many followers and a wider reach.
Do you want to place your bet on fewer but larger profiles, or would your specific campaign benefit more from several small influencers? Each approach has its pros and cons regarding target audience, reach, price, price efficiency, and work requirements. Depending on the goals, concept and campaign plan you can apply different reasoning to the profile strategy. What you should be aware of, however, is that a budget can be spent in wildly different ways to yield different results.
Evaluate the Profile – Hard Metrics or Soft Values?
Just as finding true love in life, it often takes time to find the right profile. Be prepared to spend time and energy thoroughly scanning the market. But unlike dating, there are razor-sharp tools and relevant data to evaluate influencers and find the right foundation for your decision. Regardless of your goals, we recommend that you always check the hard facts, like:
Followers/subscribers
Number of average views
Engagement metrics
Age span of the followers
Gender division of the followers
Geographical location of the followers
The followers’ interests intressen
Whether the followers are genuine
Psychographics
Other than these facts, you should of course also consider soft values – the profile will, after all, be the face of your brand. Here, we recommend looking at the following:
The content of the profile
Tone and language
Imagery
Moving and/or static content
Values
Other collaborations/partnerships
As you make your bed you must lie in it – this is also true in influencer marketing. Once you have found a talent there are a few things you can do to simplify future collaborations. But there are also necessary factors that you need to know about, like signing an agreement and the legal requirements related to advertising on social media. We help you understand the basics!
The Crucial Brief
Perhaps you know everything about the profile, but don’t expect the profile to know much about your company. To create the best conditions for the campaign, the influencer first needs a detailed brief with information about your brand, your values, and the message you wish to convey.
It can be a short introduction and facts about the brand, product or service, and specific USPs as well as hashtags and links. If the collaboration is part of a larger campaign it’s also important to make the brief fitting to the campaign concept – what should be said, how it should be portrayed, and any expressions that are encouraged or prohibited to use as well as how they are communicated.
If you hire an agency they can help you formulate the brief from the ground up. In other cases, the client (typically those with experience) will send a complete brief and the agency only makes adjustments. Regardless, the brief is a crucial steering tool used to ensure that all parties share the same perspective on the campaign goals and the partnership.
The Advantages of an Open Brief
A creative brief should clearly frame the campaign, but the profile should also be given ample space to add their own touch to it. The purpose, after all, is to present your brand in a natural way, on a channel that has been shaped based on the profile’s niche and own creative abilities. This usually leads to more authentic and genuine content than when the company tries to dictate the details with a pre-written manuscript and idea.
Too much freedom, on the other hand, can also lead to problems. The personal brand of the profile might take over entirely, the primary message of the campaign might be missed, or the brand might be shown or interpreted in the wrong way. That’s why communication is the most important part in a collaboration between a brand and a profile – and the brief should clearly describe the purpose and goal of the partnership.
Always Sign an Agreement with the Influencer
Most professional influencers are very accommodating and care about their reputation in the business. Regardless of who’s to blame, disputes are always a risk and they can be hard to win if there’s no signed agreement. By putting what you have agreed in writing you minimize the risk of future misunderstandings, and are guaranteed that both parties will keep their promises.
A standard agreement should include factors like the number of posts, format, channels, activations, compensation and timespan. It should also include what happens if there are changes to the setup, or the consequences if either party fails to follow the agreement. Once both parties have approved the agreement it is signed in two copies and becomes legally binding.
The Human Factor
Most professional influencers are very accommodating and care about their reputation in the business. Regardless of who’s to blame, disputes are always a risk and they can be hard to win if there’s no signed agreement. By putting what you have agreed in writing you minimize the risk of future misunderstandings, and are guaranteed that both parties will keep their promises.
You’ve found your dream profile and want to get started right away – but how do you reach out? And what do you say to convince the profile to represent your brand of all brands? Influencers can be very selective in what companies they are associated with, especially if their personal brand happens to be stronger than your brand. That said, there are many fine examples of large profiles that have chosen to support brand-new or small companies simply because they like their vision or philosophy. Here are our top five tips on how to get in touch with influencers!
Five Tips on How to Contact an Influencer
Start with an e-mail
Larger influencers can sometimes be tricky to get hold of. They drown in private messages and comments which makes it easy to miss something. The most common way to get in touch is instead via a direct e-mail; the address is often listed in the profile’s bio. Influencers are also commonly represented by agents with vast experience in the industry. If the profile isn’t replying to your attempts to get in touch, you can instead try to contact the agent.
Keep it short and to the point
If you’re reaching out to an influencer with whom you don’t have a previous relationship you should always begin with the most relevant information. Start with a short presentation of your company/brand and the product/service you wish to market. Avoid too much text and long, detailed sections. It’s better to be short and to the point until the profile has responded – only then should you proceed with more details. Also, include the campaign idea so that the profile gets just enough information to weigh your proposal.
Find your “win-win”
What can you do for their brand and the other way around? When collaborating with an influencer two brands are sharing the spotlight. It’s always good to not just focus on what the profile can do for you, but what soft values beyond cash compensation you can offer the influencer. Do you have multiple brands which can lead to more collaborations? Do you have a fun concept or format in mind that can become a returning feature in their content? Do you have contacts that can boost the follower count of the profile? Try to find positive synergies that are beneficial to both parties.
Catch their attention – show them that they are special
A little charm will take you a long way. Be professional, but also let the heavy corporate talking rest for a bit. Say that the profile has caught your attention and that he or she is of great interest to you, to make the request feel tailored to them. Motivate why you think you’re a great match and include a personal touch; for example, something current you’ve caught, like “we know that you love to xx”. By being made to feel special the profile will instantly become more engaged, which can help make the collaboration happen.
The shortcut – use an influencer agency
Turning directly to an influencer can prove difficult, especially if you have never managed any similar partnerships yourself. For example, you need to have a complete strategy and be aware of all the steps that lead to a successful campaign. This includes steps like concept, profile identification, negotiations, signing an agreement, briefs, pricing, follow-up, and data collection and analysis. If you lack experience we highly recommend hiring an influencer agency that can help you from start to finish.
A central aspect of influencer marketing, like any digital marketing, is the collection and processing of data and statistics. Use it as a guide when choosing a profile, to improve results over time, and to find your path to success.
Crucial KPIs and Key Numbers
Despite influencer marketing being a science, a lot of it is about trial and error and evaluating what works for you. With data-driven marketing, the follow-up gets easier, and answers are often shown in black and white. But to succeed you need clear KPIs to build a foundation and know what you’re optimizing against.
Common KPIs include:
Views
Reach
Interactions
Engagement
Followers
Clicks
Conversions
What Should I Measure?
Traffic, clicks or engagement? Depending on your customer journey and where in the sales process you wish to reach the client via your influencers, various KPIs can be more or less relevant. It is always the goals and purpose of the campaign, however, that determine which KPIs are of particular interest for you to focus on.
How Do I Measure?
Once you know what you want to measure it’s a great idea to consider how you will measure each KPI. For example, if you want to increase sales and optimize toward conversion, then you need to ensure you have the right attributes to measure this in a reliable manner.
There’s a whole range of clever tools readily available, to give you the conditions you need for data collection.
What Do I Do with the Data?
It’s easy to drown in all the data generated during a campaign. Over time, build a database for your chosen KPIs and get familiar with the levels that yield the best results in relation to your investment. We recommend that you evaluate the collaboration for three months before you start optimizing by focusing on, for example, specific types of profiles or new formats.
Costly penalties, angry advertisement authorities and unexpected taxes – advertising on social media is no longer the wild west. Get the important stuff under control, and avoid the common pitfalls that can cost your brand dearly.
Gifts, Sponsors and Collaborating with Minors
Considering giving away your product rather than paying a fee? Remember to inform the influencer of the tax liabilities and their responsibility to include the value of the gift in their tax declaration.
Have you found a skilled influencer perfect for your target audience? On many platforms, there are young people with a lot of followers who are already far in their careers as an influencer. If you wish to work with a profile who is under 18 you always need a guardian’s approval before the partnership can begin.
Who Owns the Rights to the Content?
One advantage of influencer marketing is that it often leads to strong content, content that you as an advertisement buyer wish to take advantage of even after the campaign. You should therefore specify in the agreement how you may use the content, for example by publishing it again on your own channels or by using it in paid advertisements. The most common approach is that the buyer pays extra for a content licence and that you agree on how long the material may be used.
Never Miss the Advertisement Notice
The tricky (and nice) part of influencer marketing is that it can be difficult for consumers to separate organic content from commercial content. The brand is often featured in a natural way, in a context that makes it perceived as genuine and authentic. In this regard, you as the advertiser carry an important responsibility.
A common law, and good practice, is to make clear to the followers that the content is sponsored advertising. Influencer marketing ultimately relies on trust, so by marking the content you prevent followers from feeling cheated or misled. Since the profile is the one publishing the content, they carry the main responsibility of including an advertisement notice when content is part of a commercial purpose – but it never hurts to remind them.
An advertisement notice can take many forms – for example text, verbally, or through the marketing tools of the platform. Marketing that lacks sufficient or the correct/clear advertisement notices risks being flagged by the authorities and can lead to hefty fines.
So how much does influencer marketing cost? How much do profiles typically charge? And how much should you invest in influencer marketing? It’s always good to set a budget before the collaboration begins, to know exactly how much you have to play around with. How you then choose to spend your budget can make all the difference.
How Long is a Piece of String?
An influencer campaign can cost anything from hundreds of thousands of euro to just the shipping cost of sending a sample product. Of course, the end result will also vary significantly, but you can get quite far on a limited budget. If it’s a smaller partnership you can do a lot of the legwork yourself, but as soon as you have higher expectations on the profile and their execution you will come to realize that you might need help from a professional influencer agency.
Different influencers charge differently depending on how big they are, what channel you hire them for, and the format you buy. You need to be knowledgeable about what you as the buyer can expect from each format, and identify the right types of activations and price points. Regardless of the path you choose you should consider that influencer marketing includes fees to the media owners (the profiles), the cost of certain analytical tools, and the work hours associated with delivering the campaign.
Do it Yourself or Hire an Agency?
One advantage of influencer marketing is that it often leads to strong content, content that you as an advertisement buyer wish to take advantage of even after the campaign. You should therefore specify in the agreement how you may use the content, for example by publishing it again on your own channels or by using it in paid advertisements. The most common approach is that the buyer pays extra for a content licence and that you agree on how long the material may be used.
