With influencer marketing blowing up as much as it has been in the past few years, tons of brands and marketers are new to the space and therefore haven’t gone through the trials and tribulations of knowing what to do, or not to do, in an influencer program. Today we’re going through the top 5 “Don’ts” for running influencer marketing campaigns.
Don’t Overly Control the Content Creation Workflow Process
When first jumping in, a common mindset for marketers is that they need to have an extremely hands-on approach to the content generated by the influencers that they hire. It’s natural to want to ensure that the photo or video is created in the way that you’re envisioning and you’re not wrong for thinking that. In the end, you’re paying for the content and if you want your message conveyed in a certain way, then it should be.
However, there is a fine line between the above, and being overbearing to the point where you’re losing that natural value that comes with hiring an influencer. The influencer knows how to best reach their audience, and sometimes that may differ from the exact type of photo or video that you had in mind. The trick is to let the influencer control the creative direction in a way that conveys the message you want to send, in the way that they know best works for their following.
Controlling the creative process too much prevents influencers from:
- Sending your message to their audience in a way that they know will generate a positive response.
- Quickly producing the asset, causing a delay in content production for what can often be an overall negative impact to the asset itself.
- Wanting to come on as a brand ambassador for future content.
Don’t Forget to Be Up Front About Your Campaign Goals and Expectations
Tailing off the previous point, influencers want to convey your message in the best way that works for them. A huge part of their ability to do that comes from knowing exactly what your message is, and what you’re trying to achieve.
Established influencers are incredibly in-tune with what resonates with their audience, proven by the fact that they built their audience in the first place.
There are a few things that you want to make sure you’re upfront about in every influencer campaign:
- ROI expectations
- Type of promotion (product placement, promotion in front/middle/end of a video, etc.)
- Timing needs
A partnership based off of communication will only result in great things and is much appreciated on the influencer’s side. Not only will you have a better experience as a marketer, but the influencers will be more inclined to come on as a brand ambassador should you decide to go that route.
Don’t Focus on Vanity Metrics Where You Can Optimize Performance Marketing Metrics Instead
This is another extremely common rollover for brands and marketers that are newer to influencer marketing. You may have been utilizing display media, native advertising, PPC programs, or anything else where the goals and buying methods are specifically laid out.
Influencer marketing is a bit different. A low CPM isn’t the end-all-be-all. It is absolutely possible to achieve amazing CPMs and CPEs from influencers, but keep in mind that you’re losing the value of what makes influencer marketing so amazing if that’s your sole ROI consideration.
The ability to track sales per influencer and per post is an unmatched performance indicator that allows brands to track and optimize based on what most people are after... online sales. Brands don’t have to worry about connecting traffic per month to sales per month and do some back-end math to see what marketing efforts are working. With tools like gen video’s Traail, you can see what type of content, and what type of influencers are actually selling.
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Well, there you have it. There are countless other tips and tricks that will help you become an incredibly influencer marketer and that’s what we’re here for. If you’re interested in learning more, chat with our team of experts today.