We all want results from an Influencer Campaign: the likes, the subscriptions, the traffic, the sales – we want it all! Many expect Influencer Marketing campaigns to solve all their problems, even the branding relationship with suppliers! They expect these results to happen quickly and with minimal effort.

But like any other marketing tool, Influencer campaigns solve nothing. It would help if you were prepared to increase the awareness of a product or service or boost site traffic or sales.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself before running your first influencer campaign:

1. Who Is My Audience?

Who do you want to Influence? Is your product or service B2B or B2C?
Regardless of the answer, Influencer Marketing can deliver excellent results, but you must address the right platforms. You can choose between Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok. In addition to this, there are podcasts and blogs!

The more information you have about your audience, the easier it is to narrow down the other aspects of your campaign. Having a clear definition of your target audience will help you find the right influencers. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: being specific about your target audience is the very first step to a successful campaign.

You should also think about what qualities an authentic Influencer has. I would like to add that, from my experience, traditional marketing approaches are reaching less and less of the younger generations. They consume less traditional media, getting most of their information from Social Media.

A Pewresearch survey from 2018 shows that 95% of teenagers in the US have a smartphone and mainly access YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Data from the most recent surveys conducted in the US and Europe also add TikTok to the ranking. So, if you are targeting a young audience, Influencer Marketing can definitely help you.

In addition, 75% of people active on Social Media sought information, advice and encouragement during the Covid-19 crisis, according to a survey carried out in the US quoted by AdNews.

The conclusion: be relevant, and provide information in a form that people naturally look for!

2. What Are the Goal and Performance Indicators?

What do you want from your campaign? Why do you want to start the campaign?

These are the questions that every company, and/or marketer should know the answers to before planning the campaign. Successful Influencer Marketing campaigns start with a very clear list of goals.

Linqia reports in The State of Influencer Marketing survey from 2020 that 40% of marketers have developed at least 6 Influencer Campaigns over the past year, and more than half of them (57%) plan to increase the number in 2021. Do you know why this is happening? Because it works! An influencer campaign brings excellent results if the main conditions are met: the strategic choice of influencers and setting clear goals.

The survey quoted above states that the primary goals set by marketers were:

71% – Engagement
62% – Brand awareness
60% – Impressions
55% – Conversions
54% – Clicks
50% – Creating Quality Content
48% – Sales
32% – Awakening a Certain Feeling In the Target Audience (Audience Feeling)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be developed once your campaign goals are set.
To learn more, read the article “What KPIs You Should Follow in an Influencer Campaign”

3. Which Social Media Platform is Right For My Message?

Based on your target audience and communicated messages, you need to decide which social platforms will work best for your campaign.

Each platform has an audience with different demographics and expectations, along with various ways of using and processing the content. Blogs and LinkedIn are mainly used in B2B communication, while Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok are preferred for B2C communication.

The Linqia survey shows that Instagram is the top platform used by marketers. This is the extent to which those who participated in the survey intended to use Social Networks in future campaigns.

Here are the top 5 preferences found in the Linqia survey:
97% Instagram Feed
83% Instagram Stories
79% Facebook
44% YouTube
35% Twitter

4. What Are the Most Relevant Influencers for my Brand?

Finding the right and relevant Influencers is very important for the success of an Influencer Marketing campaign. It is the influencer’s responsibility to reach the target audience and create buzz around your brand. Therefore, you need to choose an influencer who can actually do this for you.

It’s essential to look for qualities such as authenticity, involvement or expertise in a brand-relevant field, such as makeup, fitness or nutrition.

Tip: Choose Micro-Influencers

In addition to the lower fees they charge, from hundreds to thousands of pounds, depending on the proposed project and deliverable requirements, Micro-Influencers have a better engagement rate with their small and medium-sized audiences.

In other words, the Community created around the Influencer is analysed. Those with 1,000 followers have an average engagement rate of 8%, while those with 10 million followers are generally around 1%.

In my opinion, you can get the best results with a mix of Influencers: Nano, Micro and Macro. The maximum engagement is those with 10,000 to 100,000 followers. However, there are notable exceptions. Why not schedule a meeting so that we can tell you more?

5. Can I Get My Message Across via Video?

Video Production is on an upward trend and in order to be current and capture the public’s attention, you have to consider this.

A survey by Ypulse showed that 73% of Gen Z-ers watch daily Video Content on Mobile Phones. I’m not a researcher, but it seems like I’m 100% watching videos every day! The survey also provides other interesting facts “most of all generations, from G-Z-ers (89%), Millennials (86%), Generation X-ers (68%) to Baby Boomers (52%) use YouTube at least once a week to access Video Content.

Some notable examples of using Video for Influencer Campaigns are Unboxing or How-to videos, each suitable for specific products or services. TikTok editings are other great way to show off certain products. It is important to adapt the messages depending on the possibilities offered by the chosen Platform and the style of the chosen Influencer.

6. What Does The Law Say About Online Advertising?

Just because there are no visible agents in uniform, it doesn’t mean we do not have to follow certain laws in the online environment. “Whether we are talking about Nano-Influencers, Micro-Influencers or Influencers followed by hundreds of thousands of people, the rules on Product Promotion are getting tougher,” says Ana Maria Udriste, legal expert.

There are many other things you need to consider when planning your first campaigns, to avoid the mistakes that 90% of marketers make, so I recommend using a smart digital tool. After running hundreds of campaigns and finding all possible cases, we can help you. Speak to one of our consultants today!