The global influencer marketing value for Instagram has gone up from US$1.07 billion in 2017 to $1.6 billion in 2018. It is expected to increase further to $2.38 in 2019.
Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to bridge the gap between your brand and your target customers. But like any other marketing method, it can fail to produce the desired results for your brand if not done effectively.
The key to a successful influencer marketing campaign is in its diligent planning and implementation.
There can be many reasons for the poor performance of your influencer marketing efforts. Listed below are the causes, and how to avoid them to ensure a successful influencer campaign.
You Choose the Wrong Influencer
Choosing the right influencer for your brand requires careful research. This single step can determine the success of your influencer marketing campaign.
So how do you know if an influencer is right for you?
First, get a clear understanding of your target audience. Only then should you start your search for influencers who can influence the decisions of your audience.
Tools like BuzzSumo are really helpful in this search. BuzzSumo has a “Search by Content Shared” feature that lets you view what types of content an influencer has shared.
This can help you get a better idea of whether or not an influencer regularly shares content that would appeal to your target audience.
Does your influencer have an impressive number of followers, but not a lot of engagement? Do not let a large number of followers, likes, or views alone sway you. Rather, look for real interactions.
How many comments does the influencer receive on their posts? Do they reply? Are their articles/blog posts shared widely?
The answer to these questions will let you know how well the influencer connects with their audience.
Every social media platform may not be right for you. If your target audience and influencer’s followers are not aligned, your efforts will not bear fruit. Ensure that influencer uses the platform where your target audience spends the most time.
Learn more about your influencer. What are their interests? Get to know more about their behavior, their lifestyle, and the kind of people they follow. Remember that your influencer is just a human being. Any controversy or rumor enveloping them can affect your image badly.
Also, make sure that your chosen influencer shares your brand’s values. Their association with your brand should be believable.
How To Avoid Mistakes
For example, supermodel Naomi Campbell received a lot of flak for her sponsored post with a pair of Adidas shoes.
The post was obviously sponsored, and not a good fit for the supermodel. A beauty product would have gone better with her image.
Researching an influencer can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Do not rush on this one. Dedicate a person or preferably a whole team for research purposes.
There are many tools available online that can help you with this task. Tools like Tweetdeck by Twitter will help you to search for a particular hashtag on Twitter. You can find people using the most suitable keyword for your brand.
Upfluence is another tool that has more than 20 filters to help you find the most relevant influencers. It shows you a list of influencers according to your search criteria. You can further narrow down on influencers with its advanced statistics.
You Don’t Trust Your Influencer
Remember: you are the one who is spending resources on marketing campaigns. So you think that you should be in complete charge of your content and marketing strategy. Right?
Think again.
You have chosen the influencer due to their reach and connection with the audience. They know how to engage and move their audience. If you do not pay attention to their advice and ideas, how can you expect results from them?
Influencers know their audience better, and they know how to about your product or service.
Interference from can cause less consumer engagement in the campaign. This doesn’t mean that you leave everything up to the influencer. You need to constantly work together with them.
Involve them in all discussions related to the project. Allow them the creative freedom to speak to their audience in their own voice.
If you can’t trust their ideas and judgment, then they aren’t the right choice for you.
You Expect Too Much, Too Fast
The fact is that most marketing efforts take time to show results.
Perhaps you have heard about a brand that increased their sales overnight after hiring an influencer. And you are wondering why you are not getting the same results. It’s likely that you don’t know much about the initial preparation that went into their strategy.
It takes weeks and sometimes months to even get started. Developing an influencer marketing strategy and content preparation is the first step, and it can take a long time.
Building a relationship with the influencer can’t be done in a few days. Helping the influencer understand your goals and expectations, engaging the audience, generating backlinks, and getting measurable results – all of these are time-consuming.
Also, influencer marketing is constant work. Map out a strategy with a long-term focus. You should also assign a person for this task. This person can be your marketing manager, or you can hire a new one for the job.
They will have to consistently work with the influencers to build a positive brand image and maintain good relationships with them.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing can be the perfect solution to boost your revenue. Proper consideration and evaluation of the above points will ensure that your influencer marketing efforts yield fruitful results.
If you are ready to invest the time, money, and effort required for a successful influencer campaign, your destination is not very far.
Let us know your thoughts about these points in the comments below.
You may also want to read: Influencer Marketing? How the Potato Was Made Popular
5 Influencer Marketing Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
10 High Profile Influencer Marketing Case Studies
Featured image: Copyright: ‘https://www.123rf.com/profile_bialasiewicz‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
Shane Barker
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