How to Start an Influencer Marketing Campaign

If you want to build more visibility and credibility, an influencer marketing campaign might be the way to do it. However, many business owners are uncertain about how to start an influencer marketing campaign or how to get the most value out of one.

What are the best strategies for creating and launching an influencer marketing campaign?

Write Down Your Objectives and Needs

Before you get far in the planning process, take a moment to write down your objectives and needs. What exactly are you hoping to gain from an influencer marketing campaign? Who are the target demographics you’re trying to reach? What would success look like in an influencer marketing campaign? What are some of the best ways to achieve it?

If you’re new to the world of influencer marketing, you may not have the answers to all these questions. At the very least, you should have a high-level vision for what you want this campaign to look like and what you want it to accomplish for your brand.

Work With an Influencer Marketing Agency

An influencer marketing agency is an organization dedicated to helping businesses like yours create and implement the influencer marketing strategies necessary for them to succeed in the modern era. Influencer marketing agencies typically have contact with hundreds or even thousands of different influencers across different niches and channels. They also have a team of digital marketing experts who understand the ins and outs of influencer marketing and can help you orchestrate and launch an effective campaign.

Working with an influencer marketing agency isn’t necessary to see success in this field. However, it can help you avoid wasting time, identify the biggest and most valuable influencers for your niche, and ultimately make your dollars work harder for you.

Set a Firm Budget

Influencer marketing campaigns can be nebulous and directionless, so it’s important to establish firm boundaries for what you’re willing to spend. If you haven’t already, consider setting a firm budget for your influencer marketing spending.

Choose Your Broad Direction

At this point, you’ll be ready to choose a broad direction for your campaign. Do you want to work with a couple of major influencers or several smaller ones? Who are the people you’re trying to reach, and what are the best ways to reach them? Do you want to focus on product reviews, incidental branding mentions, or other types of partnerships?

Select Your Influencers (and Start Reaching Out)

Once you have a direction in place, you can start selecting your influencers and reaching out to them. Consider at least the following as part of your selection process:

• Niche. What is this person known for and how are they relevant to your brand? Who are their target demographics and are they a good fit for your organization?
• Channel. Next, consider the channel that each influencer primarily uses. Some social media channels are going to be a better fit for your brand than others. In addition to considering the audience for each social media channel, you should also consider the format of posts, the branding of the platform, and other factors.
• Following. Bigger influencers are going to give you more visibility, but they’ll also probably be more expensive. Consider the size and scope of each influencer’s following before working with them.
• Personality/branding. Finally, consider the personality and branding of each individual influencer. Not all of them are going to be a good fit for your brand identity.

Put Together Your Briefs and Contracts

The next step of the process is to put together briefs and contracts for your influencers. Ideally, you’ll have all your influence or partners working within the same parameters.

Start Producing and Cultivating Content

With some signed contracts in place, you can start producing and cultivating content. Depending on the nature of your arrangements, this may be a responsibility for your influencer partners.

Amplify

Next, work on amplifying your influencer content. You can make your influencer marketing dollars go further by supporting, sharing, and raising the visibility of content created or endorsed by that influencer. There are many options here, including paid advertising, content collaborations, and simply sharing on your own channels.

Measure and Reassess

Finally, make sure you measure your results and reassess your influencer marketing strategy. By studying the objective metrics you’ve gathered, you can better understand the wins and losses of the first phase of your campaign. From there, you’ll be in a better position to plan for future influencer marketing operations.

Summary

Influencer marketing isn’t a perfect strategy, nor is it guaranteed to work for every business. But if you have a proactive plan in place, are willing to work with professionals, and are willing to adapt as you learn more about influencer marketing, you’ll be in a much better position to succeed.