How to Work with Influencers: Guide for Marketing

How to Work with Influencers: Guide for Marketing

Influencer marketing has become an essential part of any marketing strategy. With influencer marketing, brands collaborate with influencers who have built a large and engaged social media following in their niche.

Influencers promote products or services to their audience. This helps brands increase awareness, trust, and sales. According to a recent study by Influencer Marketing Hub, 89% of marketers say influencer marketing is an effective strategy.

There are many benefits to working with influencers:

• They have solid relationships and trust with their audience
• They create authentic and engaging branded content
• They expand brand reach and exposure to new demographics
• They drive genuine engagement, website traffic, and sales

However, there are also challenges with managing influencer campaigns. Building the right relationships, setting clear expectations, tracking performance, and measuring ROI can be difficult.

This guide will teach you best practices and how to work with influencers to maximise the impact of your brand.

Finding the Right Influencers

Connecting with the right influencers is the foundation for an effective influencer marketing campaign. With so many influencers, narrowing the options can take time and effort.

Here are tips for finding and vetting influencers:

Identify Your Goals and Target Audience

First, be very clear on your campaign goals and target demographic.

• What content do you need to create?
• What actions or conversions are you driving towards?
• Who is your ideal customer persona? Age, interests, behaviours, etc.

This will help refine which influencers are best aligned.

Leverage Influencer Marketing Platforms

Influencer marketplaces like Upfluence, AspireIQ, and Grin allow you to search influencers by demographic data and content style—filter by location, gender, age range, and interests to find the right fit.

Evaluate Reach and Engagement

Assess potential influencers based on audience size and engagement rates:

• Number of followers
• Average likes and comments
• Content consistency
• Audience quality and relevance

Influencers with more minor, highly engaged niches may outperform mega influencers—Prioritise quality over sheer quantity.

Vet Content Style and Production Value

Study an influencer's content and aesthetic to envision the partnership.

• Do they produce content you would be proud to feature?
• Do they collaborate with other brands you admire?
• Is their content high-quality and on-brand?

Seek influencers who align with your visual style and brand image.

Confirm Values and Work Ethics

Research how influencers engage with their audience and community.

• Do they seem authentic? Ethical? Professional?
• How do they interact with followers?
• How often do they post sponsored content?

Avoid influencers practising questionable tactics like fake followers or engagement baiting. Values alignment is crucial.

By carefully evaluating reach, relevance, content quality, and ethics – you can discover winning influencers for your brand.

Reaching Out and Vetting Influencers

Once you've identified prospective influencers, it's time to reach out. You’ll want to cast a wide net and vet interest and availability.

Here’s how to effectively reach out to and vet influencers:

Draft a Concise Outreach Message

Create a short email, DM, or comment introducing your brand and campaign vision.

• Describe intended goals, content style, topics
• Propose potential partnership ideas or content formats
• Keep the first message short – aim to schedule a call

Flatter their work and show you did your research on them specifically.

Schedule an Intro Call

Hop on a quick phone or video call to discuss a potential collaboration further. Be prepared to elaborate on:

• Your brand, products, target demographics, and assets
• Campaign goals, desired content, distribution plan
• Ideal timeline, pricing, and expectations

Take notes on their responses and fit. Was communication smooth and enthusiastic? Did campaign ideas align?

Send Over a Formal Agreement

If the intro call goes well, follow up with a formal agreement covering:

• Content strategy, topics, formats, and distribution plan
• Timelines for content creation, revisions, approvals, publishing
• Usage rights and licensing for the content
• Compensation structure and payment methods/timeline

Leave room for negotiation if needed. Get signatures from all parties before activating the partnership.

Conduct an Account Audit

Do some final due diligence by auditing their account analytics. Review through a free social media audit tool like HypeAuditor.

• Fake followers check: under 10% is ideal
• Engagement rates check: 3-5% is good
• Audience Demographics correspond: aligned with your target

If everything looks ethical and transparent, you’ve found a genuine partner!

Structuring Compensation and Pricing

One of the trickiest parts of working with influencers is determining fair compensation. Rates vary drastically based on follower count, engagement, and content demands.

Follow these tips when developing pricing packages:

Set Content Worth Expectations

Map out all the content pieces, requirements, and usage rights. Consider:

• Number of posts/videos
• Production demands like editing, writing, graphic design
• Level of exclusivity and usage parameters

More content deliverables and usage rights warrant higher packages.

Research Industry Standards

Use creator marketplace rates as a baseline for pricing guidance. Also, study what comparable brands in your industry pay. Remember that nano influencers often have better engagement and may work for cheaper or accessible products.

Consider Both Cash and Product Packages

Offer cash payment and free branded products depending on what motivates that particular influencer. Many do revenue-share promotions as well.

Outline Package Tiers

Construct clear Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers with cash and product amounts tied to deliverables. For example:

Customise packages around your budget and campaign scope. Both parties should feel incentivised by the partnership terms.

Guiding Content Creation and Brand Alignment

The content creation process requires close collaboration with your influencer partner. Provide guidance, assets, examples, and feedback to inspire campaign content that truly resonates with their audience while aligning with your brand.

Share Brand Guidelines and Goals Upfront

Set clear expectations by documenting:

• Desired aesthetics, tones, formats
• Keyword targets and hyperlink requirements
• Mandatory visual assets like logos and product imagery
• Legal, compliance or disclosure needs

Create a shared file housing all brand guides, tools, and resources for easy access.

Brainstorm Intriguing Content Angles Together

No one understands an influencer’s audience better than them. Pick their brain for unique ways to present branded content that excites and engages their niche. Crowdsource creative ideas together.

Provide Inspiring Examples

Share 3-5 top-performing sponsored posts from competitors or other influencers. Demonstrate what engaging, on-brand influencer content could look like.

Request Outlines and Drafts Upfront

Before total production, request content outlines or drafts for review. Provide constructive feedback on areas to refine or add detail around selling points, features, or positioning.

Encourage Creativity Within Brand Boundaries

While maintaining brand standards, allow reasonable creative license. The more authentic and original, the better results. Unless necessary, avoid excessive revisions and rigid dictation.

Building trust and camaraderie during content creation will strengthen the working relationship and fuel organic advocacy.

Tracking Performance and Measuring ROI

Influencer spending means something with proof it positively impacts business. Monitor both quantitative and sentiment-driven metrics across the campaign's duration.

Monitor Conversion Activity

Track website traffic, email sign-ups, content downloads, purchases, or other desired actions driven by influencer content. Set UTM parameters on links for precise sourcing.

Example Conversions Data

Show decision-makers that influencer investment pays dividends.

Gauge Social Engagement and Sentiment

Follow engagement metrics like reach, impressions, comments, and hashtag usage to quantify buzz.

But also qualitatively assess audience reactions and commentary sparked by the campaign. Did followers express interest in purchasing or tag friends to share? Or was feedback neutral and indifferent?

Sentiment scoring provides richer context beyond vanity metrics alone.

Calculate Campaign ROI

Tabulate total revenue directly influenced by the partnership. Factors in campaign costs include fees, product discounts, team hours, etc.

Revenue – Campaign Costs = Total Profit

Then, divide profit by cost to determine true campaign ROI.

Total Profit / Campaign Cost = ROI

Most influencer campaigns yield between $5.00 and $10.00 profit for every $1 spent when done strategically.

But don’t forget the long-term brand visibility and relationships built. These intangible benefits continue driving value after the campaign wraps.

Fostering Ongoing Influencer Relationships

The best collaborations spark genuine connections beyond one-off transactions. Cultivating influencer relationships generates repeat engagement sans excessive outreach efforts.

Make Payment Simple and Timely

Nothing sours new partnerships like late compensation. Submit payment on the day content goes live. Ease admin friction by leveraging fast payment solutions like Hyperwallet.

Show Appreciation with Small Surprises

Send handwritten thank you notes or surprise branded ‘swag’ deliveries. These personal touches build social capital and delight critical partners.

Highlight Their Work on Your Channels

Repost campaign content across your social channels and website. Tag and thank the influencers while exposing them to your following. Proactively endorsing their work drives reciprocal goodwill.

Keep a Feedback Loop Open

Check-in periodically to gather insights from their perspective. Collect feedback on what campaign elements performed best, opportunities for improving future collaborations, or emerging topics of interest among their niche. Apply learnings to enhance ongoing outreach strategies.

Explore Long-Term Partnership Potential

If a collaboration surpasses expectations, broach formalising an ongoing brand ambassador contract. Structure recurring compensation and defined deliverables to lock in ROI. Highly converting influencers become invaluable amplification engines for driving conversions over time.

By valuing influencers as true partners beyond contractual obligations, you enable socially influential advocates for your brand.

Conclusion

Influencer marketing delivers unparalleled access to qualified, engaged audiences that trust recommendations from voices they relate to.

But only when executed thoughtfully and mutually beneficially for all parties involved.

By nurturing relationships, co-creating content, compensating fairly, and tracking true impact, brands and influencers can build highly prosperous connections, driving tangible ROI.

When done right, these partnerships produce delightfully authentic storytelling that converts passive audiences into loyal brand enthusiasts—ultimately investing in influencer collaborations well worth spending.

How to Work with Influencers FAQs