Influencer marketing campaigns can have a powerful and long-lasting effect on a brand if executed correctly. And the key to a successful campaign is all in the planning, which is why there are three crucial things to consider before embarking on your influencer marketing campaign.
Download your free Instagram Checklist here.
Who are you?
Before you undertake any marketing campaign, it’s important to ask yourself ‘What is my brand’s mission?’ It’s crucial to be fully aware of and understand the purpose of your product or service and make sure it matches with the messaging you already have out there. Reacquaint yourself with what your business offers because knowing the benefits of your own product will improve your success of relaying the intended message.
Having an eye (and ear) open to what others are saying about you and your business is also important. Social listening can help you interact with your consumers and find the buzz. Whether the comments are good or bad, all this information is helpful. Listening to the feedback across your social media platforms will provide you with valuable insights.
Who are you targeting?
Knowing your target audience inside and out will help you to determine the type of influencer you want to partner with. It’s essential to clearly identify your target market by asking yourself these questions:
- Who makes up my target audience? (Demographics)
- What do they care about?
- Where do they hang out? (Online and offline)
- What is their buying journey? (How do they discover, evaluate, decide and purchase?)
Once you fully understand your audience, the search for the ideal influencer will become a whole lot clearer.
What is your goal for this campaign?
You need to pinpoint exactly what you are trying to achieve and the steps involved in getting there. This is done by setting your goal and, of course, staying on track. Ensure you have set a SMART goal, that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based so that progress can be measured at the end and throughout.
When setting your goal, it’s also time to think about what you plan on offering your influencers. Remember, your relationship with influencers is a two-way street – both parties need to give something in order to reap the benefits. Just do not make the mistake of thinking that they owe you – you aren’t doing them any favours and the campaign should be built off of an equal give-and-take relationship.
Next, indentify what type of campaign you want to run. Consider the best way to resonate with them at the different stages of their purchasing decision, the type of content are they the most likely to engage with, whether you want your influencers to attend an event, share a video or review a product. This is a crucial step because it forms the basis of what comes next…
The campaign brief. Before you’ve even thought about approaching influencers, the campaign brief needs to be rock solid and fully prepared in order to give all the details you want to share with your ideal influencer. Your brief should contain the following information:
- Objective
- Target audience
- Type of content to be shared
- Call to action to be prompted
- Measurements of success
Spend the time upfront making your campaign brief clear and specific and the rest of your influencer marketing campaign will fall into place.
