Rafaella Aguiar August 22, 2021 Does your brand use Instagram influencer marketing? If not, now is the time to jump on top of this trend. Working with influencers is a great way to expose your brand to a whole new audience. And influencer marketing is only becoming more popular — the industry is growing by leaps and bounds.
Today we’re talking about what makes influencer marketing such a valuable strategy. Then check out our five hacks to quickly and easily set up an influencer campaign that could transform your brand.
Why Influencer Marketing Is Valuable
Influencer marketing is a valuable and important marketing strategy for two main reasons. First, influencer marketing has a very good ROI compared to other marketing strategies. One study revealed that 89% of marketers say the ROI on influencer marketing is either comparable or better to the ROI from other marketing channels. Your ROI is the results you receive, and you want your results from marketing campaigns to be as good as possible. This is one reason why influencer marketing is so valuable.
Influencer marketing also works well because it’s personal. Think about it: The influencer already has a relationship with their followers. So when an influencer sells a product to their followers, that feels more natural than if the business is directly selling its product. The organic nature of influencer marketing makes it a great option for brands on Instagram.
5 Instagram Influencer Marketing Hacks
Ready to jump into Instagram influencer marketing? Use these five simple but effective hacks to make sure you’re doing it right.
1. Vet the Right Influencer For Your Brand
The influencer you work with represents your business. That’s why it’s important to choose an influencer who accurately reflects your brand. Choose an influencer who is in your niche and has the same target audience as you. You will also want to make sure you and any potential influencers share the same values and morals.
Researching the different types and sizes of influencers can help you get an idea of what size influencer you’d like to work with. In general, this is how the influencer sizing categories break down:
- Nano — 1,000 to 10,000 followers
- Micro — 10,000 to 50,000 followers
- Mid-tier — 50,000 to 500,000 followers
- Macro — 500,000 to one million followers
- Mega — One million followers or more
Choosing the right size influencer will help you stay within any budget confines. You’ll also be able to get a better idea of who that influencer’s followers are. For example, a micro or nano influencer will typically have a niched, highly engaged audience that could be the same as your target audience.
You can vet influencers by using tools like search platforms, agencies, or just doing your own research. A search platform will allow you to search for influencers based on specific parameters (such as their industry or how many followers they have). Then you can view basic information on each influencer. Agencies provide similar services, helping find influencers that fit your needs and then showing you more details before you reach out to anyone. You can also do this research on your own using Instagram and Google.
2. Get All the Info
If you decide to work with an influencer marketing agency, make sure you understand what you’re getting into upfront. Instagram influencer marketing agencies act as a go-between with brands and influencers to help create campaigns. Agencies cover tasks like:
- Finding and vetting influencers
- Negotiating a contract
- Creating a content strategy and calendar
- Providing campaign analytics
There are pros and cons to working with an influencer marketing agency. Choosing an agency can save you time and effort — you won’t have to find an influencer and create the campaign on your own. Working with an experienced agency can be especially helpful if you’re new to the world of influencer marketing. However, agencies usually work with smaller influencers. And some automate certain tasks instead of adding that personal touch.
You’ll also want to be aware of the costs involved before jumping in. Influencer agencies aren’t always budget-friendly. And while the services they provide are often worth it, in other cases, companies might be better off doing the job themselves.
3. Decide on Campaign Goals
Whether you decide to work with an agency or go the DIY route, eventually you’re going to be ready to prep your campaign. Before you start creating content, however, it’s important to decide on your campaign goals and let them guide the rest of the process.
Now is the time to set the KPI’s you will need to track to achieve your campaign goals. Important KPI’s for influencer marketing include:
- Conversions (based on sign-ups, purchases, clicks, registrations, and downloads)
- Reach and awareness
- Referral traffic
- Engagement (from clicks, likes, and shares)
- Audience growth
- User-generated content
- Cost per click (CPC)
- Revenue generated
Which of these KPI’s are most important to you? Choose which ones you want to focus on and then track them closely as you proceed with your campaign.
4. Create the Right Campaign
Different types of products often call for different types of influencer marketing campaigns. Before you dive into anything, take some time to think about the right campaign for what you’re trying to promote. Do you want to promote this product via Instagram Stories? Posts? Reels? If you need space to explain how the product works, maybe IGTV would be a better fit. Or perhaps you have specific captions or hashtags you’d like the influencer to use, like certain Instagram captions for selfies. Think about your product and the influencer’s typical content to decide how you can work together to create a campaign that draws on both of your strengths.
5. Know Your Payment Options
An Instagram influencer marketing campaign isn’t complete without some kind of payment or compensation for the influencer. Every influencer works a little differently in this area. Some influencers are content with a free product — you send them an item, they put up a post about it, and they don’t ask for any further compensation.
Other influencers like to make commissions from affiliate links. In this case, you give them a unique link to share with their followers. Then the influencer receives a portion of any sales that are made through that link.
Still other influencers charge a standard price per post. This price will get more expensive depending on how large the influencer’s account is. You could pay thousands of dollars for a single post or a short video.
If that isn’t in your budget, don’t worry! Try working with a smaller influencer so the process will be more affordable to you. Just make sure you communicate with all influencers up front so everyone understands what the compensation will be.
Get Started with Instagram Influencer Marketing
With these step-by-step tips, you’re ready to take your brand to the next level through Instagram influencer marketing. Start by finding the perfect influencer for your brand. Then decide if you’d like to go with an agency or work with the influencer one-on-one. Set your campaign goals and figure out what type of content you want your influencer to create. Finally, pay your influencer for a job well done. Instagram influencer marketing is one of the very best ways to help your business grow!
Digital & Social Articles on Business 2 Community
(32)
