How do you make your influencer marketing stand out?

Spend the time to watch the content of the creator representing your brand! I use this evaluation lens: if your brand was a creator, would you be proud to have it be THIS creator? If not, keep looking. Sacrifice reach for quality.

This is super important! Making sure the influencer not only aligns with your brand messaging and values but also style, look, and feel is super important. Don’t pick an influencer who’s style is dark and moody if your entire brand persona and the people you want to market to are light and bright.

I agree, and also think before deciding to work with a certain influencer you should have followed their work and observed that their content quite aligns with your message.

Also, remember to invest in a mix of influencers rather than just one or two. Make sure you're also partnering with creators with overlapping but slightly different audiences and with different sized followings. By doing this you'll be increasing your chances of success, in case one or some of the creators don't work as well.

Prioritize influencers who mirror your values, boast a devoted audience, and consistently produce content that echoes your brand voice. Instead of merely counting followers, examine engagement rates, authenticity, and credibility. Platforms like BuzzSumo, Upfluence, or AspireIQ can streamline your influencer search, ensuring you partner with those most aligned to your mission and audience.

In my experience influencer partnerships that are focused solely on tracking ROI vs top of funnel exposure and increasing brand awareness will not be of much success. This is because when we, as marketers, focus solely on the performance of the partnership, we are missing the mark on the reason why we trust influencers to sway public opinion of our products/services in the first place. The quality of your influencer partnerships and the relationship that you build with them will equal the trust required for you to see results. When you nurture relationships, and allow for opportunities for their own growth, it becomes a symbiotic relationship in which then both brand + influencer can win.

This is also important to let the influencers know before they decide (if you give them this option) what mediums they choose to use for their posts. Would a static post be more impactful vs a reel? Do you want to drive people to a link through stories or get more followers through a contest? All things to plan out in advance.

I also believe that not all marketing campaigns result in instant results. So in a situation where you don't achieve immediate results, you could consider strategizing and launching another campaign.

Prior to initiating influencer campaigns, clarity in goals is paramount. Decide: Is your aim brand visibility, lead generation, sales boosts, or follower growth? Your objectives dictate the metrics for gauging success, from impressions and reach to clicks, conversions, and influencer content ROI. Set a focused path and track relevant indicators.

Clarity also starts by defining the target market, much like any marketing strategy. It's important to identify your target audience and understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. This will then feed into defining your objectives and goals.

By co-creating content with your influencer partners, you are demonstrating that you trust them to know what performs best for their audience. Your partnership with influencers should help them to feel like an extended part of your team. Ask them questions about their content, platforms, audience and let them shine.

This tip is crucial to a successful campaign. Oftentimes, brands like someone but want control 100% of the output. Although they do end up with a carefully curated message, what brands fail to understand is that creators have built an audience based on their unique voices and approaches - delivering content that deviates from that will likely see no engagement and ROI.

An example I recently implemented was with a local beer and wine shop in town that wanted to promote their in-store rewards program. I ended up utilizing two of their liquors to create summer smash cocktails (tied into the fact that I run a food blog with original recipes) which people could enjoy using the same liquors bought in store (plus a few extra ingredients at home). It was a great partnership, plus we involved a giveaway that garnered them an increase in followers that exceeded their expectations.

When it comes to making your influencer marketing stand out, it's all about being unique, creative, and providing value to your audience. Don't settle for the same old sponsored posts. Think outside the box and come up with exciting campaign ideas. Encourage influencers to weave compelling stories that resonate with their audience. Stories have a magical way of connecting with people on a deeper level. It's crucial to ensure that the content created by influencers offers something valuable to their followers.

This is another way to hear from the public. Instead of sending out a survey, getting insight from someone that is always in the public eye can be helpful in many different ways; they can offer helpful outside perspectives, learn about instances where they have been successful and unsuccessful, and where did they find the most engagement?

I think the information in this section might be a bit redundant if the articles targeted group is social or digital media professionals

This all really depends on whether the client is B2B vs B2C marketing consumer driven. I may be over-exaggerating here but I don’t know many B2B clients (at least the ones I’ve worked for) that utilized more that LinkedIn, possibly podcasts or blogs, and maybe Facebook/YouTube for social media promotion (but those clients of mine never worked with influencers in their industries). However, for B2C clients, the other platforms make more sense and it’s usually better to have a blended approach if that makes the most sense for where your target audience is.

Something that’s very important influencer marketing is to have a lot of videos created by all sizes of influencers even people with very little following. You can use these in your ad campaigns so you have a ton of variety and people are never really seeing the same video twice in your ads. Not to mention, you can see which videos converted into sales at the highest rate by testing numerous videos. Make sure to get permission from your content creators to use a Videos as part of the deal. Some of the Contant might be better top of the final, and some might be better to convert the people.

I always appreciate having long term relationships with my clients, especially since we get invited to quite a few grand openings around town. Being included and able to share the continued updates, successes, and improvements of those businesses truly helps in creating a collaborative environment in your industry.

In influencer marketing, longevity is key. Eschew one-off collaborations in favor of sustained partnerships. View influencers as brand advocates, not mere vendors. Foster mutual respect, trust, and regular dialogue, while supporting their professional evolution. Strengthened ties with influencers ensure authenticity, bolstering the impact of your campaigns.

From a consumer's perspective, long-term partnerships are also much more likely to wield results. If a creator talks about the same brands again and again, their audience is much more likely to pay attention. After all, we turn to influencers because we see them as people like us and if they keep recommending the same products and services, we can only assume they genuinely like them.

Generally, you would have them sign a contract agreement, it would not be a one-time interaction "one-and-done" thing. This could be condensed into a management of your influencers, and include that they will need to follow brand standards, etc.

The best influencer activations happen when a creator and brand work together to produce something that neither could do on their own. For the brand, this means trusting the creator's instincts and creative process, but actively participating in bringing their big ideas to life. Don't just write a check and hope it goes well; you should view your role as an active co-creator and collaborator. For the creator, this means gaining a deep understanding and appreciation of the brand, and then working with their team to create a unique experience for your audience. When both sides embrace their roles as creative collaborators and act in service of the audience, the results can be spectacular.

The term "influencer" what does that really mean in today's age? I think we can all agree that most "influencers" are not influencing anything positive and the term is overused. The market is saturated with folks looking for 15 minutes of fame and companies need to be aware of this. For brands, I would be weary of the number of followers and more concentrated on if that person actually uses the product and what engagement they get. Also, companies need to stop worrying about using celebrities and use content creators who can create content that give that product a lot of buzz. There are the 4 E's when it comes to social media content: 1) Entertaining 2) Educating 3) Engaging and 4) Exciting Look for these when using social media.

I have observed that some businesses lose touch with their customers at some point when they entirely automate their customer care response system.

To make your influencer marketing stand out, focus on these strategies: 1. **Authenticity**: Choose influencers who genuinely resonate with your brand's values and products. Authentic endorsements are more compelling to audiences. 2. **Creative Content**: Collaborate with influencers to create unique and creative content that engages and entertains their followers. 3. **Storytelling**: Share compelling stories about your brand and products that connect emotionally with the audience. 4. **Value**: Ensure that the content provides value to the audience, whether it's through education, entertainment, or solving a problem.

When considering a content creator/influencer you need to be seeking out creators who can produce that "lived-in" experience consumers are seeking. Authentic, genuine, and sincereness is going to be the name of the game for the future of influencer marketing. Additionally, with search no longer relegated to traditional search engines like, Google, Bing, etc., content creators on LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, etc. have become the new search engines. By partnering with creators, brands can ensure they are easily discoverable wherever their audience is searching. Finally, partnering with creators who have a close bond with their audience elevates your brand's social proof which can translate to deeper consumer trust.