As an Influencer Marketing professional, are you making these common decision-making mistakes?

The most important thing with ANY influencer campaign is to set clear goals from the beginning, as your strategy is going to change a lot based on the goal. Are your goals sales? Are your goals virality? Setting goals from day one is the only way you'll clearly see the return you want to see. Not clearly defining goals will set you up for failure.

I've seen campaigns where the objectives weren't clearly defined from the start, and it often leads to a lot of confusion, wasted resources, and disappointing outcomes. It's crucial to establish what success looks like early on—whether it's boosting brand awareness, driving sales, increasing engagement, or something else. This clarity not only guides the campaign's direction but also helps in selecting the right influencers who can genuinely connect with your target audience and achieve those specific goals. Plus, it's essential for tracking progress and making data-driven adjustments along the way. Setting clear, measurable objectives is the cornerstone of any successful influencer marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, in the land of post and repeat, clear goals tend to fall behind. Many brands want virality, but cannot strategize clear goals, and execute them because they are distracted by numbers and algorithms. Trusting your core goals throughout any particular process will ensure defined results – whether they’re good or bad.

One of the cardinal mistakes in influencer marketing is embarking on campaigns without setting clear, measurable goals. It's essential to define what you aim to accomplish—be it boosting brand awareness, generating leads, driving sales, or achieving another specific objective. Equally important is determining how you'll track and assess these outcomes. Operating without these objectives results in a lack of direction and focus, making it impossible to gauge the campaign's effectiveness and success accurately. Establishing clear goals is the cornerstone of a strategic, results-driven influencer marketing effort.

Just because someone is popular and gets a lot of views doesn’t mean they are a fit for a campaign. Talking to creators and making sure they are a fan of the brand or open to becoming invested in it as opposed to just cashing a check make a massive difference when it comes to the message being seen as legitimate by their audience.

Selecting the wrong influencers can severely undermine your influencer marketing campaigns. It's vital to look beyond just reach and relevance, considering factors such as engagement rates, authenticity, credibility, and how well their values align with your brand. Vanity metrics and fake followers can be misleading, and decisions based solely on intuition or an influencer's popularity might not yield the desired outcomes. Thorough research, leveraging appropriate tools and platforms for discovery and vetting, is essential to ensure the influencers you choose are the best fit for representing your brand and effectively conveying your message to their audience.

Neglecting influencer input is a significant oversight in influencer marketing. Viewing influencers merely as conduits for your message, rather than as creative partners, fails to leverage their unique insights and connection with their audience. Influencers bring a distinct style and voice that resonates with their followers, and micromanaging or imposing strict guidelines can dilute their authenticity and dampen their enthusiasm. To maximize the impact of your campaigns, it's crucial to engage influencers in the planning process, value their feedback, and afford them the creative liberty to express your brand message in a way that aligns with their persona and appeals to their audience.

Ineffective communication can significantly hinder the success of influencer marketing campaigns. Establishing and maintaining open lines of communication are fundamental for building rapport, trust, and a sense of loyalty with influencers. Clear, consistent interaction throughout the campaign—from the initial outreach to the post-campaign debrief—is crucial. It's important to clearly set expectations, offer detailed instructions, provide ongoing support, actively seek feedback, and express gratitude for their efforts. Monitoring their content, responding to comments, and engaging with their audience further strengthen the relationship and contribute to the campaign's success.

Not only does proper disclosure foster trust among audiences, but it also aligns with legal requirements, safeguarding your brand and creators from potential legal issues. Ensuring that creators understand and adhere to disclosure guidelines is fundamental. This means clear communication from the outset about the necessity of using specific hashtags like #ad, #sponsored, or #partner in their content. It's not just about compliance; it's about building a relationship based on honesty and integrity with your audience. Educating creators on the importance of disclosure and regularly monitoring content to ensure compliance are critical steps in maintaining the credibility and legality of your creator partnerships.

Look at the creator ecosystem the same way you would treat other paid media and branding levers. While some creator communities are perfect for a more generalized branding campaign, others are purpose built for direct response integrations. The tricky party is how to clearly identify the strength of the community and then engage.