What do you do if your clients or stakeholders don't understand the value of influencer marketing?

Teach them through usage of real cases with data, emphasizing victorious promotions and showing earnings made through figures. Demonstrate the image, interaction and sales increase brought about by influencer marketing while incorporating specific instances from their industry and targeting purposes.

First and foremost: you can't convince someone of something you don't believe yourself. Does influencer mkt actually works? How much? Will it be useful to any business just because someone has a big audience? I see a problem with the premise of this question. Before we offer a solution we must go deeper as to detect the actual issue (if there is any) and if we are to hire an influencer to solve it, the choice should be less focused on their numbers (followers, engagement, popularity) and more on how much value will they add to the brand or business.

Absolutely, from what I've seen, sharing case studies that closely match the client's target audience or industry can really make a difference. It's like showing them a map of where they want to go, based on where others have successfully trekked. Suggesting a small-scale pilot campaign afterward can also help them dip their toes in the water without feeling overwhelmed. Always tell clients to throw as many questions as they can during these discussions. It's a great way for them to get comfortable and for me to dive deep into the details. It’s all about making them feel understood and how influencer marketing can help them in growing online.

From my 7 years of experience in the field and many years of trying to explain to stakeholders and clients how important influencer marketing can be for a brand, educating stakeholders about the potential benefits is a MUST. Most see it initially as confusing/underestimate the power of this channel and then once they get a couple of sales, focus solely on performance campaigns. With data driven analyses and explanations on the potential brand awareness, engagement, and performance benefits influencers can bring to a brand, stakeholders can get a much more wholistic overview.

Take the time to educate your clients or stakeholders about the fundamentals and benefits of influencer marketing. Explain how influencers can effectively reach and engage their target audience, amplify brand messaging, and drive tangible results such as increased brand awareness, engagement, and sales. Highlight the specific benefits and advantages of influencer marketing tailored to their business objectives. Illustrate how influencer partnerships can complement their existing marketing strategies, enhance brand credibility, and foster authentic connections with their audience.

A lot of times the lack of experience decreases a brand's interest in partnering with influencers. Marketing is ever evolving so it is our responsibility to provide up-to-date strategies and give the value it deserves. So by showing real people and real results the chances of a brand taking new paths will increase and they can still evaluate and work with what better applies to their unique strategy.

Show what can be achieved with influencer marketing, either the financial incentives of past similar campaigns you've seen or the type of brand awareness and communication you can establish with the market through using an influencer that suits your brand well! There are many metrics of success in our industry, every client just needs to find what stage they are and how to maximize their returns depending on what they want to achieve!

Case studies are KEY! Real people listen to stories from real people. It is important to highlight both successful and unsuccessful influencer marketing campaigns. It addresses skeptics' concerns, offering a chance to debunk any misconceptions and showcase the full spectrum of influencer marketing opportunities.

Share relevant case studies and success stories that demonstrate the real-world impact of influencer marketing campaigns. Provide concrete examples of how other brands in their industry or similar market segments have leveraged influencer partnerships to achieve their goals and deliver measurable ROI. Address any concerns or objections they may have about influencer marketing, such as authenticity, measurement, or ROI. Be prepared to provide transparent and data-driven answers to their questions, alleviating any doubts or misconceptions they may have.

Evidence is crucial. You can use your own case studies, or take some famous ones from doing research online. You can also look at award-winning influencer campaigns to see how leaders are positioning their work within the industry.

Case studies are what will validate your sales pitch, especially to new clients who haven't seen your processes/work before. It's imperative that you can back up your claims! Otherwise, you would be selling false promises to client, so utilizing case studies show that you are transparent and they can check numbers themselves and see if they want to move forward!

It's important to ask them what they are concerned about and address it head on. Inform them about which influencers make the most sense depending on the objective at hand, how you balance KPIs, and emphasize how data grounds decision-making.

It's difficult to convince someone of doing something they're particularly wary about or trying a new tool. A smaller activation is sometimes the best way to dispel those worries. Be mindful of addressing concerns in your follow-up reports and be exhaustive, you want to make sure that even when providing a flexible, smaller-scale, solution you're still treating your client with the respect they deserve in order to build trust. You may have to do this a few cycles, but helping others see new tools such as influencer marketing as part of their whole strategy is worth the effort.

Offer flexible options and solutions that cater to their specific needs and preferences. Whether it's collaborating with micro-influencers, exploring different pricing models, or customizing campaign strategies, demonstrate your willingness to adapt to their requirements and concerns.

Having alternative payment structures besides standard flat fees goes a long way, especially with new brands that are testing the industry. They feel more comfortable that they will get their returns with a cost per viewership or acquisition model. Having the flexibility and showing them different options on how to work with influencers can be helpful on closing the deal!

Make sure to focus not just on baseline content metrics such as impressions, likes, comments, but also dig into performance metrics like CTR and bounce rate. These can often make an impact with stakeholders that are sceptical of influencer marketing.

Emphasize the importance of tracking and measuring the results of influencer marketing campaigns. Provide insights into how you plan to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as reach, engagement, conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI) to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of influencer partnerships.

One thing I’ve found helpful is to educate the client on what audience quality that influencer has. Digging into the comments more and how it really resonated with the audience emotionally, did they react in the way we’d hoped, was there signs of behaviour change… I think this also helps build a picture as to the long term impact that influencer engagement may have. Not everyone acts instantly but the comments are often a good sign of what seeds may have been sown. This has been particularly helpful with campaigns that are striving to change habits and behaviour, and not necessarily just to drive product sales

I went ahead and asked Perplexity what it thought, lets check in shall we? 1. Define Clear Objectives and Goals 2. Present Data and Case Studies 3. Naw you didn't think.... You didn't actually think I was just going to copy/paste Perplexity did you? IMAGINE... The nerve? Anyways, I'm so hungry right now I think I need more coffee. brb

If I had to convince a stakeholder of the value of influencer marketing, I would invite that person to a meeting/call with at least one relevant influencer to hear directly from the source how they are working with similar brands. FOMO will do the rest.

In a previous client engagement, our stakeholders were initially skeptical about the effectiveness of influencer marketing for their B2B software solution. To address your concerns, we conducted a comprehensive educational session highlighting industry trends, changes in consumer behavior, and successful case studies in the B2B technology sector. We show how influencer partnerships can humanize your brand, establish thought leadership, and generate high-quality leads. Additionally, we offer a flexible approach, allowing them to start with a pilot campaign with clear performance benchmarks. By tracking and delivering tangible results, we successfully demonstrate the value of influencer marketing.