Influencer marketing is a booming field that offers exciting opportunities for creative and strategic professionals. If you want to advance your career in this domain, you need to develop some essential skills that will make you stand out from the crowd. Here are six skills that you should focus on to get promoted in influencer marketing.
One of the core skills of an influencer marketer is to create engaging and relevant content that resonates with your target audience and aligns with your brand goals. You need to master different formats, such as blogs, videos, podcasts, social media posts, and stories, and use the right tools, such as Canva, Adobe Premiere, or Anchor, to produce high-quality content. You also need to have a good eye for design, copywriting, and storytelling, and be able to adapt your tone and style to different platforms and niches.
Another key skill of an influencer marketer is to analyze data and measure the performance of your campaigns. You need to be familiar with various metrics, such as reach, engagement, conversions, ROI, and CPM, and use the appropriate tools, such as Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or BuzzSumo, to track and report them. You also need to be able to interpret the data and draw actionable insights that will help you optimize your strategy and improve your results.
Influencer marketing is all about building trust and rapport with your influencers and your audience. You need to have strong communication and negotiation skills, and be able to establish and maintain long-term partnerships with influencers who share your brand values and vision. You also need to have a genuine interest in your niche and your community, and be able to interact with them in a respectful and authentic way.
This. This. This. It’s everything. I can’t stress it enough. If you are a strong relationship builder you will go far in this profession! No matter the other skills you have. If I am going to be your leader at a company I know that I can teach you how to use any platform, any social account, or how to make a spreadsheet for data reporting. I cannot teach you how to build relationships or change your personality. This is the perfect profession for anyone who is authentic, outgoing, and loves to make people’s day.
To succeed in influencer marketing, you need to do your homework and plan your campaigns carefully. You need to have a solid understanding of your market, your competitors, your audience, and your goals, and be able to conduct thorough research using various sources, such as surveys, interviews, social media listening, or influencer platforms. You also need to have a clear vision of your campaign objectives, budget, timeline, and KPIs, and be able to create a detailed and realistic plan that will guide your execution.
The influencer marketing landscape is constantly evolving and changing, and you need to be able to keep up with the latest trends and best practices. You need to have a curious and open-minded attitude, and be willing to experiment with new ideas, platforms, formats, and tactics. You also need to be flexible and adaptable, and be able to adjust your strategy and content according to the feedback, results, and changes in the market.
Stay on top of the latest trends by 1) following many, many influencers across platforms to watch for content trends and sponsored content examples. 2) Join industry networks such as Women in Influencer Marketing + subscribe to newsletters from trade outlets, such as PRWeek. 3) Attend webinars and conferences when you can and 4) NETWORK with peers at other companies to learn what they're doing. 5) Approach every influencer relationship with curiosity and ask questions about what they like and don't like about working with brands. Most importantly, SHARE this info with your leaders, colleagues and clients as you can - the trends, examples + learnings, with your POV on how it applies to your company or industry.
As you progress in your influencer marketing career, you will likely have to lead and manage teams, projects, and clients. You need to have strong leadership and collaboration skills, and be able to delegate, coordinate, motivate, and support your team members and stakeholders. You also need to have a positive and professional attitude, and be able to handle challenges, conflicts, and feedback in a constructive and respectful way.
Learn to negotiate with a win-win mindset. Get more for your company in a way that your influencer feels good about - compensated fairly and excited to continue working together. Successful negotiation will save your company money and increase the campaign's ROI.
It is important to consider all the skills listed above but due to recent developments in generative AI, it will increasingly become important to understand the basic capabilities of these new tools.