Five things to keep in mind when using influencers

Influencer marketing has become a huge trend in the last couple of years with many brands jumping in at the deep end without a clear understanding of this area. Yes, when done well it can have an amazing impact on your brand but when done badly it can have an equally detrimental effect. Here’s a few tips to keep you on the right track.

1. Have a clear vision of success

So what are you actually trying to achieve? Yes, influencer marketing is incredibly popular and fashionable at the moment but unless you have a clear idea on what you’re trying to achieve then you’re unlikely to be satisfied with the results.

And make sure you’re realistic with these aims, when working with food and drink brands the likelihood that someone will click through to actually buy your product directly from a recipe video online is very slim. People just don’t do that. Nor is it likely if you create a Tasty style video that it will get 100m views like Tasty.

It is far more achievable to have a goal such as increased awareness of your brand, a reappraisal of your product or just simply showing people how to use it which will lead to an engaged group of potential consumers that will now have your product in their consideration set.

2. Quality not quantity

Don’t be blinded by huge numbers and go with the influencer with the biggest reach, you need to pick the right person for the brand and the message. You could reach millions of people for a price with a certain influencer but are they the right people for your message?

Use audience data and use talented talent that are experts in their field that have experience in working with brands to effectively get these messages across to their audience and beyond.

3. Trust their creative opinion

Influencers are influencers because they have grown their audience from scratch and have an extremely loyal dedicated audience. This is why you’re spending money on their channel so let them lead with creative and respect their creative opinion.

Of course, ensure that the key sentiment and phrases that you need to get across are there but let them lead on the creative concepts and the final delivery of messaging. This isn’t an ad so don’t treat it like one.

4. Plan for long term

The beauty of creating campaigns on digital platforms is that you can test and learn quickly and relatively cheaply. So it may seem like the right thing to do to try a one off video and see how that performs, however this couldn’t be further from the truth!

Influencer campaigns should be treated as a long term strategy that is an integral part of the overall marketing mix. With a long term commitment the levels of trust between both parties will increase which will foster better creative work. Also, the influencer’s audience will become accustomed to the brand appearing and in turn be more engaged. Finally it also gives you numerous pieces of content to test and tweak to inform future pieces of content.

5. Put it in the right places

Content is still king but distribution is queen. It is a cliche that has been rolled out hundreds of times but it still holds true. You have to make sure you’re telling the right stories but it also needs to be in the right places.

There is no point spending a huge amount of money on production or on talent when no one can see it. Use the talent’s audience as an initial distribution network and amplify this through a clear and targeted media plan.

Steve is Co-founder and Strategy Director of Delightful Media, an innovative food and drink focused content and influencer agency. Delightful have worked with a range of influencers to create cutting edge campaigns for a number of brands including Audi, Baileys, Quaker Oats and Tourism Ireland. If you want to chat more about working with ‘talented talent’ to create disruptive creative get in touch.