Practical tips for successful cooperation with influencers - how to reduce risks and get results

?Social networks of influencers are one of the channels through which companies can reach the audience directly and relatively quickly, but benefits often come with risks, which can be mitigated by creating effective cooperation from the ground up, according to Mi:t&Links. Baltic Communication Awards experts.?

"Marketing of influencers" has become everyday, universities already have separate courses dedicated to it. For those who do not have access to such, we have collected the most important guidelines for the basic principles of cooperation.?

One of the toughest decisions to start a communication campaign in cooperation with influencers is to find exactly who to address and with whom to build cooperation, which is the key to success for reliable results. Also, companies often have unanswered questions - where to start first, what are the possible business risks, how to reduce them and what to include in the cooperation agreement.?

"Trust is the backbone of any business. The same goes for influencer marketing. It can be an effective digital communication tool for the company, but it is important to choose a cooperation partner who enjoys the trust of their audience. Trust is built both by the fact that the influencer has an appropriate education and by the fact that the balance of content and sponsored news is respected in the account content," explains Antra Bork-R?e?icka , president of the Latvijas Komunikācijas asociācija - LaKA.

The European Commission's "Eurobarometer" study shows that 12% of respondents trust influencers in Latvia in 2021, which is the highest indicator among the Baltic states. Meanwhile, in the European Union (EU), this indicator is only 5%. At the same time, EU youth aged 15 to 24 trust influencers seven times more than the age group over 55.?

# Know your and the influencer's audience?

For an influencer marketing campaign to be effective, a business should first begin by defining its brand and/or product target audience. Just like, for example, magazines have their readers, influencers also have their followers, which can be divided into various categories. It is necessary to find out whether the followers that the influencer has are suitable as an audience for the company or product itself.?

"It is only normal if, when starting an activity, a company or agency asks for the socio-demographic profile of the audience of the influencer's social network accounts, namely age, gender, geolocation. If the influencer uses a so-called business account, this information is available," explains Antra Bork-R?e?icka .

She adds that sometimes an influencer may have a large following, but the audience profile may not match what the company is looking for.?

# Quality or quantity??

Small influencers in Latvia are considered influencers with the number of followers between 1000 and 9999, medium influencers have between 10,000 and 25,000 followers, and large influencers have more than 25,000 followers.?

Often, companies want to collaborate with an influencer who has the largest possible number of followers, but many followers do not always mean higher added value and reaching the right target audience. For example, it would be more effective for a downhill skiing company to find a low-level influencer in a specific niche, rather than an influencer with a large following, but whose lifestyle would not match the brand.?

Deniss Aleksandrs ?eve?ovs , PhD student at Rīga Stradi?? University , researcher of influencers and business development director of "Collex", points out that medium and large-level influencers tend to reach the audience in the same way. “In my experience, it is most effective to work with small and medium-level influencers, because they create a close connection with their audience and are more authentic. High-level influencers simply do not have the resources to maintain a personal connection with each of their followers," explains Shevelyov.?

# Evaluate the influencer's words and actions?

A company should consider which personality type is the ideal brand influencer. This is often a crucial step to success. “There are some influencers who advocate the values of the green economy, recycling, and a green lifestyle, but they themselves consume fast fashion products. Then the question arises, who are you really? Sometimes our behavior says a lot about our values," says the influencer researcher. Therefore, before creating cooperation, it is necessary to understand whether the brand, its consumers and the influencer will get along. Otherwise, it can create a negative reputation for the company.?

According to Deniss Aleksandrs ?eve?ovs , another risk is the lack of experience - both for the company and the influencer, so he recommends cooperating with agencies that have already accumulated this experience in many projects.?

# Set clear campaign goals and messages?

Sometimes disagreements and misunderstandings occur among consumers because clear information about the campaign's goals and message has not been conveyed. "As in any creative industry, there must be a consensus on the outcome, including the scope and time plan, because some influencers tend not to fulfill it," adds the RSU lecturer.?

The greater risk is if the behavior of influencers has a negative impact on the company's financial performance. However, in most cases, companies stop cooperation in time if a scandal has occurred. There have been different ones in the world, such as American beauty YouTube influencer, make-up artist and the first male ambassador of the cosmetics brand CoverGirl James Charles, who failed to joke about the Ebola virus on Twitter and was accused of sexual misconduct.?

There have also been such cases in Latvia when cooperation has been terminated due to the influencer's openly expressed values contrary to the organization.?

# Different approaches to finding the "right" cooperation partner?

Once the target audience and personality type of the influencers are determined, the “hunt” for the right influencer should begin. First, you can start by looking at your social network followers, or what is happening "in your own backyard". Perhaps there is an influencer among the followers who already interacts with the brand's content and will only be happy for an official collaboration.?

Another option for finding engaged Instagram influencers is to search by hashtags, as hashtags are part of any effective social media marketing strategy. Here you need to pay attention that the found person has his own circle of followers, so that it is not a hashtag used for an occasion or a hobby. For the person to have a higher-than-average level of engagement, i.e., a minimum of 1000 followers, and using sponsored posts that can be identified by the hashtag "advertisement" or "collaboration". Another thing to check is whether these people are active in the wider industry. Particularly valuable influencers are also opinion leaders and have many followers on more professional channels.?

The third way to find the right influencer for your business is to look at the followers of your competitors. By checking your competitors' followers, you may be able to identify influencers who are interested in your industry. If you have found a suitable influencer who has not yet been interested in a particular company's social media page, it is useful to get that person interested, for example by sending out a free product sample.?

# Cooperation is based on a contract?

It is often a question of what the best practice for a collaborative legal framework is. Influencer researcher mentions that it is a contract in which reputation risks should be avoided and certain deadlines, message, volume, communication, and tuning procedures, as well as reporting procedures should be included - so that there are no misunderstandings.?

Patērētāju tiesību aizsardzības centrs / Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) has also created recommendations for consumers and influencers on the implementation of network marketing on social media sites, which can be viewed on the PTAC website.?

There is no denying that influencer marketing has rapidly changed the communications industry. For the sale of services and products, and the influence of public opinion, a new channel and seller has emerged - social networks and influencers. This new salesperson is often perceived as a friend, and therefore has a greater influence on the consumer. Responding to the market trends, Mi:t&Links. Baltic Communication Awards is applying for a new and unprecedented category this year - "Campaigns of influencers and opinion leaders". The organizers invite to show the wider public how successfully entrepreneurs, agencies and state administrations have managed to use this channel.?

Mi:t&Links. Baltic Communication Awards is a widely recognized international competition in the communication industry. Latvijas Komunikācijas asociācija - LaKA invites you to submit communication works for evaluation. At the same time, it is an opportunity to receive international evaluation and learn from the best professionals in the Baltic industry.?

More information about the competition is available at www.miitandlinks.com.

How influencer marketing is used by neighboring countries??Estonian Public Relations Association?Lithuanian Association of Communication Agencies (KOMAA)?