Imagine you have a long way to go, and your partner is boring, that trip will never be interesting, and you might not reach the destination as you planned, it’s better to change the partner by rescheduling a day in order to reach your targeted goals.
This is the best organic way I believe you can explain the term influencer marketing in a very simple language that anyone can understand.
Now you’ve understood the concept of Influencer marketing, let’s dive in.
You might be wondering how can you choose the right influencers that can help your marketing campaign or a brand go further and meet your desired goals. Maybe you have tried and it wasn’t a successful journey.
Many have chosen influencers just because they have 10k+, others were convinced with a huge following and they thought that was enough to decide, I know some people who chose influencers because they went popular during a particular period, and others they were just told, your money matters.
All of that might work but might never give you the results you need, never.
The following 8 proven principles that have worked for some big brands worldwide will help you to select/choose the right influencers that fit your online campaign/ brand partnership.
Let’s start;
#1 Understand your marketing campaign/brand
Your marketing campaign will direct you on who to work with and who is not. Understanding your campaign will give you a general view that can help you exactly know your objectives, targeted audience, goals of the campaign, what are the expected outcomes, demographical data and psychographic data of your targeted audience, and requirements and budget.
Now you have seen why it is important to understand your campaign, this will be one step toward a successful marketing campaign.
By understanding your campaign you will have a general view of which social media platforms to use, whether it is Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, or all.
Now you know the way to your destination, let’s start finding the right partner for you to go further and not faster;
#2 High Relevance
The partner you are going to work with must be aligned with your brand, from what are they sharing, their tone of voice, who are their followers/fans, what do they believe in, and are they focusing on which class of the society? Low, Middle, or high end? what language are they using the most, and can their content be associated with your products?
All these questions will help you to know exactly who you are going to partner with. It is important to protect your brand, and know who you’re associating your brand with because building a brand takes time and costs a lot.
In summary, you need to confirm this key factor; High relevance; Are they relevant to your brand? (Onayltica.com)
#3 Identify your audience
When defining your target audience for the particular campaign you should adhere to demographical data, and psychographic data of your audience, these are key to how best to set SMART goals and get the desired outcomes.
Let’s say your campaign is to push a travel package to Serengeti National Park. The price tag is 1.4M per person, from here you can see the age group you’ll need to target, these people must be working, and they also must have an abundant income rate, their residence is already predicted and more,
From here you will be able to understand which influencers can give you exactly what you want, then now set your goals by referring to your audience in order to select the right influencer.
#4 Identify your campaign goals and outcomes
Identifying the campaign goals and outcomes will help you to specifically know who to work with, either macro influencer, nano influencer, or micro-influencer. Your goals will be a key player in selecting the right influencer and platform for your campaign, construct them carefully as they must match with the target audience you’ve selected.
Let’s say, the goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the new soap in Dar es Salaam and the Arusha region, and the target audience is university students in these two cities.
Here you will focus on asking yourself, which social media platorms are mainly used by university students in these two cities? What are the influencers appeling more to students based on their contents?
From here you will be able to understand who to work with and why. Now, let’s go to the next step! remember the journey shouldn’t be boring or rescheduled, our goal is to make sure we obtain the right partner that will help us reach further to our desired destination and not fast.
#5 Analyze their Metrics
Now you have got your partner, it’s time to prove if they are really worth it to be partner, bear in mind the journey must be an interesting and successful one.
Based on my experience, it is better to analyze the influencer’s metrics for three months (90 days), and check for general Impression, reach, followers growth, and engagement rate as well as demographic data and psychographic data.
This will give you a clear picture of your partner and how they perform online, it is also the best way to know if they have real followers or fake ones. Do not fear to ask the influencers their screenshots of their insights (metrics) it is your right to know.
#6 Client History of your Influencer
It is important to know the history of their previous clients, what if they have just finished your competitor’s campaign, and you are in, your campaign will not be successful, and the audience will be in dilemma in psychology we call it cognitive dissonance. It is not a good idea to put a potential customer in that state since it reduces the buying behavior and they will lose trust in the Influencer.
#7 Focus on Value they will create, then their price
I understand you have your planned budget, this is why I told you to select which type of influencer you think your brand needs during formulating the goals of your campaign and its outcomes as well as the number of influencers.
Focusing on the value that the influencer will provide at the end of the campaign is an important element of any successful campaign, this is why I strongly recommend doing so, after knowing the real value you will get, discuss the price you will be charged by an influencer.]
#8 Work with an Influencer Marketing agency
You might find that this process is too long, it will take a lot of your time and other resources. Do not worry, at Century CL we honor companies that really want to work with influencers, this is why we help to create the perfect campaigns, choose the right influencers, approve content, monitoring the campaign, and providing analytic reports of the whole campaign.
That was just one paragraph, we will also make sure you spend less with high ROI.
Now, Let’s go further, let’s make an impact together.
Bonus
Influencers who are content creators are the most recommended ones since they help to reach the targeted goals more accurately. Why, because they have niche followers, for example; if your brand is about accommodation, then work with hade_travel, you will get the right customers according to your needs.
Also, it reduces cost since they will create content by themselves, which looks more organic than fancy TVCs.
The general influencers are also good, especially in awareness-raising. Works perfectly on Twitter if the campaign is to push, sign-ups, events, links, and live events coverage. They are trendsetters.
Remember, people trust influencers more than brands, 80% of women seek recommendations from influencers before making a purchasing decision.
Thank you for reading this piece of information, If you are inspired, do not forget to follow me, Clap, leave a comment, or WhatsApp +255 742 796 456 Century CL for Influencer Marketing services today. We can work with your brand, let us help you with your next marketing campaign.
