Roadmap for Influencers…
In our earlier article, we considered the importance of this new marketing vehicle for brands and the mistakes they make when trying to use it. This article looks at what influencers must do when engaging in this type of marketing.
We at Strategist do our best to help influencers develop strategies and brand collaboration, and share creative content. We provide genuine brand management consulting to those influencers we work exclusively with. We learn from influencers by choosing the most talented and powerful among them, thereby improving our expertise. We create new marketing initiatives by growing with those brands and influencers we work with.
The following section is based on experiences that, though not ones we worked on while writing this article, have contributed to our learning process…
Key Principles for Influencer Marketing the Influencer Should Know:
* Brand Management: here we are talking about your brands, not the brands that want to work with you. The biggest mistakes an influencer can make is not managing his own brand like a brand and not having a strategy for the work he does. If you are going to manage yourself like a brand, you need to also do what is required and work with an agency specializing in influencer marketing. You need to get an impartial benchmark and SWOT analysis done. You also need to engage in positioning and to develop a strategy.
* Strategy: position yourself properly and build your strategy around it. This strategy encompasses content strategy, channel strategy, communication strategy and, most importantly, collaboration strategy.
* Content Creation and Management: produce authentic content; don’t forget that this channel is valuable only when it contains “native advertising.” It should contain a guideline for your own content; the content should be something that reflects you. If you are not pleased with it, how can you expect your followers to like it? Do not create content and share it on every channel. Your followers will find this dull. So, content you share on Instagram doesn’t work on Facebook. Do not try to move forward with the methods you have used before. Every channel requires a different content and approach.
* Choice of Social Media Channels: decide which social media are best for you. Time is limited, so use your energy wisely. If you have a blog, ask yourself how you can make a difference with it. Deciding on the optimum social media channels is not alone in importance; you need to research the intensity of your presence and how content should be shared on them.
* Buying Followers, Likes and Comments is Digging Your Own Grave! don’t ruin yourself and the effort you have made thus far. Many agencies and brands are now aware of this. Think carefully about the fantastic visual you have created and everything you have said or asked in what you have written. Likes may be very high, comments full of ‘bravos’, ‘loved it’s, and emoticons. But there are no thoughtful comments from followers about the subject you have addressed, or responses from them to a question you have asked. This situation is very serious since it is clear that neither your followers nor the likes you receive are organic. Don’t be that kind of “influencer”!
* 1 Hashtag + A Few Influencers: I used this heading when I talked about the brand side of the business. But it also gives you a clue about brands and their approaches. When a brand comes to you with this approach, it means that it is new to the business. If you are working with an agency that can create content for them, you can relax; you have something else that will distinguish you from your competitors.
* Brand Collaborations: one of the greatest problems plaguing the sector today is influencers jumping on a brand without first considering whether that brand will be good for those influencers in the long run. Working with brands is one of the easiest ways of making money, but making bad decisions can result in major long-term losses. Some of the important factors that need to be considered are follower loyalty and reliability, and the decision stage. You should make smart decisions and choices. No doubt, many brands will want to work with you, but you need to learn when you need to say “no.” Refusing an opportunity today may pave the way for a new brand coming to you.
* Budget: when brands or agencies ask you for a budget, don’t get hooked on feeling that you are ordering from a restaurant menu! Of course, you should have a certain standard, but you should not start quoting a price per post on Instagram. What is the brand? Project? To what extent is this brand truly a part of your life? Do you have experience as an individual or consumer with that brand? What is the aim of the project? To what extent will you be able to contribute with your own creativity? All of these parameters ought to be criteria specified in your budget. Asking these questions will help you form your budget, improve your reliability in the market, and make professional decisions.
* Process Management: make sure you are familiar with the project you will get involved in. Discover the brand’s DNA. Do your homework. Don’t hesitate to ask for help on this matter from the brand or agency. It is their duty to steer you in the right direction and they will be happy to assist. Be a part of the team; add something of yourself. Try to create something with distinct value.
* Loyalty: this should be one of your most important priorities – first to your followers and then to the brands you work with. Therefore, when you collaborate with a brand or agency, there should be no question you even asking a rival brand about its terms of collaborating with you. Ethically, it shouldn’t even be considered.
* Be Professional, Carry Out your Perception Management Properly: as we have mentioned above, while there is a lot to do, you should talk about your brands or rivals only if you have something positive to say about them.
There are different rights and wrongs in the markets individuals are responsible for but, as is the case in every field, there are ethics and standards. Embrace these, trust your business partners, and see how this story can expand.
There are many respected influencers who have a strong brand identity and loyal fan base. At this point, I thank all the influencers we have worked with and I appreciate all the great results we have achieved together. Because of these experiences we have had in the sector, we have become a “Quality Influencer” expert. Unfortunately, some brands and agencies have not been as lucky as we have.
May the #InfluencerPower be with you...