As social media upended marketing conventions, influencer campaigns have become must-have accessories for any splashy product launch. But it can be a strange world to navigate. Review some of the many newly minted YouTube or Instagram celebrities and you can’t help thinking, “Who are these people? What do they do?”
Then, after noticing their follower numbers, you may be overcome by another thought: Who cares? A million viewers is a million viewers. With that kind of audience, you just found the influence your brand needs — for a few minutes, anyway.
However, before searching for Pete Davidson’s contact information, you should think about what your brand is really buying. Will an influencer campaign really move the needle for your project? Or are you just buying a bunch of eyeballs with a strategy that’s no more targeted than flying a banner over a crowded beach?
If your only goal is to boost visibility for what you’re selling, that’s fine. A plane is already on the runway somewhere. But if you want to make a real difference for your brand, you still need a big creative idea before bringing an influencer aboard for a campaign.
4 steps to a successful influencer marketing strategy
Social media multiplied your marketing options. But the misconception about influencer marketing stems from considering YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok as subject to the same norms and ideas that work on other media channels.
Just as digital platforms upended a few marketing conventions, influencer marketing has introduced four rules of its own.
1. Look past superficial metrics and follower counts
Viewing influencers from the same perspective as traditional media outlets leads to the idea that bigger is always better. Years ago, if you wanted to capture the widest audience, you looked toward the Super Bowl, Oscars, or any other ratings magnet. Maybe viewers would be interested in your message, maybe not. But strength in numbers said the odds were in your favor.
Whether thinking about TV ads or influencers, your brand no longer should settle for broad, “spray and pray” campaigns. Offering little more than a way to increase brand awareness, the biggest megaphone no longer constitutes the biggest target for your marketing.
Your brand can strike a deal with the most popular influencer to use whatever it is you’re looking to promote. But the end results offer about as much return as product placement in a blockbuster movie.
You may briefly catch the eye of the audience you want, but it doesn’t establish or sustain a relationship that matters.
2. Aim small to secure bigger results
The only way an influencer will help your brand is if you evaluate what connects them to their audience. From there, you have to consider where your brand fits.
For example, Lego can choose to promote a new video game by hiring Kim Kardashian to reference its title or spend time playing it. A lot of people will see their product, but fail to make any connection with the brand.
Instead, Lego could look toward influencers with small, dedicated followings who are more aligned with who they are. For example, a Lego fan who makes stop-motion videos with action figures could be contacted to create a short clip promoting the game. Once the video airs, it would make an impression on an audience with interests already aligned with Lego’s brand.
An influencer may have niche appeal as compared with a top-tier celebrity. But it’s a potentially lucrative niche if it offers clear ties to your brand.
Instead of dedicating a chunk of your budget to partner with an influencer with a million followers, your brand should take a more targeted approach by partnering with five influencers who have 20,000 followers. By working with influencers whose ideals are consistent with your brand story, you’ll see a greater return on your investment.
3. Combine creative concepts with what’s true for the influencer
One of the concerns that comes with influencer marketing is control. Brands are anxious about turning their products over to influencers to do what they want — and with good reason. But giving an influencer carte blanche is an ineffective use of the approach.
Ceding your brand’s message to someone just because they have a big audience isn’t just risky; it’s also lazy. However, when you’re working with a creative team who understands your brand’s storytelling, they can collaborate with an influencer. Then, you can co-create a campaign that’s aligned with the influencer's audience and what you need to promote.
For example, celebrities are often open about being fans of various gaming platforms. When “Schitt’s Creek” star Annie Murphy shared that she was a fan of the Nintendo Switch, the company could’ve just thrown the console over the wall and asked for a video of her saying she loved to play.
However, for the brand’s video campaign, they went a little further by offering a realistic look at how the Switch fits into Murphy’s life. She uses the game to play with her mom, playfully trash-talk her friends, and exercise. The campaign was true to the influencer’s identity while also speaking to the message of togetherness and family-friendly gaming that’s true to the brand.
4. Create evergreen connections with influencers and their audience
Influencer marketing should look beyond superficial product placement in an effort to buy eyeballs on a popular channel. At its best, the approach builds an ongoing, evergreen relationship that becomes a lasting presence with their audience.
Consider the fitness brand Ten Thousand. At first, the brand worked with influencers to give the brand a shout-out on their podcast or talk about their clothing. Ten Thousand then enlisted them to attend conferences and test their products. At the next level, they collaborated with influencers on a co-branded collaboration that benefitted both sides of the relationship.
Rather than focusing on influencers with millions of followers, Ten Thousand works with dedicated individuals whose audience clearly overlaps with their prospective customers. As the influencer relationship goes on, so does the connection between the brand and the audience they need.
If your brand simply needs to create buzz, you have plenty of megaphones at your disposal that are probably less complicated than influencer marketing. However, with the right creative partner and a strategic approach, you can incorporate influencers into a campaign to build a connection that creates something more sustainable and true to your brand.
