DOING IT FOR THE ‘GRAM: 5 TOP TIPS FOR WORKING WITH INFLUENCERS

We’re all guilty of posting one too many brunch pictures (I know I am!) or pondering a little overly long on a caption, but the world of social media is so much more than a platform in which we portray a heavily filtered snippet of our lives.

In fact, in the past year, 86% of marketers used social media for influencer marketing. The industry is massively adapting to using influencers for their campaigns – so much so, that I was actually recently hired at Brazen as an Influencer and Social Exec.

I have a previous background at global fashion brand, boohoo.com, and have a genuine passion for influencers and all-things-Insta. Naturally, it’s been really exciting to start working in an agency who value the importance of influencers.

Whilst influencer marketing can be a bit of a minefield at times – I’ve broken down my top five tips to follow when working on influencer campaigns…

1. Generating Trust

Influencers have come under scrutiny in the press due to a lack of authenticity in their promotions. To avoid this, choosing influencers based on if they would genuinely use the product your promoting is vital. Does it fit in with their own personal branding? Does it feel organic? Would they go out and buy it themselves? These are the questions you need to be asking yourself in order to generate real, natural looking campaigns that captivate the influencers’ audience – and don’t feel forced.

2. Staying Within The Law

Recent laws mean that influencers now have to state #GIFTED (if they were sent out the item for free) or #AD (if they were paid to promote) in their captions or stories. Whilst some influencers still aren’t taking notice of this, brands are just as liable if a promotion isn’t stated. Ensure you brief your influencers thoroughly on this rule prior to collaboration to make sure you’re sticking to the law.

3. Understanding Costs

Prices with influencers can completely vary – depending on the influencer (their engagement, following, content, suitability) and the brands demands. For example, if you’re wanting the content to live on longer, a one-off post, swipe up and discount codes to be used or wider usage of the content, rates can dramatically soar. The best way of establishing a suitable cost is by gathering rates from other similar influencers to grasp an understanding of the market you’re targeting.

4. The Importance of Tools

It’s easy to get excited by huge followings and celebrity names – but smaller influencers can be just as effective. Using tools such as engagement calculators can show how engaged an influencer’s audience is – this can make or break an influencer campaign.

There are tools online that can also display an influencer’s DA (if they have a blog), their reach, gender ratio, top countries and age demographic. Following trackers such as Social Blade show the growing rate of an influencer and are handy for spotting any suspicious activity too.

Of course, there’s plenty of specialised influencer platforms as well – they require a lot of research and can be costly, but they’re more than worth it if you’re executing a vast amount of activity.

5. Tracking

Tracking the success of your influencer campaigns is crucial not only for your client but for your agency. Monitoring ROI, reach, engagements and clicks amongst other elements enable you to evaluate your collaborations and learn from them. It’s also great to know for future campaigns which influencers bring in true value.

Is your brand looking at executing influencer activity? At Brazen, we can help your brand with campaigns of shapes and sizes! Get in touch for more information.

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