Some Things Need To Be Let Go Of
2018 was a big year for influencer marketing. Over 80% of brands increased their influencer budget in 2018, hundreds of new influencer specific platforms were developed, and thousands of new influencers came to light. Influencer marketing provide brands with a direct alley to reach their target audience in an authentic way.
While influencer marketing has matured over the past year, there are few different practices that are holding back brand marketers from achieving great results. In this blog, Hollywood Branded goes over three (3) different influencer marketing practices that must be left in 2018.
Your Influencer Strategy Can Always Be Improved
Influencer marketing shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, influencer marketing is expected to be worth $10 billion by 2020. As we enter into the new year, brands and marketers are scrambling to figure out how they can make best use of the strategy. While brands have gotten a good grip on influencer marketing best practices, there are still a few mistakes that brand marketers make that ultimately end up hurting their efforts. Below is a list of three influencer practices that marketers need to let go of as we move into the new year:
1. Worrying Too Much About Follower Count
In the early days of influencer marketing, securing the largest, most well-known influencer was every brand marketers dream. Brands were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to secure mega celebrity type social media influencers to try and reach as many people as possible. This is a smart move, right? The more people you reach, the most successful your campaign is, right? False. Macro influencers are not the best way to reach your target market. As an influencer’s follower count goes up, their engagement rate goes down. Also, those that have a lot of followers tend to have a lot of fake followers. Brands should instead be focusing on partnering with micro influencers--those that have smaller more nuanced followings. These influencers may have lower follower counts but their engagement rates are nearly double those of macro influencers. Micro influencers also tend to have closer relationships with their followers. They know exactly what does and doesn’t work. To top it off, partnering with micro influencers won’t cost nearly as much as a macro influencer. Some micro influencers may even be interested in working with a brand in exchange for product and a shoutout on the brand’s social media accounts. So, as we move into 2019, be sure to keep in mind that bigger isn’t always better.
2. Not Giving Influencers the Creative Freedom
As a brand marketer, especially if you’re the Founder, giving up control can be an extremely difficult task. We get it. The brand is your baby. You believe that no one understands your brand’s vision better than you do. Those are all very valid points but when working with an influencer, you need to allow yourself to relieve some of that control. Lots of time, brands want to dictate what an influencer says and does. Don’t get us wrong, there is nothing wrong with providing an influencer with a certain set of guidelines to help steer them down the right path, but telling them exactly what to do would be unproductive for both parties involved. The whole point in partnering with influencers is to use their platforms as an access point to your target market. Influencers built up their follower base by knowing exactly what their followers want. They know the type of content they like to see, the frequency of their posts, etc. In order to have a successful influencer campaign, you have to let the influencer channel their creative juices to deliver the best results possible.
3. Not Repurposing Influencer-Generated Content
This is a huge no. Let us repeat that… this is a HUGE no. Brand marketers need to stop thinking that influencer campaigns end just with the influencer posting on their own social media channels. Influencer campaigns provide brands with too much content to just let it die upon the influencer posting. Instead, brand marketers should be repurposing that content to be used on their own social media channels. Brands can use photos of influencers holding or using their product as testimonials. When people come to your pages and see other notable people using your product, it’ll give your brand the level of clout needed to influence the viewer to move forward and purchase the product.
Brands can also take the influencer generated content and use them as paid ads to be distributed through Facebook or LinkedIn. (Side note: brand marketers should really be looking at what LinkedIn can do for them in 2019. Brands haven’t taken full of advantage of this platform yet so those that hop on it early will surely reap the benefits.)
At the end of the day, influencers are content creators. Sure, their social influence is great and is absolutely a key component of influencer marketing, but, their true value lies within their content creation skills. Influencers know how to create content that effectively resonates with your target market. Influencers give your brand content-gold. Don’t let it go to waste.
Happy Holidays!
2018 was a great year for influencer marketing. It’s been interesting to see how this marketing strategy has grown into a staple strategy for nearly all marketing budgets. As time progresses, influencer marketing will continue to mature and more stability will be brought to the industry.
Here at Hollywood Branded, we look forward to what’s to come for the industry. As brand marketers, there is always room for us to learn and grow. We are pleased with the progress that the industry has made in 2018 and are optimistic about 2019. H
To give your team an informational boost on influencer marketing, check out some of these blogs our team has written:
- 3 Brands Show How To Market Mobile Apps Using Influencers
- 3 Insights To Create Affordable Influencer Marketing That Sells
- 5 Signs Why Influencer Marketing Will Work For Your Brand
- 8 Step Guide To How Much To Spend On Social Influencer Marketing
- 7 Steps To Secure The Right Celebrity To Post For Your Brand
And also make sure you visit our Influencer Calculator to figure out the right pricing for your upcoming influencer campaigns!
