5 top tips for working with influencers

What makes an influencer partnership so great? This is a question we’re often asked by clients who want to tap into the booming influencer industry. 

With 49% of consumers looking to influencers for recommendations, it’s no surprise that the sector is expected to grow to $16.4 billion this year, according to the Digital Marketing Institute. Influencer marketing is continuously expanding its focus area for brands that are keen to engage with consumers via authentic, creative, and genuine platforms. Influencers have the power to bring a brand’s story to life with a more down-to-earth, relatable approach unlike traditional advertising if they impact the audience you want to reach.  

How brands partner with content creators is the key to success – so therefore it's vital that the influencer is the perfect match for the brand, campaign, and audience, to ensure an authentic collaboration. Knowing which voices truly influence a target audience and collaborating in a way that’s genuine, yet creative, often determines the success of an influencer marketing campaign. 

So, here are five key things to keep in mind when you’re identifying the right influencers to resonate, engage, and inspire the people you want to impact.  

Tip 1: Identify the right influencers 

When choosing which influencers to work with, it’s important to take a strategic approach to ensure they’re the right fit for the brand and campaign. A first step is making sure you know the audience demographic you want to reach, so that you can select an influencer who taps into this group. Having the audience profile in mind helps to ensure you find the right influencer to match the target audience, thinking about their age, location, gender, and interests.  

It's also vital to assess the brand and campaign messaging to see if it’s a natural fit with the influencer. Consider the content creator’s interests, tone of voice and style. Evaluate whether this genuinely ties in with the brand and campaign. This is a vital step in forging an authentic influencer partnership, by ensuring there’s a natural synergy between the brand and the influencer.  

We also recommend evaluating the influencers engagement rate, to ensure they have an engaged following who’ll genuinely be influenced by the content.  

Taking time to accurately identify the right influencers to partner with will help build an authentic partnership, building genuine brand awareness and trust.  

Tip 2: Platform and content type 

Identifying which content types are most relevant and valuable for your brand is vital in building an authentic collaboration. With ever-changing algorithms and trends, it’s important to consider which content forms are being prioritised by platforms so content will gain maximum engagement and perform well. The content type you select should also resonate with the target audience, whether it be short or long-form content such as videos or photos, to have maximum impact.  

Next, identify which platforms are most relevant and valuable for your brand, depending on audience, so that you can carefully consider which platforms the content will sit on. For example, if you’re trying to reach a Gen Z audience, TikTok would be a suitable platform, but if your target audience is within the over 50s demographic, Facebook would be more appropriate. This will help to identify creators that have cut-through on the platforms which resonate most with the target consumer. 

Tip 3: Briefing & brand immersion 

Once you have chosen your influencer and decided on the content they’ll work on, provide the creator with a clear, easy-to-follow brief. This should include the key messages you want to be conveyed in the content, as well as clearly map out campaign objectives and deliverables. Add in any hashtags and handles you want them to include and set clear deadlines. This step is essential for a seamless partnership with the influencer, ensuring you’re both on the same page.  

Building the partnership further, you could also consider how to involve the influencer in wider parts of the brand. This could be inviting them to events or engaging them with product launches, helping to build their profile as a recognised brand ambassador.  

Tip 4: Measure success through metrics 

Evaluating how the influencer’s content performed is the next key step in assessing the success of a partnership. Tracking metrics such as engagement rates, likes, and reach are important to see how the influencer’s audience engaged with the content. Reviewing comments and sentiment is also an effective way to understand the impact of the influencer’s content.  

Additionally, you can gauge the partnership’s effect by tracking website views driven by influencer content and sales generated tracked via (Urchin Tracking Module) UTMs or discount codes.  It’s key to understand if the influencer had the impact you were hoping for, and to see if you should consider a longer-term collaboration.  

Tip 5: Long term partnerships  

Working with influencers as part of an ongoing partnership is the best way to build an authentic relationship. Taking an always-on approach to influencer partnerships helps to create brand recognition by naturally integrating with the influencer’s content on a regular basis, improving brand consideration and ultimately, long-term success. As well as this, a longer-term partnership allows for more effective co-creation, as the influencer understands your brand, objectives, and the best content to create.  

So, what are you waiting for? Let us help you find your people. 

Email us at hello@eatthefox.com