July 28, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Click Rain and was abbreviated for SiouxFalls.Business. Read the full article here.

Influencer marketing is on the rise. This means that more and more businesses are looking to partner with prominent figures on social platforms to promote their brands and services. In fact, Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 66 percent of marketers are planning to increase their influencer marketing budget in 2020.

Is your team also considering the addition of influencer marketing into your mix? Here are three guidelines to help you get the most return on those campaigns.

Define your campaign KPIs and goals

First, be sure to define your campaign goals and key performance indicators, or KPIs. You don’t want to run a campaign just because; the key is knowing exactly what goals you want to reach.

Here are a few KPIs you can track for an influencer marketing campaign:

• Conversions — website signups, sales, etc.
• Referral or direct traffic to website.
• Reach and awareness — audience growth.
• Engagement — likes, reactions, shares, comments, clicks, mentions.

Defining KPIs allows you to objectively measure the success of your influencer marketing partnerships. It also provides your influencer with a better idea of the sort of content he or she should share during the campaign.

Find the right influencer

Deciding which influencer you want to promote your brand can be tricky. Your brand image is too important to hand over to just anyone!

So when vetting influencers, keep in mind your campaign’s target audience and potential reach, as well as those KPIs. Influencers come in all sizes with different follower counts and across various niches with different follower interests. Are you looking to reach a broad audience or take a more targeted approach?

Determine whether an influencer aligns with your company by investigating the overall brand and aesthetic displayed on his or her platforms.

Of course, before signing a contract, take time to ensure that the influencer understands your vision and brand too. Familiarizing influencers with your company enables them to create the best content possible. It also equips them to respond to potential questions from followers. A trendy influencer broadcasting misinformation about your company? How about … no.

Encourage creativity

Finally, allow influencers to create authentic content, to express themselves truly through your brand or products. They know what their audiences will respond to best, and followers can sense forced or salesy content.

You also should clarify any campaign goals and creative guidelines to your influencer before launching — e.g. using specific hashtags or products in posts. Communication is key.

Like all marketing campaigns, influencer marketing requires a bit of cost-benefit analysis — weighing possible risks against possible rewards. But these guidelines will help put the odds in your favor.

Before diving in, be sure to check out four additional steps you can take to create the most successful and sustainable influencer marketing campaigns.