As online sellers, we are always looking out for ways to get more eyeballs to our products. And in today’s age, the best way to do so will be to work with influencers. Influencers are authority figures in specific industries with large followings of their own. Their words hold weight, and their followers trust their recommendations. Getting your products recommended by influencers often helps to move sales quickly. This is definitely much worthier than buying advertisements that may or may not work as well.
But the question is, how do you get in touch with influencers? How should you map out an effective influencer marketing campaign for your business?
Fret not if you have no idea where to start – I will be providing you with a step-by-step approach on how to engage influencers for your business in the series of emails that follow. Below will be the first step to build your unique influencer campaign:
In this article, I will show you a step-by-step guide on how to design an influencer marketing campaign. I will also point out the things you have to take note of when you work with influencers. If you are ready, here will be the very first step:
Step 1: Be Clear Of Your Specific Marketing Objectives
Now, it’s true that working with influencers often delivers positive results. Yet many assume that this means the more influencers they work with, the better the results they will get. That’s a deadly mistake to commit! Designing an influencer marketing campaign isn’t about finding EVERY influencer you can reach. Rather, it is to find the RIGHT influencers to reach your business goals.
To do this, you will first need to be clear about what you want to achieve from your marketing campaign. And by ‘clear’, I don’t mean setting a goal like ‘I want more sales’. That’s a very broad statement that will end up getting you nowhere. What you need to do is be specific. Think of smaller, better-defined marketing objectives. Make a list of them as you find influencers and think about how you and your influencers can work towards them.
For example, you can ask yourself if you are working with influencers to:
1. build your brand identity?
2. spread awareness about your brand?
3. let your products reach more audiences?
4. maintain a loyal following for your brand?
5. enhance your engagement with audiences?
By first having clarity about your specific goals, it will be easier to map out a concrete marketing plan. You can also better assess if your influencers can help you achieve the results you want. Eventually, you will realize that you are moving closer to the ultimate goal of achieving more sales – as you tick off those smaller goals. Step 2: Research About Your Target Audience
As the business owner, you should be sure of which customer group you want to target. If you are still not sure, take a step back now to do more research. Observe what audience your product is most relevant to. Think of the age group, gender, country, etc, your past customers belong to. Also, look into what hobbies they like, what kind of lifestyle they adopt, and how is the language they use?
All these are hints of what kind of influencers your possible customers may be following. Once you get this information, you can narrow down who are the influencers you want to work with.
For example, let’s say you are selling gaming consoles on Amazon today. Your possible customers are probably not going to follow a kitchenware influencer! So, you can strike such influencers off your list of possible influencers to work with. By doing so, your influencer marketing campaign will then have a higher chance of success.
Step 3: Identify The Type Of Influencers To Work With
In Step 2, I mentioned you can narrow down the influencers to work with based on your target customer group. Saying that, you also need to take note of the influencers’ working style and their reach. By ‘working style’, I mean the type of collaboration you intend to strike up with them. For example, are you getting influencers to post on your own social media accounts? Or should they post about your products on their own social media accounts instead? What kind of remuneration can they get for posting – getting sponsored by your products for a year? Or do they get paid in cash instead? Are you intending to work with them on a partnership basis? Or are you going to ask them to become your unique brand ambassador? Now, all these are questions you have to tackle when you reach out to influencers. After all, not every influencer is agreeable to the type of collaboration you have in mind. You won’t want to see things turn sour because of ill-defined collaboration terms!
The next point to take note of is to see whether the influencers’ reach can match your marketing goals. In general, influencers can be classified into two broad categories: macro-influencers and micro-influencers. Macro-influencers have a wide audience, ranging from 100k to even millions. They are generally mainstream celebrities or really well-known figures. Examples of international macro-influencers include Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Or in local terms, you can think of figures like Bongqiuqiu, Xiaxue, or the SGAG team. Working with them can allow your brand and products to reach a bigger audience.
Meanwhile, we also have micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are influencers with smaller followings. But that doesn’t mean they can’t help you! This is because micro-influencers are usually followed by people with interests like theirs. They can help you track down a more targeted and engaged audience. With that, you can have a better rapport with your customers, hence alleviating your brand’s reputation.
In the end, it depends on what kind of marketing goals you have set for yourself. So, think through first before you reach out to the different influencers! Step 4: Assess Your Brand-Influencer Match
It’s crucial that you share the same values as the person promoting your brand. After all, your brand will be associated with the influencers you choose to work with. There should be no conflict between their social images and how you want to portray your brand. For example, imagine you are selling some organic food products. Will you work with an influencer known for promoting a healthy lifestyle? Or will you work with an influencer who posts about eating at fast-food restaurants daily? A tip to find the correct influencers for your brand is to join relevant online interest groups. Observe who is always active in those groups. You can then check out their social media presence to see if they exhibit the traits of a good influencer. For example, do they often post about stuff relating to your industry? How do they interact with their fans? All these can help you decide if this person is a good influencer match for your brand. Saying that, do not be too rigid in your selection criteria too. Sometimes, the best influencer for your brand may not be tied directly to your industry. An influencer in an overlapping industry may also help to grow your business.
For example, I once coached a student who sells calligraphy paintbrushes. One day, she decided to collaborate with an influencer in the household-decoration industry. And guess what? Their collaboration became a great hit! The influencer conducted a Live session on how my student’s paintbrushes are a must-have for any design enthusiasts. Straightaway, she received dozens of sales from this influencer’s followers. This is even though her product is more suitable for calligraphy fanatics. But it goes to prove that working with influencers in a complementary industry can be a good strategy. In fact, this approach may help you reach ‘fresh’ audiences who are not exposed to marketing messages by your competitors. You can clinch more sales then!
In general, as long as an influencer supports your product niche, he or she can be a great candidate for you. Do search for influencers with an open mind and assess if they fit your brand’s requirements! Step 5: Review Influencers’ Content And Their Engagement
Last but not least, do look through the content influencers produce. You won’t want to work with influencers who cannot come up with professional content. Imagine if an influencer posts pixelated, unfocused photos or videos of your products. Do you think that can attract any customers to buy from you? As such, I will always examine my intended influencer candidates’ previous posts. I will like to see if they are able to create eye-catching content consistently. The best is if they are always able to come up with fresh ideas on how to present a brand. That will hint that they have a genuine interest in their work. Such influencers will value-add to your business greatly! At the same time, it will also be necessary to check the engagement rate of their posts. For example, do their posts receive a lot of likes and comments? Are these posts shared by their followers? After all, you will want posts about your products to receive raving responses!
And with this, I shall end my guide on how to design a basic influencer marketing campaign. Here are the steps in summary again:
Step 1: Be Clear Of Your Specific Marketing Objectives
Step 2: Research About Your Target Audience
Step 3: Identify The Type Of Influencers To Work With
Step 4: Assess Your Brand-Influencer Match
Step 5: Review Influencers’ Content And Their Engagement
Now, these are the very basic knowledge about influencer marketing. If you want to learn more about how to work with influencers for your business, stay tuned and follow me! I will definitely be coming up with more content about this topic. So watch out!
See you soon. 
