Social media are on the rant nowadays. Many online sellers are excited to make use of social media to drive visitors to their listings. Yet for most sellers, the best way to gain significant traffic isn’t from their own social media accounts. It is from working with influencers who already have a large following of their own. Being the authority figures in their industry, influencers’ words hold credibility. That’s why people come to trust them and the products they promote. Saying that, having an effective collaboration with influencers takes a lot of planning. After all, this isn’t just about paying someone with a huge following to promote your products. There are many details that you, as a seller, have to know before rushing to contact influencers. One of the most important things is having clarity on how to collaborate with influencers. 
In this post, let me share about the most commonly-seen influencer collaboration methods. These are also what we call ‘influencer marketing campaign types’. Hopefully, this will give you some direction on planning your influencer marketing strategy! And the first one will be – 
In the good old days when blogging is king, this kind of product shoutout usually takes place in the form of a blog post. Or at the very least, static photo posts will be created, for posting on Facebook or Instagram. But in recent years, platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are on the rise. Short-form videos are getting more and more popular. As such, sponsored product content has changed to appear as short videos too. No matter what, this type of collaboration is a solid method to gain more eyeballs. Hence, it is still used a lot even today. 
Meanwhile, when people see that you and the influencers are able to work cohesively, it will put you in a good light. You will show that you are easy to work with. In the future, more influencers will be encouraged to collaborate with you. 
Meanwhile, the second method will improve your brand’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. This is because influencers’ social media or blogs usually have great domain authority. When your brand appears on their websites, your brand’s name may be included in the SEO keywords. As a result, your brand will appear higher up on search engines’ pages. Consequently, more people will be able to see your brand.
Such initiatives will create a great hoo-ha for your brand on social media. More importantly, it will help you to collect valuable customer data. For example, as part of the contest condition, influencers may get participants to subscribe to you/your brand on social media. You will then be able to get potential customers’ contact information. From there, you can work out who is your best target audience. Other than attracting customers, this method is also great for reaching out to more influencers. You can use contests and giveaways as an incentive to attract influencers to work with you. This will definitely heighten the influencers’ interest in your products. Ultimately, it will increase your brand’s visibility and reputation in the industry. 
But this method is not without downfalls. The most obvious one is maintaining the security of your social media accounts. After all, you will be entrusting your influencer with the login details of your account. There is always the possibility of information leakage. So it really depends on whether you are willing to take that risk. 
This type of influencer marketing has several advantages. Firstly, it allows you to forge a deeper relationship with the influencer. After all, you will be working with them for an extended period of time. Secondly, brand ambassadors tend to be more passionate about your products. They are also more likely to be invested in your brand’s success. This means that they will create better content and provide more valuable insights. But the disadvantage to this method is that it can be quite costly. This is because you will have to pay the influencer a monthly salary or commission. Other than that, it can be difficult to find influencers who fit your brand well. And even when you do, there is no guarantee that they will stay with you for the long term. So these are some of the most effective influencer marketing campaign types! But of course, these influencer marketing campaign types only serve as a reference. There are definitely more ways of working with influencers. If you want to know more, do stay tuned and continue following me! See you in my next post.
In this post, let me share about the most commonly-seen influencer collaboration methods. These are also what we call ‘influencer marketing campaign types’. Hopefully, this will give you some direction on planning your influencer marketing strategy! And the first one will be – Type 1: Sponsored Content
This is an old-but-gold influencer marketing campaign type. What happens here is a brand or a business gives a product to influencers to let them try it out. If the influencers think that this product is good, they will do a shoutout for it. Their followers will get introduced to this product, and hence be enticed to buy it. Meanwhile, the brand/business owner will pay the influencers for their work. This payment can either be in cash, or by sponsoring the influencers with the said product. In the good old days when blogging is king, this kind of product shoutout usually takes place in the form of a blog post. Or at the very least, static photo posts will be created, for posting on Facebook or Instagram. But in recent years, platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are on the rise. Short-form videos are getting more and more popular. As such, sponsored product content has changed to appear as short videos too. No matter what, this type of collaboration is a solid method to gain more eyeballs. Hence, it is still used a lot even today. Type 2: Collaborative Content
The next influencer marketing campaign type is collaborative content. This is like sponsored content, but with a little twist. Instead of influencers promoting your products on their own, they will work with you to create the content. For example, influencers may invite you to their Live sessions. As they introduce your products, they will ask you questions on the spot. This will give their followers a more in-depth look at your products. It is also a great way for you to showcase your knowledge of your product industry. After all, which customer doesn’t like to know that the seller they are buying from is an authority in the field? This will reassure them that they are making a good buy. Meanwhile, when people see that you and the influencers are able to work cohesively, it will put you in a good light. You will show that you are easy to work with. In the future, more influencers will be encouraged to collaborate with you. Type 3: Guest Posting
Guest posting works in two ways. First of all, you can invite influencers to write a post about your products on your social media. Or else, you can ask an influencer to allow you to create posts on their social media instead. The first method is more commonly used. After all, it is the influencers’ followers who you are trying to attract. When the influencers create posts for you, their followers will flock to your social media. This will bring immediate traffic and attention to your brand. If the followers like what they see, they may convert into customers at once! Meanwhile, the second method will improve your brand’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. This is because influencers’ social media or blogs usually have great domain authority. When your brand appears on their websites, your brand’s name may be included in the SEO keywords. As a result, your brand will appear higher up on search engines’ pages. Consequently, more people will be able to see your brand. Type 4: Giveaways and Contests
This influencer marketing campaign type is pretty self-explanatory. Influencers promote your products by hosting giveaways and contests. They may get their audience to ‘like’ your product posts, or comment on them with certain hashtags. Depending on the contest rules, winners may walk away with a set of your products as the grand prize. Or else, they may get to enjoy massive discounts off your brand’s merchandise, etc.
Type 5: Influencer Takeover
Some sellers may choose to pay an influencer to take over his or her social media accounts for a set amount of time. For example, the influencer may be ‘hired’ to create posts on your Instagram account for a day. Throughout that day, the influencer will be in charge of posting, replying to comments, etc. This type of influencer marketing has several benefits. Firstly, it creates a sense of novelty for the brand. As we all know, different people have different styles of managing their social media. When an influencer takes over your social media, your followers will be able to see your brand from a different perspective. This can increase their sense of connection with your brand. Secondly, influencers have the skills to create great content for social media. They are, after all, experts at engaging and growing a following. The posts they create will be more visually appealing and interesting. This can help you attract more followers, and increase your brand’s social media reach. Even after the influencer takeover is over, the effects will continue to linger. But this method is not without downfalls. The most obvious one is maintaining the security of your social media accounts. After all, you will be entrusting your influencer with the login details of your account. There is always the possibility of information leakage. So it really depends on whether you are willing to take that risk. Type 6: Brand ambassadors
Last but not least, you can also invite influencers to become your brand’s ambassadors. This can happen when you meet trustworthy influencers who you want to work with for the long term. A brand ambassador’s duties can be rather varied. First of all, they will need to post about your products on social media regularly. They may also need to represent you at industry events and seminars. In some cases, they may even be involved with your product development. This type of influencer marketing has several advantages. Firstly, it allows you to forge a deeper relationship with the influencer. After all, you will be working with them for an extended period of time. Secondly, brand ambassadors tend to be more passionate about your products. They are also more likely to be invested in your brand’s success. This means that they will create better content and provide more valuable insights. But the disadvantage to this method is that it can be quite costly. This is because you will have to pay the influencer a monthly salary or commission. Other than that, it can be difficult to find influencers who fit your brand well. And even when you do, there is no guarantee that they will stay with you for the long term. So these are some of the most effective influencer marketing campaign types! But of course, these influencer marketing campaign types only serve as a reference. There are definitely more ways of working with influencers. If you want to know more, do stay tuned and continue following me! See you in my next post. 
