How to create an influencer marketing strategy to increase brand visibility

Influencers are today's tastemakers. Known for their unique style, cultural insights, or subject expertise, influencers help their followers discover new brands every day. Often, an influencer's endorsement makes brands go viral. Your product or service can become the season's hottest, "must have" essential. That's why an influencer marketing strategy is one of the best ways to increase brand visibility.

If you're unfamiliar with influencer marketing, think of it as word-of-mouth for the social media era. How many times have you bought something because a friend or family member couldn't stop raving about it? According to statistics, 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth recommendations when making a purchase decision. Influencer marketing functions on this same principle. 

With the right execution, an influencer marketing strategy can help your brand reach thousands or even millions of new customers. It can also deliver significantly higher Return On Investment (ROI) as compared to other digital marketing strategies and traditional advertising. In this article, we'll explore everything you need to get started with influencer marketing. 

The impact of influencers: Key statistics

Some brands are hesitant to work with influencers because they don't understand their cultural impact. While most influencers aren't household names, they are powerful "mini celebrities" in their niche. Their followers are a loyal, highly engaged audience. 

Many influencers are always on. They're posting, livestreaming, or replying to comments and messages from followers This accessibility sets influencers apart from celebrities and other public figures. Their content is often raw, emotional, and unabashedly honest. 

This makes influencers feel more authentic and lends value to their reviews and recommendations. Many people feel like an influencer could be their friend or neighbor. They're approachable and trustworthy.

If you're still unconvinced about the value of an influencer marketing strategy, consider these statistics from Shopify:

• 69% of consumers trust influencers more than brands

• 74% of Gen Z consumers rely on influencers to discover new products

• 84% of brands found influencer marketing effective

• 36% of marketers say that influencer campaigns outperformed other branded marketing

Types of influencers

Influencers come in all shapes and sizes. There are influencers in almost every demographic, region, language, and interest-based niche. While most influencers utilize every social media platform, some focus more energy on one specific platform. For example, skincare influencers are generally more involved on TikTok, while health and wellness influencers are more likely to focus on Instagram.

Influencers also fall into different categories based on their follower count:

• Nano Influencers: 500 to 10,000 followers

• Micro Influencers: 10,000 to 100,000 followers

• Mid-tier Influencers: 100,000 to 500,000 followers

• Macro Influencers: 500,000 to 1 million followers

• Mega Influencers: Over 1 million followers

Depending on your social media marketing goals, working with multiple nano or micro influencers is often more cost-effective than securing a deal with one or two mega influencers. Influencers with a bigger following have more reach, but smaller influencers often have a higher engagement ratio.

How to create influencer campaigns

There's no one-size-fits-all plan for creating an influencer marketing strategy. However, following the steps below will help your brand succeed at gaining more visibility. 

Step 1. Define your goals

First, consider your goals. What do you hope to achieve with an influencer campaign for brand visibility? Do you want to drive more views and engagement to your brand's own social media channels? Are you looking to drive sales or increase conversions, such as email signups? 

It's also important to define your target audience. In addition to demographics like age and gender, consider buying behavior. Are you hoping to attract brand new, first-time customers or improve customer loyalty with shoppers who already know you? 

These factors can shape the creative direction of your influencer marketing campaign. Additionally, setting goals provides useful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Establishing KPIs is vital for contract negotiations as well as tracking your ROI.

Step 2. Set a budget

Next, set your budget. Although some nano-influencers and micro-influencers will create content in exchange for free products, most influencers charge a flat rate. Affiliate revenue models are also popular among influencers. For example, the influencer shares a specific discount code and receives a percentage of the profits generated from sales using that code.

Don't try to pay influencers less than other contractors simply because they're on social media. Despite their online personae, influencers are professional creators who are experts in their craft – and the best ones charge. As with most advertising and marketing services, you'll get what you pay for.

Step 3. Research influencers in your space

Once you've determined your goals and budget, it's time to start researching. There are several methods for finding great influencers. Make a list of all your favorites, organized by preference. Even if you only have the budget for 10 influencers, make a list of 20 or 30 in case your first choices aren't available or aren't interested in working with you.

Hop on social media and search for terms relevant to your product or service. If you're a coffee company, search for terms like "barista," "coffee recipes," or "cold brew." You'll most likely find dozens of influencers whose content revolves around coffee. Watch their content and see if their style fits your brand. 

When researching an influencer, look for several key metrics and quality factors:

• How many followers do they have? 

• How often do they post?

• Do they receive a lot of "Likes" and comments on their posts? 

• Do they have other content with brands that might be a conflict of interest?

Additionally, look at other influencers they follow or collaborate with. This will help you build out your network of potential partners. 

If you're struggling to find influencers organically, or simply don't have the time for research, you can also use an influencer agency or database service. Sites like Upfluence and Modash are convenient tools for searching for influencers and filtering the results by location, follower count, engagement rates, and other metrics.

Step 4. Contact the influencers

The next step is reaching out to the influencers on your list. If you're using an agency or automated search tool, this process is largely automated. But if you're developing your influencer marketing strategy organically, you'll need to contact them yourself. 

Most influencers don't have their email listed on their profile, so sending a direct message via social media is generally the best way to contact them. After they agree to work with your brand, you can move the conversation to email. 

Discuss your goals and expectations with the influencer. Many influencers sell their services as a package, such as a flat rate for a specific number of posts, but others are more flexible and will tailor their content output to your campaign. 

Step 5. Collaborate on creative

Send the influencers information about your company, your products or services, and any current marketing campaigns that might be relevant. Most influencers are highly creative. Some influencers won't want direct input. Others will be excited to collaborate with your in-house marketing team. 

Regardless, all influencers will incorporate your brand into their content's signature style and unique voice. Influencers will also respect brand guidelines and legal compliance. Communicate this information clearly. For example, "organic" is a restricted term. If you make a food or beverage that is not certified organic, make sure influencers know they cannot use it when discussing your brand.

Step 6. Plan special incentives or giveaways

In addition to social media content like videos and product photos, many successful influencer campaigns also incorporate incentives or giveaway. This could be a special discount, a free trial or bonus product with purchase, or a contest to win elaborate prizes.

Planning incentives and giveaways helps support the success of your influencer marketing strategy. It encourages users to share, which increases engagement and builds hype around your product or service. This can be a great tool to mark special occasions like product launches, annual sales, or the beginning of the influencer campaign itself.

Step 7. Schedule the campaign

By this phase in your strategy, you should have the following:

• Your goals and how you plan to measure your campaign's success

• An influencer marketing budget

• A list of influencers who have agreed to work with you

• A plan for creating content

• Special incentives or giveaways (optional)

After you have established these elements, it's time to schedule your campaign! Mark your calendar and wait for the launch. Then, watch your influencers help your brand's visibility grow to levels like never before.

Grow your brand with social media marketing 

Using influencers is a highly effective way to boost other social media campaigns, traditional advertising, local search marketing, and more. Influencers will create fun, original content that showcases your product or service to brand new audiences. With the right execution, an influencer marketing campaign sets your business apart and helps you outshine the competition.