5 Mistakes Influencer-Marketing Virgins Often Make
To say influencer marketing is hot right now would be the biggest understatement of the year. Everyone from the Kardashians to sports celebrities and video bloggers are promoting products and services to their audience. Influencer marketing can offer phenomenal results when done correctly. Today’s media-savvy consumer is much likelier to trust a recommendation from their social idols than an advertisement from a brand. But influencer marketing is not to be attempted if you don’t know what you’re doing. You can do more harm than good if you jump into influencer outreach without learning a few lessons first. Avoid the following five mistakes influencer-marketing virgins make and you might have a chance of making brand-ambassador marketing work for your company.
Not Monitoring Engagement Prior to Influencer Campaign
One of the worst mistakes influencer-marketing virgins make is choosing an influencer based on their follower count. A high follower count doesn’t mean squat if there’s no engagement. Influencers need to engage in two-way conversations with their followers on a regular basis. If all an influencer does is spam their followers with self-promoting posts, you might want to start looking elsewhere for an ambassador for your brand.
Not Clearly Defining Campaign Objectives
If you don’t clearly define your campaign objectives in advance, how can an influencer possibly serve your needs? They won’t know what you are trying to achieve, and won’t be able to influence their audience accordingly. Have a detailed plan of the objectives you are trying to achieve or your influencer marketing outreach is doomed from the start.
Not Being Consistent with Influencer Outreach Efforts
Another big mistake influencer newbies make is not being consistent with their outreach efforts. You can’t engage the services of an influencer once a year and expect to see tangible results. Just like content marketing, influencer marketing requires consistency to produce a measurable return on investment. If you’re not going to use influencers on a regular basis, you might as well not even start.
Not Being Authentic
Before hiring any influencer, investigate their outreach efforts. If their social media profiles are filled with promotional posts for multiple brands, you just might be dealing with the equivalent of a marketing streetwalker. They’ll promote anything and everything as long as they’re paid. While this might be good for their bank account, it does absolutely nothing for your brand. Authenticity is critical if you want your influencer marketing campaigns to work. Pass on the influencer-for-hire whores and pick a person who is selective with the products they promote.
Choosing Too Many Influencers
Just as you should be selective in who you hire as an influencer, you should also be selective in how many influencers you hire. Promoting your brand through too many influencers is akin to spamming your audience with advertisements. If potential customers see your brand promoted on every social media platform they visit, your influencer marketing efforts are going to have disastrous results.
Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool when used correctly. Make the above-listed outreach mistakes, and you might as well be flushing your money down the toilet. Will you be incorporating influencer marketing into your growth strategy this year?
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