10 Rules To Follow When Choosing Influencers For a Campaign

Influencer marketing, through the use of brand ambassadors, is nothing new. However, using influencers and bloggers online is a relatively new practice that has evolved out of the digital age. Over the last few years, brands and agencies have attempted to refine the process of using key individuals who hold sway over potential buyers; faith in the opinion of these ambassadors can massively improve brand awareness, increase their level of interaction with the brand, create a positive opinion around the brand and improve the chances of that individual eventually being driven to purchase.

Influencers have massive credibility within their own communities, this gives them the ability to change consumer behaviour and massively impact purchase decisions through word of mouth & their online story telling. When marketing to a select group of individuals, using influencers can change their perception of the brand, generating loyalty and most importantly leading to sales.

Influencers are mainly known for three things across the digital landscape: resonance, relevance and reach. We’ve put together a list of 10 steps that will help you define your influencers for your next campaign.

01. Identify key influencers & build lists of bloggers in categories:

Create lists of the blogging community which must be broken down in categories where they are strongest

Have clear lists of who has been good in the past and who is known to do a good job.

02. Do they suit the brand in question?

Make sure that your chosen influencers suit your brand and understand it before diving head first into the campaign.

03. Build a relationship with key influencers:

Always build relationships with your influencers in question. Keep an eye on their movements and watch how they engage with their fans & followers and if they’re keeping the right tone online.

Always be sure to engage with them on a weekly basis before, during and after the campaign

04. Can they adapt to create content, gain followers and increase awareness about your brand:

Each influencer needs to be handpicked carefully through a strict process ensuring that they understand the brand and its core values.

05. Can they create a story? They are not creating a sales pitch or an advert for your brand.

These influencers have been picked so that they can create meaningful stories about the brand that resonate with their target audience

06. Pick an influencer on their audience engagement and NOT their size of their Social Channels.

Size isn’t everything when it comes to using an influencer. Have an influencer whose audience engages and trusts them is far more useful than an influencers with a large following a minimal engagement. Yes, you may get the desired reach but you won’t get the desired engagement

07. Re use influencers who go above & beyond

Make sure you keep record and track influencers who have gone over and above during the campaigns you have set out for them.

Any influencers who have gone over and above will always be willing to go the extra mile for you at any time. Keep these influencers close.

08. Use influencers who engage with your brand, during the campaign, and after it’s completed.

An influencers who only interacts during a said campaign does NOT have the same impact as one who lives the brand, before, during and after the campaign. The credibility through this is increased tenfold.

09. Decide how they will be compensated. Financially, commission or through trade exchange.

Always be up front about compensation of an influencer. Let them know up and front before the campaign kicks of what their objectives are and how they’ll be compensated once they reach those objectives.

10. Monitor, report, analyse and build on previous campaigns through constant insight into your influencers.

Use each previous campaign to continually monitor who has worked and who has not worked for you from campaign to campaign.

Create a list of the good, the bad and the ugly and be sure to stick to that when creating your influencer list for your campaign.

Follow each of these steps carefully and remember, if an influencers isn’t meeting your requirements, drop them immediately. They have been carefully chosen to represent the brand and if they do not do so, then show them the door. These guys & girls can make or break your campaign so while they may be doing it for free, being paid or given a direct trade exchange, they need treat your brand with the utmost respect and care. Just like they would with their own blog or social account.

Good luck, and go forth in creating the best influencer campaigns for your brands.