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Why Brands Are Evolving Their Influencer Lineups

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When brands look at how they can best leverage the growing voice of influencers, there’s a shift from the single high-profile celebrity toward a more diverse lineup.

So-called micro-influencers able to create high engagement rates are gaining steam. This is one the key findings of 2019 Influencer Marketing Report from SocialPubli, a platform that connects brands and agencies with micro-influencers on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and blogs.

To learn more, I asked SocialPubli cofounder and CEO Ismael El-Qudsi to illuminate what’s happening with influencer marketing.

Paul Talbot: In your survey, roughly a third of the respondents have been using influencer marketing for at least three years. What are the important lessons learned?

Ismael El-Qudsi: Two clear takeaways from the study have to do with changes in marketers’ preferences concerning the selection of influencers and the measurement of campaign performance.

There has been a clear shift in marketers’ preferences favoring a more inclusive influencer mix of mega, macro and micro-influencers. There has been a considerable democratization in the influencer marketing space over the past few years.

Brands are slowly pivoting to the use of smaller influencers and are now considering the full spectrum of influence in their activations and leveraging a much more diverse influencer mix.

Another area where perceptions and preferences are evolving is in the measurement of campaign results. Back in the day, follower count was the go-to metric to determine the performance of a campaign. Generally, the higher the follower count, the greater the reach and the better a campaign had performed.

But as marketers gain more experience working with influencers, they are becoming savvier in determining the success of their influencer marketing programs and are transitioning away from vanity metrics towards the use of more tangible KPIs.

Survey respondents, for instance, placed greater importance on engagement (26%) than on the more traditionally used metric of reach (19%) when asked how they measure the success of their influencer marketing campaigns.

Talbot: What steps should a marketer take to weave influencers into their marketing plans?

El-Qudsi: Marketers should employ a cohesive approach that integrates influencer marketing as a core element to complement and amplify all of the other marketing channels instead of viewing it as a siloed piece that is activated arbitrarily.

Start by defining your goals as these will shape your influencer marketing strategy and dictate how you measure your campaign ROI.

Designate a set of measurable KPIs as this is how you will be tracking performance and measuring success. Having clarity in terms of the metrics you’ll need to measure is vital.

Allocating a stand-alone influencer marketing budget should also be one of the first things you do since this will determine which influencers you’re able to partner with as well as the duration and frequency of your campaign.

The next step is determining which type of influencer marketing campaign to launch.

Options include…

  • Sponsored blog and social media posts
  • Influencer takeovers of your brand’s social media channels
  • Contests and giveaways
  • Affiliate marketing
  • A long-term ambassador program

Depending on the influencers you work with and the scope of the collaborations, it can be comprised of 100% paid collaborations or a combination of gifting and compensated partnerships.

The next step is to identify the right influencers to work with, and this goes hand in hand with defining who your target audience is.

  • Which demographic group and geographic area are you trying to reach?
  • What are their media consumption habits and preferences?
  • Do they spend their time on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or TikTok?

These answers will help to guide you to the right influencers.

(The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

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