More and more brands today are exploring the world of the influencer marketing campaign. That’s the process that involves using well-known figures who have influence over your target audience to promote your brand, product, service, destination, etc. Influencers can play a vital role in expanding brand awareness by winning over people who you otherwise might not have been able to reach. Influencer Analysis, an online service specializing in the influencer environment, describes influencers as individuals who “represent control of an audience segment that is important to your business.” The idea of running an influencer marketing campaign might appeal to your brand manager or brand’s management team as a way to increase your brand’s impact in one way or another. However, it can also seem like a daunting challenge. You might be asking yourself where to even begin. Not to worry. Here we lay out some helpful tips for kicking off your first influencer marketing campaign.

Define Your Campaign Goals

It goes without saying that before you even begin the influencer marketing process, you should define your goals. What you are looking to get out of a partnership with an influencer? Some brands might be looking primarily to increase their annual sales, while other brands might be hoping to boost awareness of a new product launch. You will want to specify your goals and the deliverables you are hoping to achieve from any influencer marketing campaign.

Find the Right Partner

Now comes the fun part of the process: finding the right influencer to build a partnership with. There is an abundance of resources that can help you identify influencers, and each resource potentially will bring up different candidates. As you sort through those choices, be sure to steer clear of any “fake influencers”; they often can appear to be good options, but they are not. Here are some resources for beginning your influencer search:

• Google Searching: If you’re conducting a location-based influencer marketing campaign, Google might be your most straightforward option. Search the location you are targeting, along with key terms such as “food blogger,” “travel influencer,” or “Instagram influencer.” This should produce several reliable possibilities.
• Social Media: Try utilizing tools such as “Top Results” on Instagram’s search. That way, you can narrow down your search results to match up your influencer choices with your exact audience targets.
• Networks: Networks such as Hello Society, Fitfluential, and TapInfluence all offer paid resources to help you find more of the niche influencer types who might not automatically pop up in simple Google searches.

Measure Your Campaign Success

You can measure the success of your influencer marketing campaign in countless ways, but one of the most natural methods is merely to look at your campaign goals and see if each of them has been met. If you were looking to grow your social media following, have the number of followers on your page increased? If you sought to improve sales, did your latest revenue report reflect that? Along with these basic measurements, brands can also employ more-involved performance-tracking systems that will show any direct links between influencer-generated traffic and brand conversions. No matter how large or small your brand is, an influencer marketing campaign can be extremely beneficial; it can give you a leg up on traditional marketing tactics when you need it most. Want to learn more about our influencer programs? Check out our services here.