In the past, you could rely on organic posts to market your product on Instagram. However, today, the algorithm gives less visibility to organic posts. Therefore, you must consider other effective marketing methods, such as collaboration with influencers, for the best results.
Studies indicate that collaborating with the right influencers can deliver 19 times the return on investment. However, with the wrong influencer, you may not see this result and may even burn your money. So, how do you gain the most out of this marketing method? Let’s find out in this article.
Benefits of Working With an Instagram Influencer
If you aren’t sure that working with an influencer is a good decision, here are some great reasons to consider.
- Reach a new audience. When an influencer advertises your products or services, you reach a new audience that didn’t know you existed.
- Get social proof. The only reason people follow an influencer is that there is something they love about them. Therefore, people are more likely to trust your products when they are advertised by an influencer than you.
- Give a human voice to your brand. Influencer marketing not only gets words out there about your brand but also does so in a way that is authentic and with a human voice.
Tips on Successful Collaboration With an Instagram Influencer
For the best results on Instagram influencer marketing, follow these tips:
Make Your Expectations Clear
One of the reasons why influencer marketing doesn’t work for brands is because of unclear expectations. Ensure you provide the influencer with a campaign brief and a contract to set your expectations. Ensure that you set clear goals such as:
- More traffic to your site
- Greater visibility
- More followers
The more specific the goals are, the better. For instance, instead of having a goal to increase followers, you can have a goal to reach 50k followers. This will help you to check their performance, too.
Understand Your Target Audience
You need to be aware of the people you are trying to influence. Do you want to reach more of your current audience or an entirely new audience? The best way of answering these questions is by developing an audience persona. This will help you decide on the kind of influencer you want to get.
Choosing the Right Instagram Influencer
The main factor determining if influencer marketing will work for your brand is your choice of an influencer. Here are the factors to consider when selecting one,
- Relevance to your brand. The first question to ask yourself is whether you share a similar audience with the influencer you are targeting. For instance, if you look at companies that sell sports shoes, you will realize that they often collaborate with athletes. You should take a similar approach to your brand.
- Engagement rate. Do you want to see the results you will get from a particular influencer? Look at the engagement rate. Are people commenting, liking, or sharing their posts? The higher the engagement rate, the higher the reach you are likely to achieve.
- Kind of content they post. Pay special attention to whether an influencer posts quality content or not. This should match the quality and core of your brand.
- Posting frequency. Consider also how often an influencer posts on social media. Choose one with a regular frequency of posting quality and branded content.
Agree on a Content strategy
You probably know the kind of content you need an influencer to create. However, you should remember that an influencer may not accept certain content that goes against their brand beliefs. Therefore, you must sit down with the influencer to agree on the content they should create.
You can allow them to create their preferred content, giving them room to showcase their styles. But even as you do that, give them guidelines on your brand voice and values.
Track Your Results
No marketing campaign can be completed without tracking the results. When measuring the result of Instagram influencer marketing, avoid focusing on vanity metrics such as likes and comments.
If the influencer has many followers, you can easily get motivated by the number of likes and comments. However, the best way to measure a campaign’s success is by determining its value regarding the return on investment. You can use coupons to determine the sales you make from a campaign.
Use Contests and Offers
While an Instagram influencer will help you promote your brand, you can make their work easier by giving offers and running contests. With many brands competing for visibility on Instagram, users want to know how they will benefit from your brand. Having special offers and running contests will show them the value they get.
Wrapping Up
Influencer marketing can help take your brand to the next level. However, you must find the right influencer and understand how to work with them for the best results. By following the tips in this guide, you can grow your brand to the next level.
