Did you know, influencer marketing began not too long ago in 2009? And it all started on YouTube.
You may even know some of the most well-known influencer names out there without even knowing who they are, for example, Zoella and PewDiePie. Zoella is famous for her beauty and fashion YouTube channel, and has 10.8 million subscribers, and PewDiePie has 111 million YouTube subscribers and is best known for his comedic video game run-throughs.
Both influencers have very different target audiences, which is why brands and other influencers try to collaborate with the likes of Zoella and PewDiePie, because they can tap into a perfectly curated market that the influencers have deep connections with, and this helps to boost brand awareness, drive leads and achieve marketing goals.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s dive into the 10 top things you should avoid when working with influencers!
Top 10
1. Using just any old hashtag
The whole point of hashtags is to help you with your audience reach, and you want to reach an audience your content is going to resonate with, correct? This means you’ll want to do your research, start with a core keyword that you want to target and map out other keywords that stem from this one. With each hashtag, make a note of its popularity – how often is it used?
Pop them into a spreadsheet, this will help you to distinguish between the hashtags worth using and the ones that aren’t. Once you know which hashtags are relevant, look at the content people are engaging most with – you’ll find that it’s content-specific, so make sure that the ones you use with your content are exactly that. Using completely irrelevant hashtags just because their popular can have the opposite effect of what you’re looking for – so don’t be fooled by just any old hashtag.
2. Rushing your choice of influencer
Choosing influencers isn’t all about who has the most followers. You’ll want to research them first and, by this, we don’t mean look at their profile – you’ll only see what they want you to see. You’ll need to Google them and get a feel for how the community sees them. There will always be a mix of views, but this will still give you a good idea as to whether it’s worth it or not.
Once you’ve decided that they’re good for your brand, you like their values and their content, you’ll want to consider how many followers they have. If they don’t have many, you won’t be reaching wider audiences and if they have too many, it’s likely that the audience will be far too broad.
3. Limiting the influencer’s creativity
Most influencers’ success is down to their fresh and engaging content. So, when collaborating with influencers, be open to suggestions and work together to find the right balance between their creativity and your brand. Influencers know their following well and they will know what feels authentic and what doesn’t, but to ensure both parties are happy, provide them with some guidelines with enough room to let them work their magic; having a trusting partnership is likely to lead to some great results!
4. Not considering short-term partnerships
Not everyone is looking for a long-term deal, but why stop if you’ve got something good going? Brand ambassadors are good for short-term goals, such as new product launches, and some brands might even choose to partner with multiple influencers at once for a really big impact. However, it’s important to keep in mind what your KPIs are and consider what a long-term partnership might look like.
5. Forgetting to check out the influencers’ following
Are you aware that people can buy followers and that not all people out there with a large following are influencer material? The way to tell between genuine and fake followings is by looking at the accounts. Click on some of the profiles, some might not have profile pictures and others might have little to no posting activity, these are likely to be bots.
It’s important to avoid these types of accounts because you won’t get the value that comes from genuine followers, and it’ll reflect poorly on your brand as it will be considered spammy. Invest in influencers wisely.
6. Only considering mid-tier to mega influencers
Although you want to reach as many people as possible, it’s better to reach a smaller and more targeted audience rather than one million followers with no clear focus. Here’s a breakdown of the different influencer levels:
- Nano-influencers – 1,000 and 10,000 followers
- Micro-influencers – 10,000 and 50,000 followers
- Mid-tier influencers – 50,000 and 500,000 followers
- Macro influencers – 500,000 and 1 million followers
- Mega influencers – 1 million + followers
It’s important to know that mega influencers are likely to be of a celebrity status – and the bigger the following, the more expensive their services are likely to be. But remember, bigger doesn’t always mean better, it’s likely that your brand will find more engaged and willing audiences with nano and micro influencers.
7. Forgetting to plan
No matter what you’re looking to promote, all marketing and communications must come with some form of plan. Knowing which platforms you want to push your brand on, what you want to achieve and who you want to target will help you to make influencer marketing a success!
Having a clear plan can also help the influencer when creating content as guidelines will help them to understand what’s required from them.
8. Scripting your outreach to influencers
Being able to work with a particular influencer isn’t a given, so it’s important that you show your interest in them, explain why you’re reaching out to them and how working together can be beneficial to both them and you. Avoid copying and pasting the exact same script when pitching, make sure you tailor it and make comparisons between them and your brand to show that it could be a brilliant working relationship.
The whole purpose of influencer marketing is to find someone who shares the same values and someone who likes your products or services because they have a following that trusts their opinions.
9. Not creating lots of different content
From product unboxing and reviews to how-to videos, you’ll want to consider all the different types of content you want to get from your campaign. By creating lots of exciting content, you can appeal to more of their audience and keep people engaged for longer. This also means you’ll have a great library of content to reuse for things like #ThrowbackThursday or compare against older content to help you make a decision about what sort of content works best for your brand.
10. Missing out your CTA
Last but by no means least, remember your call to action. Whether you’re:
- Running a giveaway
- Want people to subscribe
- Running an offer
- Have a huge sale on
- Need to promote a product
Don’t forget to tell the audience what they need to do! Provide your influencer with all the information so that they can give their audience everything they need to make sure conversions happen.
Contact Diversity
Want to explore influencer marketing? Speak to Diversity, we’re continually building on our network of influencers and can help you to find the perfect match that will boost your brand awareness and encourage a stronger following. Like to hear more insights from our team? Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram or sign up to our newsletter for blogs sent directly to your inbox.