What is influencer marketing?

By Hana 17-09-2023

Things has changed a lot after a decade. If few years before we launched influencer marketing without talking about conversion performance indicators & many manual works. Today influencer marketing it is just not only about how we inspire influencer audience but also technology and performance tracker to manage campaign properly.

Here are some summary about influencer marketing and my lessons during more than 7 years working in affiliate and influencer marketing.

Table of Content

What is influencer marketing?
4 types of influencer
6 steps to implement an influencer marketing campaign
Influencer Marketing KPIs
The Final Word

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that brand collaborate with influencer to deliver a brand's message to the market. Instead of advertising directly, brand will pay influencers to inspire consumers about their product.

Brand Trust & love is always the key to brand success. Nowadays, when consumers are more impacting by social media such as Tiktok, simply introducing your product to consumers throug brand advertising own channels is not enough.

That's why influencer marketing is considered a 'breath of fresh air' in brand communication trend.

4 types of influencer

With the increasing potential and effectiveness of influencer marketing, how can brands optimize and select the most suitable influencers for their brand? Typically, based on the number of followers on social media, influencer marketing is categorized into four main types: mega, macro, micro, and nano influencers.

Type of influencer	Follower
Nano Influencer	fewer than 10,000 followers.
Micro Influencer	from 10,000 to 100,000.
Macro Influencer	from 100,000.
Mega Influencer	more than 1,000,000.

6 steps to implement an influencer marketing campaign

1. Set Clear Objectives: Start by defining your campaign's goals. Are you aiming to boost brand awareness, drive sales, increase website traffic, or foster engagement? Setting clear objectives will shape your entire campaign strategy.

Apply the SMART criteria to your objectives:

Specific: Clearly state what you want to achieve.
Measurable: Determine how you will measure success.
Achievable: Ensure that your goals are realistic and attainable.
Relevant: Align your objectives with your campaign and business context.
Time-Bound: Set a deadline for when you aim to accomplish your goals.

2. Identify Your Target Audience: Understand your ideal customer. Create detailed buyer personas that encompass demographics, interests, pain points, and preferences. Knowing your audience inside out will help you choose the right influencers and craft tailored content.

3. Find the Right Influencers: Select influencers whose followers align with your target audience. Consider factors like follower demographics, engagement rates, and content authenticity. Mega, macro, micro, and nano influencers each have their unique benefits, so choose accordingly.

4. Craft a Compelling Campaign Brief: Collaborate closely with influencers to develop a campaign brief that outlines your expectations, content guidelines, key messaging, and deadlines. Ensure that your influencers are on the same page as you regarding the campaign's objectives.

5. Measure and Analyze: Throughout the campaign, closely monitor performance metrics like reach, engagement, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Tools and analytics platforms can provide valuable insights into what's working and what needs adjustment.

6. Optimize and Adapt: Use the data gathered to optimize your campaign in real time. Make data-driven decisions to improve the campaign's effectiveness. Adjust your approach, content, or influencer selection if needed to better meet your goals.

Influencer marketing campaign can yield impressive results. By setting clear objectives, understanding your audience, collaborating with the right influencers, and continuously measuring and adapting, you can create a campaign that resonates with your target audience and delivers tangible benefits to your brand. Remember that influencer marketing is an evolving landscape, so staying agile and open to change is essential for ongoing success.

Influencer Marketing KPIs

Creating a successful influencer marketing campaign is like orchestrating a symphony. To achieve desired results, setting up the performance metrics is crucial. From clear objectives to the right key performance indicators (KPIs), understanding these components is your first step towards managing an influencer marketing campaign.

Below are some key performance indicators for influencer marketing campaign

Reach of your campaign Posts
How Engage your influencer's audience with your content
Conversion (Direct sale/subscription/download/newslettersignup...) How to track conversion: Promo Code/Affiliate link/ UTM link
Campaign ROI

Example of influencer marketing performance report:

Influencer Name	Reach	Engagement	Order	sale revenue	Spending	ROAS
Total
Influencer 1
Influencer 2

Frequently asked question

1. What’s the difference between influencer marketing and celebrity endorsements?

Brands have used celebrities to sell products since long before athletes first appeared on cereal boxes. But influencer marketing and celebrity endorsements are not quite the same thing. Celebrity endorsements typically involve a company making a huge investment in someone, but it’s hard to specify the exact return on that investment. With influencer marketing, it’s easier to figure out the ROI because companies can closely monitor likes, shares, online conversations, and so forth.

2. Which social media platforms are most popular for influencer marketing?

impact.com

3. How do I make sure an influencer reflects my brand well?

You want an influencer that wants to promote your brand because they see value in your services and love the quality of your products.Your collaboration should be about more than money. Brand alignment is the most important factor for influencers. The offering should be consistent with an influencer's personal brand and current content.Research is key. Confirm that influencers have previously worked on similar campaigns and have a look and feel that complements your brand. Observe how they engage with their followers to assess their reach. Do they post a lot of organic content or paid posts? Is their audience enthusiastic and responsive, or do posts get few likes and comments?Outline your brand guidelines to share with influencers, including a narrative that speaks to the needs of your target demographic and how you can solve their problem. You don't want to limit an influencer's creativity, but having a standard set of guidelines ensures the content's tone resonates with your brand and fits perfectly within your marketing efforts without feeling disjointed.

The Final Word

Consumers want a marketing message that's "unfiltered" and less scripted. Unlike sales-driven posts, influencer content uses a conversational tone and human narrative to catch customers' attention and engage audiences. Their reputation adds a layer of trust that converts followers into sales.