5 Important Factors for Successful Influencer Collaborations
…and how to FIND the right creators for YOUR Brand
While before brand collaborations meant partnering with a celebrity, big or small, to amplify your brand’s name, the creator economy has taken centre stage now. People all over the world are able to connect with influencers at a closer level than they ever could with celebrities, and brands are quick on the uptake.
Marketers are keen to employ influencer marketing in 2022 to reach targeted audiences and build positive brand recall. The reasons are many, but the core remains the same: influencers have spent ample time, and effort, to establish a genuine follower base online.
Further studies find agreement with this figure — 72% consumers said what they saw on Instagram affected their buying behaviour. Creators have expertise and experience within their niche and hold sway over such decisions.
For example, Laurie Bluez is a beauty influencer who specialises in eye art and paints her face in mesmerising shades. Skincare brands are quick and eager to engage in collaborations as she commands a high engagement rate among her followers.
For the ardent fans, and the marketers in the beauty industry, her flair for the creative carries a lot of weight. By letting the creator be inspired and create in their unique style, brands can utilise influencer campaigns and amplify their messaging much better (and wider) than just a sponsored post.
So influencer marketing has made a home in every marketer’s ad budget, at least for the foreseeable future. Innovations in world wide web and social media platforms will give more avenues for their online reach to spread further.
Now let’s compare how the 50 million content creators around the world are segmented into different groups:
- Nano influencers: 1,000–10,000 followers
- Micro influencers: 10,000–100,000 followers
- Macro influencers: 100,000–1,000,000 followers
- Celebrity influencers: 1,000,000+ followers
(Read more: INFLUENCER MARKETING IN 2022 EXPLAINED)
Whichever category they may belong to, brands should ask social media analytics reports from past campaigns to gain a better understanding of a potential brand collaboration. The reason — follower numbers cannot dictate influencer marketing strategy. Engagement rate drops as the number of followers increases. A brand’s campaign objective, along with target points, will give a better way of going about social media strategy and influencer activation, rather than approaching the most popular content creators present on Instagram or YouTube.
Let’s go through 5 of the most important factors that brands should adhere to for success in their influencer marketing strategy:
1.
Choose influencers that match your brand’s core values: if your brand values project breaking boundaries and being genuinely yourself, tennis icon Serena Williams could be a great match for your influencer campaign. Secondly, if your brand leans towards qualities in its messaging, like being considerate, caring or quirky and relatable, the marketer would do well to find creators that match the vibe — they’ll be more likely to work with your social media strategy as it would be very natural for them too.
2.
The creators’ audience should match your target group, else the collaboration wouldn’t fit for either the brand or their audience. Consumers globally are able to make out when influencers are being paid to talk about something, and when they’re being genuine about it.
3.
Check the reach and engagement stats of the creator. While millions of followers may be good for reach, a low engagement rate may signify a paid-for audience or their inability to properly connect with their followers. A micro influencer with a loyal fan base would be a smarter pick.
4.
Once influencer discovery is taken care of, KPIs must be clearly mentioned and agreed between both parties. And brands should make sure those creators are not working with your competitors during that time.
5.
Rather than a one-sided direction on what marketers would want from influencers, it’s better if brands keep creators in the loop and can brainstorm the different avenues for brand activation and new product launches. Your marketing strategy will be much more efficient once you’re sincere in what you want and can bring out the highest potential of influencers while adding value to their audience as well.
(Source: Working With Influencers?)
The reason we know a thing or two about the right influencer practices is because of the continuous, innovative partnership we have with them.
Socialkyte has been helping Advertisers amplify their digital presence with the right influencers since 2019. Our network boasts of more than 100,000 passionate creators, each chasing their ambition and being able to monetise social media following, while getting discovered with the right influencer marketing services.
In the fast-paced digital world of today, brands and marketers need to be clinical with their choice of influencers and swift in their campaign execution. The next rock star creator could come from anywhere, and your audience on social media is quick to take notice.
Speaking of those rock stars, one of them rose to unimaginable prominence at light speed (figuratively). He was a factory worker in Italy before the pandemic’s start in 2020 brought that to a halt. Coming back home and in the midst of finding a new job, he relieved his boredom by making TikTok videos. And he was rather good.
So good that wherever you live and no matter how old you may be, you all have seen him. And though you have heard of him, you have never actually heard him.
Today, Khaby Lame has over 134 million followers on TikTok and around 70 million on Instagram. He’s the face of Hugo Boss with supermodel Kendall Jenner. His collaborations include (but are not limited to) his favourites Alessandro Del Piero, Zlatan Ibrahimović and even Usain Bolt. And Kylian Mbappé mimics his gesture in his goal celebration.
His sphere of influence is ginormous — just look at some of his invitations for the Venice International Film Festival and the Formula 1 race at Monza, Italy. No wonder the biggest global brands are vying for his signature.
Making a mockery of absurd life hacks, his videos with the deadpan expression and hand gesture got love everywhere it was viewed. And his example is the passion economy gaining viral success on an epic scale.
The brand-influencer ecosystem can have a massive impact on creators everywhere, giving them the flexibility to monetize social media following and reach global audiences. And the scope for rapid growth is limitless for the marketers poring over their budgets.
Visit www.socialkyte.com to get started with your Influencer marketing campaigns now!
