3 Tips to avoid Sticky Situations during your first Influencer Campaign

In case you missed the memo, Influencers are officially leading the charge when it comes to marketing!

2020 saw brands increase their marketing budgets within the influencer domain by a huge 65%, with a whopping 89% of companies agreeing that the ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels. For business owners who have yet to take the plunge though, working with influencers can seem like diving into incredibly murky water - so, how can you make sure your collaboration is successful?

Here are our top 3 tips to get you started and help you avoid any sticky situations…

1. Don't just work with any Influencer!

First and foremost, choosing the right influencers to work with is paramount to achieving a successful campaign. There are thousands of accounts posting beautiful content, so it can feel overwhelming looking at the sheer volume of choice, but it's incredibly important that you take the time to seek out the influencers who are right for you. Engagement is quite simply everything!! A high follower count doesn't automatically ensure higher ROI (we wish!), in fact sometimes it can mean the opposite.

Engagement Rate = (likes + comments) / followers x 100

We advise taking a sample of an influencer's posts, for example, posts 4 - 12. Starting with their most recent post, which likely hasn't been up for long, can skew your numbers, but by choosing from posts over the past week or so, you'll have a clear understanding of where their engagement is currently sitting. A high engagement means that their followers aren't passively scrolling past their posts, but actively liking, sharing, watching, or saving their content - exactly what you want when starting a collaboration.

After narrowing down your list of potential collaborators, it's time to develop a relationship and really study their profile. Do they have a history of positive brand collaborations? Are they currently working with a competitor to your brand? Does their posting aesthetic suit your brand's style? Do they follow your brand and engage with your posts, or share your products already? Ensuring that the creator's beliefs and values align with your brand's key messages will ensure an authentic campaign that will immediately gain their follower's attention and most importantly - trust.

2. Don't agree to a collaboration and then let them run wild!

Once you have chosen the best Influencers to promote your amazing products, developing a clear, concise, and effective brief is key. After approaching an Influencer and negotiating a collaboration, providing them with a brief that they can use to complete their content is the next step and a superrrrr important one!

Think of a brief like a recipe for a cake. It needs to have all the right ingredients, specific timings, helpful tips to get the frosting just right, and sprinkles on top to ensure the final product is drool-worthy!

Make sure you include background information about your brand, outline the deliverables that you have agreed to clearly, set out a clear timeline that includes posting dates and times, and finally, provide examples of the type of content you're looking for. If you want them to hold your product to the camera, take a photo outside in the sunshine, or film themselves with a white background like they may have posted previously - make sure this is included clearly in your brand brief.

Have a bit of fun, make sure your brief is compelling and personalised, but most importantly make sure it has everything the influencer needs to capture the correct content, with the right tone of voice and within your brand guidelines. You don't want to strip away their voice, at the end of the day you have hired them because you love their content, but a clear brief can save a lot of time or unnecessary reshoots.

3. Don't forget about a contract (It's time to put your Suits hat on)!

Finally, developing a contract that can be used for Influencer collaborations can protect you and your brand, providing a safety net that will help alleviate a lot of stress! A contract between Influencers and brands is completely normal and very common, oftentimes giving both parties a bit of peace of mind.

Your contract should include the length of your campaign, the agreed fee, any termination clauses, the products that will be provided, and most importantly the content that will be produced. It's important to also include a clause regarding FTC compliance, ensuring they adhere to the governments posting rules and guidelines (#ad).

In addition to the above, contracts can also cover any content reviews you require. For example, if you would like approval of the content (image/video) and caption before this goes live, make sure this is explicitly outlined. Typically one to two rounds of content reviews are normal and will safeguard that nothing is posted without final approval. Trust us, you'll want to include this!

So there you have it, our top tips to avoid those sticky situations - no one needs that stress!

Need help to start your influencer collaboration? Contact us today and we'll help your brand shine!

Lots of love,

Rosey Management xx