So, let’s get straight into it and talk all things influencers. You’ve no doubt seen them as you’re double-tapping on your Instagram feed: “OMG love this skirt!” or “Friday night drinks in my fave new outfit.” There’s been a rise in these over the top, trendy, Instafamous celebs and we bloody love it – because it works! Brands are throwing money into their influencer strategy for social media growth, engagement and some have made multi-millions working solely with influencers. After all, that’s what they are… influential!
But where do you start? Brands can go against the grain and incorporate influencers into their strategy in a range of different ways! So whether you’re looking for short-term engagements or long-term partnerships, we’ve got you covered.
- Gifting product for social media love
This is one of the easiest ways to introduce an influencer to your brand and test the waters. It’s a win-win situation – “We’ll give you X, if you give us Y!” Most of the time this activity is cost effective with influencers accepting your product as payment, but keep an eye out for the more “top-tier” influencers and ensure there is room in your budget. Yep, some of these guys make a complete living out of Instagram – crazy! My favourite go-to influencers?
- Pay to play with “Superstar Influencers”
While a contra-deal is a quick and effective way to work with influencers, if you really want to hit the masses, brands can essentially “pay to play.” I like to call these “superstar influencers.” By incorporating free influencers into your strategy and one to two superstar influencers into your campaign, you can really gauge who connects with your brand the most! Be prepared though, superstar influencers can vary from $1000 per Instagram post to $5000+. My personal favourite superstar influencers?
- Video content is king!
Because being a professional Youtuber is totally a thing now! This one goes out to all the beauty lovers out there! Anyone else find themselves in a Youtube spiral, watching back to back makeup tutorials and all of a sudden your shopping cart is overflowing on sephora.com.au? 2016 is officially the year of the video and by incorporating Youtubers into your strategy, you’re essentially bringing your product to life! Vloggers content can vary from product hauls featuring various items from different brands to how to tutorials! Some of my favourites are below.
- Snapchat collaboration
So we all know there is a battle between Snapchat and Instagram, but who can say no to cute filters and emoji text? It’s addictive! While Snapchat is yet to roll out measurable analytics and data insights, most Instafamous celebs have THOUSANDS of followers on their Snapchat. And with 10+billion users on the social media channel, that’s 10+billion opportunities to share your product!
- “Employ” them as brand ambassadors
Incorporating influencers on a long-term basis is like being in a relationship. Show them a bit of love and they’ll reciprocate it right back! Except, most of the time partnerships involves a contractual agreement, outlining particular clauses, exclusivity and much more control on the type of posts your product is featured in. Brand ambassadors are great online networkers, and if you’ve snatched up an up and coming Instagram superstar, chances are, you’re one step ahead of the game as one of their go-to brands of choice.
Okay, so now you know what your influencer strategy is… but how do you find “the one?” Watch this space for my next blog post – or contact us on 07 3252 5735 to discuss how we can help take your brand to the next level!
