Influencer marketing has proven to be one of the effective and sustainable marketing channels for both large and small brands. When executed well, it increases exposure, credibility, sales, customer loyalty, user-generated content, social followings, virality, search rankings, and so much more.
Unlike more traditional forms of marketing, influencer marketing is a little messier. Brands are dealing with millions of individual influencers as opposed to one platform (like Google Adwords where you pay a certain amount and guaranteed clicks come out the other side). So, if you’re one of those brands who feels like a fish out of water, not to worry, we got your back!
We did the legwork for you by going straight to the experts (40 PR professional ninjas, to be exact) on how to roll out campaigns that knock socks off! You’re welcome.
We had these PR pros answer 3 key questions that are central to influencer marketing campaigns:
What’s the best way to find the right bloggers for your influencer marketing campaigns?
What types of influencer marketing campaigns are the most successful?
What’s the best way to track the success of influencer marketing campaigns?
You can view all of their tips compiled into one nifty little slide deck if you’d like (which, you can also embed on your own blog or website). Or if slide decks aren’t really your thing, read on…
40 Top PR Pros Share Their Tips On Effective Influencer Marketing
Now, without further ado, the experts…
Christine Faulhaber
of
Faulhaber Communications
@faulhabercomm
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
Research on social media is a great way to find talent. Find out who works with them and how credible their campaigns are. Are they engaging? If you are starting a new campaign it makes the most sense to source a media kit from the blogger. Bloggers are becoming more and more savvy in working with brands and understand that PRs need a snapshot of their reach, demographics and regional influencers for both their websites and social platforms. We also are constantly using our networks and asking our influencers who they would recommend.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Influencer marketing campaigns that work are ones where we leverage and build in content for all the specific platforms (blog, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) Unique and bespoke assets that echo their brand ethos and speak to their audience are key to success. Charitable tie-ins or giveaways work well to drum up audience engagement, so whenever we can build them in, win-win.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
In order to smartly track the success of influencer marketing campaigns, we review engagement and analytics. Ask these questions: Can we find a correlation between viewership/readership and click throughs? Can we build in discount coding leveraging the influencers name if the brand is looking to increase sales? Success directly relates back to the brand’s KPIs, so those need to be identified early so the agency can identify ways to track against them.
Laura Perez
of
By Laura PR
@bylaurapr
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The best way to find the right bloggers is to search for them on social media. Both their style and past collaborations and social media presence plays a huge part in ultimately deciding if they are the perfect fit for my clients brand. Upon listing the bloggers who fit the criteria, I reach out to them, first to ask if they like to collaborate with my client and I provide them my clients background and media kit. Upon confirmation of a mutual interest, we move forward with a collaboration that will benefit both the designer and the blogger.
Chevy Donato
of
NOW + ZEN PUBLIC RELATIONS
@chevydonato + @NowZenPR
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
There are a few ways to find the right bloggers for influencer marketing campaigns. To decide what is best you must first understand your client’s goals. Some brands rely on blogger images as a source of content to use on their own social media channels. In this case, the only solution is researching blogs and social media channels to find bloggers that are an organic fit for the brand. It also helps to monitor other brands that share the demographic and style of your client. You can usually find likeminded bloggers featured that would be a good fit for your client as well.
Many times the main goal of a client is to drive traffic to their website and converting the traffic into sales. I have found success in sending creative gift packages to a hand picked group of bloggers and gauging the results from the gifting effort. There is risk involved, but if a client has ample product to spare, it is worth it. You can learn a lot regarding the bloggers work ethic, editorial content and engagement by simply gifting with no guarantees. Then, when it is time to invest in a campaign, you can use those results to decide which is the best blogger to compensate.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
The best campaigns for my clients have been achieved by working with bloggers who work with affiliate linking programs. Affiliate linking makes it easy for everyone to come out a winner after a campaign. The blogger benefits by earning a commission on their sales and the client can easily track the conversions. Affiliate linking programs also make a brand more enticing to work with, especially when a budget is tight. In today’s digital age, a consumer craves a visual interpretation of a brand and wants to shop instantaneously. For these reasons, the most popular and successful program for my clients has been rewardStyle and their Instagram component, Like to Know it.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
In my case, I have been very lucky that my clients are vocal about which bloggers or influencers drive the most traffic and conversions to their e-commerce sites and retailers. I think it’s very important to have open communication where a client can share the successes and failures of certain campaigns. Tracking success goes beyond just watching a social media following increase, it is important for a client to share back-end information regarding traffic, click-throughs and conversions.
Sydney Mintle
of
Gossip & Glamour
@GossipGlamour
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The best way to find bloggers for influencer marketing campaigns is to connect with them offline and really get to know them. We frequently host blogger mixers and events so that we can find out who is writing about topics that align with the brands we work with and how we can best facilitate the content generation process.
Reva C.J.
of
Milan Media Group
@thepr_doll + @MilanMediaGroup
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
I use all of my resources to stay knowledgeable about the best established bloggers as well as the emerging ones but social media has been one of the biggest aids in locating potential influencers. I choose bloggers based on how well they align with the client’s brand and whose primary focus and audience is the same as the client’s.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Instagram promo marketing campaigns (without promo codes) have done tremendously well for my clients due to the huge focus on images and the positive impulsive reactions it creates for viewers. Clients want to see measurable results from these campaigns and Instagram provides an easy way to post unique content, drive traffic and measure engagement. On the flip side, viewers want to see authentic posts by influencers they trust and look to for guidance towards the appropriate products.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
Promo codes are a great way to track results, but a lot of brands prefer not to use discount codes because it doesn’t seem authentic. In that case, I think isolating the campaign ensuring it is the only activation is a good way to track engagement, sales, etc.
Danika Daly
of
Danika Daly PR
@DanikaDalyPR
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Influencer marketing campaigns work best when you present a unique idea to an influencer. Something a bit more thought out than simply sending them product to include in a post, though that works, too! Influencers get so many pitches a minute, so you want to create a campaign that’s exciting for them. When there is a call to action for their readers/viewers/followers it goes even further. I like to do giveaways or discounts with our clients and influencers. It’s a win-win because influencers love being able to offer something to their readers because it generates more engagement for them, and more interaction leads to increased results for our client.
Harris Theophanous
of
PR 360 Global
@pr360global
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The best way to find the right bloggers is through previous experience, lists from services that provide contact information and from researching the field that is appropriate with the marketing campaign.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
One of the best influencer marketing campaigns is giveaways with online and digital outlets that have high numbers of followers and UVPM’s that mean more visitors get to see the brand you are exposing.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
When we do a giveaway we usually provide codes for the partnering digital/online outlet that way we can track who enters and from where they are coming to us.
Ali Grant
of
Be Social
@besocialpr
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
We use a handful of proprietary tools to find our influencers. Additionally we do a lot of Instagram searching (we could spend forever on Instagram!), we use Bloglovin’, a simple Google search, Cision, referrals from other Influencers, among other software platforms.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Our agency has seen success in various ways. It really comes down to what your overarching goal is. If you’re looking for a following and engagement boost, giveaways certainly provide that. Instagram takeovers are ideal for introducing your company to a new set of consumers.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
We look at a handful of KPIs. Typically, we will look at Google Analytics to track web referral and sales, additionally we look at the following growth and over engagement.
Danielle Gano
of
Elle Communications
@ellecomm
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
The most effective way to measure influencer marketing starts with ensuring you have well-designed goals before you begin. Whether you’re trying to create more traffic to a website, increase sales for a product or establish credibility for a brand, you need to know what it is that you’re trying to achieve. From there, it becomes much easier to identify the metrics and milestones that will get you to your end goal.
Crosby Nicks
of
PR Couture
@prcouture
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
There are a handful of companies, like the Shelf, that exist to bridge the gap between campaign opportunities and influencers. A business willing to invest the time can also put together a contact list on their own by searching with the keywords on Google, Instagram and Twitter. One of my favorite strategies is to find a blogger who is a fit, and ask her to recommend others in her space that she thinks would be a fit for the project.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
It all depends on the client and how you define “the best” campaigns. If we assume that the goal is simply exposure to the product, for example, the influencer campaign often comes down to – how many people can we reach with our budget? A new fragrance, for example, could send out small vials of the scent to encourage trial and social media recommendations, perhaps going broadly with giveaways across multiple blog verticals. A high-end designer with a small rack of samples doesn’t have the mass sampling option – for her, a photo shoot with a handful of bloggers, plus a behind-the-scenes style video, a hosted pop-up shop, influencer dinner or an Instagram takeover might be a more on brand and budget-friendly way to go.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
It starts with clear outcomes and objectives. Each social media platform has its own analytics (and barriers to overcome), which is partly why hashtags are so important. Hashtags allow you to at least track mentions across Instagram and Twitter. However, it’s not always about the number of mentions, but looking at the sentiment and of course, what happened next. Was their a spike in website traffic? Did a popular fashion website pick up images from the photo shoot, which snowballed into a media frenzy? There are the numbers for sure, and then is stepping back and looking at the program as a whole. Sometimes, success is simply the fact that the company tried something different and created content they feel proud to share.
Elena Verlee
of
Cross Border Communications
and PR in your Pajamas
@elenaverlee
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
We’ve used a number of platforms such as Vocus and Meltwater that cover both traditional media and influencers. We’ve also worked directly with individuals that have an influencer database of maybe only several hundred, or a few thousand. This tends to be a tightly integrated community, excited to help spark conversations, each with a unique voice. Working with smaller groups help streamline our work processes, keep brand messages consistent and allow client budgets go a longer way.
Paul Balcerak
of
Curator PR
@curatorpr
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The right blogger for an influencer campaign is the one you already know will rock it. So the best way to find them is to already have them in your head (and/or Rolodex).
Influential bloggers gained their influence by establishing trust with their audiences. When you approach a blogger about an influencer campaign, you’re asking them to ask their audience to trust you, too. That’s an extraordinary ask. And it can come across as a little skeevy if the ask is coming from a stranger.
Don’t wait for a campaign to come up to establish relationships with influencers. Get working on those relationships now so that when the time comes, you’ll know who’s suited for what, and who’s interested.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
We define unique measures of success for each campaign, so it’s hard to say that a certain type of does better or worse than another. That said, we find that campaigns in general perform best when they’re designed to allow influencers the freedom to be themselves.
Great example: I read an article a while back—I don’t remember where—about a large brand that had hired someone to post on Snapchat for them. The assignment was pretty free-flowing: Go to X location and post on Snapchat about our brand. The brand’s marketing director said that was intentional. “I didn’t hire this influencer to do what I want him to do—I hired him to do what he does, because that’s why he’s popular,” the marketing director said (paraphrasing).
We try to embrace that in our influencer-marketing campaigns. We don’t want to just blast a message to an audience; we want to connect with an audience. Influencers know how to do that.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
If you don’t define what success is before your campaign starts, someone else will define it for you. Make sure you and your client have a clear understanding of what your campaign is aiming to accomplish (again, before it starts), and measure metrics that ladder up to those goals.
For example, if I’m trying to raise awareness of a product, likes/comments/shares—on any social network—are probably going to be some of my primary tools for measurement. But if I’m working to drive traffic back to a website, there’s no real reason to care about social actions; they’re ancillary to my goal of driving web traffic.
Be the expert who says, “Oh, you’re trying to accomplish X; we need to measure Y.”
KristinAnn Janishefski
of
The Vanguard PR
@VANGUARDPR
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
It seems like there are thousands of new bloggers popping up on our radar every month and not only in the fashion space, but expanding in numerous different categories like home design, food, eco, travel, and more. With that comes an exciting opportunity to partner with influencers on marketing campaigns that can increase the exposure for clients across a broad landscape, and with that it is your job as a publicist to filter and edit the “right” blogger that will appeal to the demographic of your client and result in a successful partnership. At The Vanguard PR we specialize in working with clients in the social good and sustainability space and find that the most effective way to seek out influencers is through social media. On an hourly basis, we have our team of assistants coming through Instagram posts of online outlets like style.com and Who What Wear, as well as paying close attention to what bloggers the high profile media outlets like Vogue, Bazaar, etc are posting and promoting on their Instagram. That way we know when we go to pitch a client an idea about a potential collaboration with blogger XYZ, we are already coming to the table armed with insight on why this would be a successful partnership and which media would be interested in the news.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
The most successful campaigns are those in which influencers have two key attributes: a strong, loyal following and an organic affinity to the brand. Simply put, the partnership needs to make sense to your supporters. Social media users are savvy and they’ll know if your influencers are solely motivated by perks or money.
Malania Dela Cruz
of
Dela Cruz PR
@delacruzpr
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
We take a few things into consideration when looking for a blogger to work with for a specific campaign. Their reach, demographic, along with style of their content are all part of the criteria we look at when aligning with an influencer. We have a solid list of bloggers who we’ve built strong relationships with over the years and will usually choose from that pool, however, at times we do work with agencies that represent a variety of online influencers to find the right fit for a collaboration.
Aljolynn Sperber
of
Marketing Maven
@marketingmaven2
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Depending on the type client, goals of the campaign, and tools available, measuring and analyzing influencer marketing performance can be a simple but time consuming task. So here are the metrics to look out for:
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Traffic to the website, in-store, or app.
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Monitor online mentions either with a social listening platform, using Google search terms, or a designated hashtag. You can also monitor sentiment too.
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Track community growth: did the influencer send a wave of new fans to your social networks?
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Increase in social media engagements. Fluctuation in likes, comments, retweets, or shares?
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Conversions! Did the influencer drive an increase in app downloads, purchases, email sign-ups, etc.? You can track sales conversions by monitoring the number of coupon code redemptions or app downloads during a certain timeframe or checking which social network new downloads funneled from.
Shannon Cavanagh
of
Pitch! Press
@PitchPress
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
It’s best to do research before embarking on an influencer produced marketing campaign. Make sure to inquire about their followers, are they paid for or are they organic? Who is their core demographic and does that align with your core customer? If you choose to proceed with partnering, the best tool then for tracking is simple: track your sales. Posts and campaigns should boost sales along with brand awareness. If the sales are not translatable, then it is just another pretty picture with a ‘like’.
Howard Ruben
of
Howard Ruben Communications, Inc.
@howardruben
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
It’s important to know what the blogger writes about and how they approach their craft. There’s a fair amount of due diligence involved, but we find that the really good bloggers are the ones with a lot of credibility and insight. The key is to try and engage them as opposed to merely asking that they write about your client. You want to cultivate, not alienate, these potential contacts. If they feel you are coming from a place of transparency and have knowledge about what they do, they may be more amenable to checking out your client.
Cindy Riccio
of
CRC (Cindy Riccio Communications)
@CRC_PR
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
We’ve had great success partnering with bloggers to facilitate giveaways. In this way, our brands’ products are placed directly into the hands of select consumers while being promoted to many via distinguished outlets.
Mark Nardone
of
PAN Communications
@pancomm
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
Marketers need to first consider two different sets of metrics – influencer and influencer referrals. On the influencer side, website and social engagement metrics can determine the relevancy of content to the influencer and can gauge whether you’re sending the right message. Measure influencer referrals based on content engagement, such as form submissions, content engagement and customer conversions. But the real value lies in the influencer’s relationship with your brand. While promoting your content to gain traffic, credibility and leads is important, influencer advocacy ensures an ongoing relationship to relationship engagement and the “holy grail” of your efforts.
Mallory Goldstein
of
Mariposa Communications
@MariposaComm
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Mariposa Communications loves working with our clients on customizing unique PR campaigns for their brand. We believe the types of influencer campaigns that perform the best and create deep engagement with consumers are ones that have a very organic feel to them. The brand (or product) and influencer must have a matching audience, and the influencer has to believe in the story they are telling to their fans in order for it to be a success, creating desire from the consumer to want to go out and buy the product or check out the brand being promoted.
Nancy Vaughn
of
White Book Agency
@whitebookagency
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
We’ve found success with influencer marketing campaigns through giveaways and co-hosted in-person and virtual events. With giveaways, we provide the influencer with the product to try so that they’re able to give an honest and accurate review because when s/he really likes our client’s product, that comes across in the video and/or writing. Then we typically provide the item to giveaway to their audience/followers or some sort of shopping incentive (i.e. personalized codes, packages, etc.) And with co-hosted in-person and virtual events, it’s a win-win situation. The influencer is able to get their personal brand in front of our clients’ audience and our client gets in front of the influencers’ audience. Whether it’s co-hosting a webinar or tweet chat, or a planned in-person event which may be open or invite only. This doesn’t always result in attendee coverage (blog posts, articles, etc.) but it’s great for relationship-building and brand recognition, where some of the attendees convert to becoming loyal customers.
Janelle Langford
of
SUITE PR & Showroom
@janellelangford
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
It’s our experience that face to face interaction works best when activating a marketing campaign with digital influencers. In the past we have raised visibility with our clients by 11% with engaging blogger meet up events and pop-up shops. The style soirees, as we term them, allow influencers to interact with the brand on site while providing pertinent feedback to help us as a firm, better grow our clients’ brands.
Alexandra Kirsch
of
Finn Partners
@finnpartners
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
Establishing a realistic measurement framework is essential in the execution of an influencer campaign. We evaluate each of our campaigns based on an engagement-focused mindset – focusing on a return on engagement versus return on investment. It’s also critical to identify influencers based on criteria that extends beyond reach. We also identify bloggers based on content relevance and resonance.
For influencer programs, we evaluate success based on quantitative factors: number of placements (inclusive of social posts), impressions (a look at each post’s respective reach – size of readership, inclusive of social audience when applicable), as well as engagement with published content (comments, RTs, replies, mentions and shares). We also look at the qualitative factors, including: quality of published content (did they include images, video?) and post originality (did they elaborate beyond our suggested areas of coverage?).
Crystal Kwon
of
Citizen Relations
@CitizenPR
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The best way to find the right bloggers is by first having an intimate understanding of their content. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to provide opportunities and incentives that will best resonate with them and their audiences, allowing brands to be authentically front and centre.
Mandie Erickson
of
Seventh House PR
@seventhhouse
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The best way to find the right bloggers for influencer marketing campaigns is to find someone with an organic connection to the product or campaign. At Seventh House PR, we are most interested in working with bloggers who have an astute grasp of the product and already have firm supporters of the product and/or campaign. This is paramount in connecting bloggers with campaigns; before putting together any paid posts or endorsement deals. These also seem to us to be the most natural way of working with bloggers and influencers in order to form the foundation for building lifetime relationships between bloggers/influencers and the product or campaign.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
It really depends on the project and the price points of the product. Giveaways are the most effective for products which have a low price point. In today’s social media crazed world, Instagram is absolutely one of the strongest mediums for luxury brands. I am actually very excited about the new app, Periscope, which I think will become one of the biggest platforms for luxury brands.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
It’s rather difficult to gauge unless the product or campaign is directly linked to e-commerce. Otherwise it is all about brand building and aligning with true influencers and notable bloggers to help organically link to peer groups, targeted outlets, and strategic marketing campaigns.
Suki Mulberg Altamirano
of
Lexington PR
@LexingtonPR
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Giveaways, Instagram takeovers and Snapchat campaigns all do really well but we are interested in any type of campaign that works well for our clients.
Our clients have found great success with influencer marketing campaigns involving Instagram takeovers. Whether this is a “day in the life” snapshot or a “behind the scenes” look during an event like New York Fashion Week, these campaigns have the ability to expand visibility and grow followers for both the brand and the influencer.
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
At PR 20/20, we frequently use Buzzsumo for influencer marketing campaigns. Search a topic or keyword in the tool’s Influencers tab, and it pulls a list of top influencers based on domain authority, Twitter followers, retweet ratio and more. This data can inform strategy for even the most niche buyer personas.
Freek Janssen
of
LEWIS PR
@lewisprnl
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
For B2B thought leadership campaigns, the best way to find and approach online influencers is to become one. If you build an audience by sharing your knowledge and expertise on a regular basis, you will be much better positioned to approach online influencers. Read what they write, engage with them on social media, refer to their posts on your blog. If you are able to do this in a genuine way, eventually you will be seen as one of the influencers and earn mentions, backlinks and recommendations. Also, give consideration as to who is influential to your influencers. Not so much six degrees of separation but at least two.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
The success of thought leadership influencer marketing campaigns can best be measured by engagement; how often do online influencers refer to you? What is the impact of these references (based on level of influence and sentiment)? Becoming an influencer in your own right as part of an influencer marketing programme has other benefits that add to the success. You may very well be offered a speaking opportunity at an industry event, or be quoted by a journalist. It can also enhance your SEO results – by writing about a certain topic on a regular basis, your website will rank higher in Google search results.
Gugs Sarna
of
LEWIS Pulse UK
@lewispruk
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
In terms of the type of influencer marketing campaigns that work best, it’s important to know what is right for each audience. It’s not a one size fits all approach so it will always vary. Make sure you spend time not only finding the right influencers but also working on a proper engagement process with consistent strategic thinking. What you share with your influencer networks will define how they interact with you.
Karine Idrissi
of
Stop & Stare PR
@StopandStarePR
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
Instagram is my go-to tool when exploring possible influencers for my clients campaigns. It allows me to get a real sense of what kind of content they will create and better place them with the appropriate brand. It’s not always about the number of followers, but the quality of the images they put together.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Giveaways and contests are always a great hit in order to build awareness and buzz around a brand. That being said, we are now working in a world where the giveaways have to be of high-value in order to standout and when paired with the proper influencer, can make for a really great initiative.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
There’s a number of ways I track the success of a campaign; Iconosquare, Google Analytics, bit.ly (if there’s a link involved), Facebook analytics. Depending on what the scope and objectives of the campaign are, the tools used will vary.
Erika Kauffman
of
5W Public Relations
@5W_PR
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
When working with influencers, we’re very careful to create tailored opportunities for the right personalities. Rather than create a “one-size-fits-all” campaign, we work with our brands to create unique campaigns (be it a capsule collection, a contest opportunity, or a social media takeover) with specific individuals in mind. This not only ensures that the brand/influencer partnership is right for our client, it goes a long way in getting our influencer partners engaged with the collaboration. It’s all about curating the experience, which begins with the influencer and extends to our audience through digital and traditional channels. Consumers are savvy and can tell when a campaign feels forced. Our best campaigns are when both the brand and the influencer are excited. It’s our job as an agency to understand where the authenticity lies, bring that creativity, and cause that spark.
Lexie Olson
of
Melrose PR
@LexiePROlson
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
Finding the right bloggers takes research. You can research popular and trending hashtags on Instagram; you can Google the most influential bloggers in a certain demographic or topic; you can research similar companies and see what blogs have featured them. Once you have compiled a target list, it’s time to reach out. Today, many popular bloggers will charge brands for features. However, there are still bloggers out there who will trade product for a feature! The “right” blogger should have a solid following not only on their blog, but also a substantial network across social media platforms, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. However, the number one way to connect to ANY influencer is through a personal contact. It’s ALL about networking!
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
We by far see that Facebook translates into the most direct online sales. Why? Because on Facebook you can hyperlink directly to a brand’s website. You can also pay to boost a post or page to a targeted demographic through the Facebook platform. Today’s consumers are visual and regularly respond best when they see images paired with text. A great influencer marketing campaign features a popular blogger or influencer, with a large social following, recommending or showcasing a brand across all of their online and social platforms.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
A great way to see if an influencer marketing campaign is successful, is to issue specific coupon codes for influencers to list in conjunction with their post. This way, brands can track where their online traffic is coming from. It quickly becomes apparent which influencer’s audiences are proactive and translate directly into sales.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
When tracking the success of a digital influencer marketing campaign, my team and I look for boosts in three main areas: social media following, traffic driven to the brand’s website, and the resulting e-commerce sales. We also frequently check the feedback and comments that the influencer is getting from their following. This is a great way to get sort of a faux focus group response from the target market you are aiming for.
Rosie Davies
of
The London Fashion Agency
@LdnFashionAgcy
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
I always look at what other brands they’re featuring, this helps me to determine if their audience is right for the client I am working for. I look at how many social media follows they have and how exciting their content is. I find bloggers are more exciting when they are not just doing outfit posts constantly.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Gifting celebs works for most of my brands, if we can get one of their items on a celebrity it usually results in the product selling out!
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
Well sales are of course a good indication to how successful a campaign has been but we also measure web traffic and social media increase.
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
With the nearly endless supply of incredible influencers at our fingertips, selecting the right blogger for a partnership can be overwhelming. Depending on the client’s priorities, we consider a variety of factors, including the size of their following, the demographic of their followers, the style of their content, their geographical location, and examples of their work with other brands. Above all, we look for a partner who feels organic and genuine.
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
The bloggers with the most followers should be picked first (Instagram can be useful to find them) as they have the widest audience. But if a blogger shares the same values as your brand, connect with the same category of readers/customers, it’s better! To find the right bloggers is to achieve a great balance between the number of followers and the “quality” of the followers. So as a brand you need access to the readership’s data to determine if you would be targeting the audience you want your brand to connect with. Sometimes it’s better to pick an “underdog” blogger but with a fan base strong enough so the blog followers will turn into brand advocates themselves and buy the brand’s products too. So a brand should work with bloggers that can drive traffic to their website and impact their sales positively. So the right bloggers are the ones with the strongest influence. Just having the brand or its products showcased isn’t enough. The bloggers need to explain what’s the brand is about, test the product etc. not just upload a picture. A good marketing campaign needs relevant, engaging and attractive content to be efficient (video, giveaway).
Cece Feinberg
of
Feinberg PR
@cecefeinberg
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
Immerse yourself in the market you want to reach. To find the most influential beauty bloggers, you have to put yourself in the shoes of a curious beauty lover searching for what’s important to them: tutorials on Kylie Jenner’s makeup, how to clear up my skin, a brand new makeup product review, etc. The most relevant bloggers will rise to the forefront of your search across YouTube, social media channels and their personal blogs.
Captivating, innovative content is indicative of a quality blogger. In today’s world of Insta-fame and purchased fans, it’s crucial to look beyond the cold number of followers. What’s most important is engagement – a blogger with 10,000 followers but 3 comments isn’t actually influencing their audience. Followers will only click through to your marketed products if they truly admire their influencer.
Suzanne Droese
of
Droese Public Relations
@droesepr
#1 : ON FINDING BLOGGERS
At Droese Public Relations, we practice strategic marketing and public relations. Within each client strategy, we set out to increase brand awareness through several vehicles – a strong editorial footprint, innovative events, celebrity seeding and influencer relationships. We look to align each brand with like minded brands, individuals and business that embody each brand’s DNA. Depending upon the client, we may also select a handful of appropriate bloggers, and from there combine our marketing and sales goals to identify desired partners.
#2 : ON CREATING CAMPAIGNS
Celebrity partners and bloggers are a powerful tool if used in a strategic and mindful manner. As the marketplace is saturated with brands that pay large sums for appearances and sponsored posts, we strongly believe in building organic relationships. A true ROI can be measured through an organic relationship, more so than a one-time paid partnership.
#3 : ON TRACKING CAMPAIGNS
Droese Public Relations measures results based on media impressions and conversions to sales. As we find it difficult to measure ROI for PR, we strongly believe in both print and digital public relations campaigns to successfully measure results. We track through click-throughs and press generated through the campaign.
So, there you have it! 40 expert opinions on how to roll out influencer marketing campaigns like a boss. And because this post turned into a mini-novel, here’s the slide deck and embed code…
Make sure to select the entire code below, and then paste that into your blog or webpage. Thanks for sharing!
Be sure to check out the infographic version of this post as well!
The PR Roundup Infographic can be embeded on your own blog or website…yay for ready-made content! If we missed anything, we’d love to hear about your own tips and tricks in the comments!!
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