How To Create an Effective Influencer Marketing Strategy With Hypetrain?

Influencer marketing is targeted advertising that involves a partnership between brands and influencers. Thousands of businesses have successfully used this marketing strategy. This material covers the basic planning steps of an influencer marketing campaign.

Why is it important for brands to build their own influencer marketing strategies?

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective methods of communication between a brand and its target audience, demonstrated by its popularity and projected future growth.

The influencer market is expected to grow from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $13.8 billion by 2021. The market is expected to reach $16.4 billion in 2022.

Since the 14 iOS release, the Return on Investment (ROI) of influencer marketing platform has blown paid social advertising out of the water, and it appears to be the more impactful and creative choice for budget allocation.

So, here’s how to use Hypetrain to create an effective marketing strategy.

1. Determine the target audience and prepare an advertising campaign plan

The first step for launching an influencer marketing campaign is identifying the audience to whom the advertising message will be directed. Is the target demographic males 35 to 55, females 17 to 25, or children? The audience determines which social media channels are best for an influencer campaign.

Defining the distribution channel is also an important step in the planning process. For example, beauty and fashion brands use Instagram to collaborate with influencers effectively. Twitch is dominated by the video game industry. YouTube is a more versatile platform that can reach a larger audience. And you should definitely pay attention to TikTok if you want to communicate with young people under 25.

After determining your target audience and advertising distribution channel, you can move on to the planning stage. Consider the following:

  • How long will the campaign last?
  • What objectives must be met, and how will their success be measured?
  • What is the budget? The budget heavily influences the campaign’s direction, particularly with the influencers chosen (nano-, micro-, macro-, or celebrity).

We wrote about which types of influencers are best for different types of campaigns here.

It should be noted that advertising collaboration with nano influencers is less expensive than with influencers with a larger number of followers. However, this does not imply that cooperation with them will be less effective. On the contrary, nano influencers frequently have a higher engagement level with their audience.

However, the number of followers frequently determines the value of influencers’ advertising messages. According to Andrew Macarthy, author of “500 Social Media Marketing Tips,” the cost of paid Instagram posts in 2022 will range between $10 and $10,000.

2. Influencer marketing campaign budget

As previously stated, the budget is largely determined by the type of influencer you will collaborate with, the scope of the advertising campaign, and the number of influencers involved. It is important to note that despite the data presented above (the cost of advertising posts on Instagram), there is no clear limit for the cost of advertising partnerships with influencers.

In exchange for the product itself, some may agree to talk about it for free. In fact, influencers dislike this type of collaboration, and it is not recommended for large brands. On the contrary, someone can charge exorbitant fees for their services, which do not correspond to the size of the influencer’s audience or level of engagement.

To avoid making mistakes at the start of a marketing campaign, we advise brands to calculate the cost of influencer advertising. Hypetrain researches the recommended price for advertising collaboration with YouTubers and Instagram influencers using a proprietary formula based on over ten metrics.

This information is extremely useful during the campaign planning stage and can help save money or allocate it more efficiently.

3. Goals of an influencer marketing campaign

Objectives can range from testing a new product on a new audience to raising brand awareness in a new market. Influencer marketing also aids in the retention of brand followers. In general, the nature of negotiations with influencers will be determined by the marketing campaign’s purpose.

4. Finding and contacting influencers

One of the most painful aspects of influencer marketing is finding and contacting influencers. It appears that the top influencers are well known, and approaching them with an advertising proposal should not be a problem. However, as previously stated, the unique aspect of influencer marketing is that each influencer “sells” their own distinct audience. It “sells” the trust, to be more specific.

That is why, for an effective campaign, it is critical to select influencers who are as close to your brand as possible. At first, glance, turning to gamers seems counterintuitive if your company manufactures clothing. However, if the brand launches a new product line aimed at a younger audience, you should consider looking for gamers who share the brand’s values.

Sharing brand values is more than just words. It is critical to select influencers with a good reputation who will not harm the brand. Social media stars enjoy scandals, and viral topics attract new audiences, but these can sometimes be commercially damaging. Not only aspiring influencers but also influencers with millions of subscribers fall into this trap. We recommend you read the story for which Logan Paul had to apologize.

We recommend choosing an influencer that speaks about relevant topics relevant to your brand, shares your values, and has an audience that matches your target audience. This will help you better understand the audience of your chosen influencers and their values. However, it is not as simple as that. You must work a little harder to find the perfect match.

If you are having difficulty locating influencers, you can use our Hypetrain service. We monitor bloggers’ accounts and let you know if the collaboration appears promising for your company. Our engineers’ algorithms analyze all videos and their performance over the last 90 days on more than 2.4 million YouTube channels.

We also assist you in contacting influencers. When it comes to top influencers, they usually have their own agents with whom you must begin negotiations for collaboration. However, you can send a direct message to nano-influencers, and they will likely respond quickly.

5. Determining campaign effectiveness

Depending on the influencer marketing campaign’s objectives, various markers can be used to assess the campaign’s effectiveness. For example, keyword mentions on social media can be tracked. Or, if you want to increase sales, a promo code can help you figure out how many people the influencers bring in.

Generally, brands frequently employ influencer marketing as part of a larger marketing strategy to broaden their audience and increase brand loyalty. One of the indicators of effectiveness in the case of influencers could be the increase in subscribers on the brand’s social networks.

6. Smart creator briefing

Finally, plan ahead to negotiate creatives with influencers. A well-planned creator briefing is your road map to successful campaigns that exceed your expectations. If you have been working together for a long time, you may be able to trust the influencer’s opinion; however, to avoid misunderstandings, it is best to discuss how the creatives will be coordinated and how many edits the brand can make from the outset.

We shouldn’t be too picky. After all, the added value and creativity bloggers bring is what makes influencer marketing so effective, right? However, despite the artistic freedom, we must remember that the brand is the customer of the influencer campaign, and it has the final say.

So, don’t be afraid to use an adaptable brief that gives influencers enough guidance to meet expectations while also leaving room for interpretation.

Trends that will help you run an effective influencer marketing campaign

Influencer marketing is distinguished by the fact that it is constantly evolving. It is difficult to capture the attention of an audience using traditional methods. As a result, it is critical to keep track of social media trends.

The popularity of video content is the first trend we recommend paying close attention to. Adobe predicts that by 2022, online videos will account for more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic, a figure that is 15 times higher than in 2017. We went into great detail about this here.

Most social media follow this trend: YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch.

Instagram’s attempts to abandon the priority of photo content in favor of video content sparked outrage among users. Toni Tone (@t0nit0ne), a popular British-Nigerian talk show host and public speaker, wrote, “Instagram is trying so hard to compete with TikTok that they’re trying to become another TikTok. If I wanted to see video after video from random pages I don’t follow, I wouldn’t be on Instagram. Do what we need from you, and bring back the photos of our actual friends!!!”

Audio content is also popular, and the podcast industry is expected to grow rapidly.

Another trend to keep an eye on is the transition from glitz to reality. The authors of The Atlantic explain this trend using Instagram content as an example. “While Millennial influencers hauled DSLR cameras to the beach and mastered photo editing to get the perfect shot, the generation younger than them largely post directly from their mobile phones.

In fact, many teens are going out of their way to make their photos look worse. For example, Huji Cam, which makes your images look like they were taken with an old-school throwaway camera, has been downloaded more than 16 million times.”

The popularity of the BeReal app, which is the polar opposite of Instagram, confirms this trend. Photos in BeReal can only be posted at random times — the application chooses the time, and photos are taken from two cameras at once and cannot be edited. According to Google Trends, the app’s popularity began to rise in April 2022 and accelerated in July and August this year.

When discussing creatives with influencers, keep the request for natural and genuine content in mind. A picture that is overly pretty may not appeal to the aesthetics of the younger generation.

Finally, plan ahead to negotiate creatives with influencers. If you have been working together for a long time, you may be able to trust the influencer’s opinion; however, to avoid misunderstandings, it is best to discuss how the creatives will be coordinated and how many edits the brand can make from the outset.

We shouldn’t be too picky; after all, the influencer is the one who “sells” their goods and services to the audience. Despite the artistic freedom, we must remember that the brand is the customer of the influencer campaign, and it has the final say.

Let Hypetrain power your journey with automation and big data analysis if you have an upcoming marketing campaign. We want you to focus on creativity rather than routine tasks. Just enter your email, and you are all set to explore all the features of our user-friendly platform. 

Heron Nelson
 

Heron is a business blogger with a focus on personal finance and wealth management. With over 7 years of experience writing about financial topics, Heron has established herself as a trusted voice in the personal finance space. She has a deep understanding of financial concepts and strategies, and is able to explain them in a relatable and actionable way for her readers.