How To Avoid Influencer Marketing Failure

By Shane Barker
Digital Marketing Consultant
California, US
Connect

Are you spending your marketing dollars wisely? Or are you investing them in marketing channels that don’t work? With constant changes in the industry, you can’t rely on the same tactics that you have been using for 10 years. For instance, maybe you’re still betting most of your marketing budget on banner ads. But if you’ve been keeping track of internet usage trends, you might want to take a step back because 198 million people around the world are now using adblock.

As a marketer you need to be on a constant lookout for better, more effective marketing tactics and channels such as native advertising. One of the biggest trends connected to native advertising right now is influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is the method of promoting your brand and/or products through influential individuals. It has recently been in the limelight because consumers trust influencers. And with other changes like the rise in adblock usage, there’s an increasing need for brands to reach out to their audience through trusted and respected sources.

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Why Brands Flock to Influencers

For the more skeptical, the increase in popularity of influencer marketing may seem like just a passing fad. But there’s a reason behind brands swearing by influencers, which Augure clearly proved in the extensive study they conducted. In their “State of Influencer Engagement in 2015” report, they revealed that 69% of professionals consider influencer marketing an effective marketing channel. Let’s take a look at some other interesting findings highlighted in the report:

• Increase visibility for your brand – Influencer marketing has been proven to be highly effective for increasing a brand’s visibility. The study found that 93% of professionals say it has been effective for raising brand awareness.

The reason behind this increased visibility is because of the level of reach influencers have, especially on social media. Even the small-time influencers have thousands of followers, while top influencers have millions of loyal fans who stay updated on their activity. So an influencer can effectively promote your brand to thousands of people at a time.

• Generate more high-quality leads – 75% of professionals say that influencer marketing has effectively helped them generate leads. When a trusted individual talks about your product or even raves about it, it puts more authenticity in the promotion compared to traditional advertising. These influencers also know how to instill the desire to buy the product in their audience, helping you generate leads.

Additionally, a study by Tomoson shows that influencer marketing has helped 51% of marketers in acquiring better customers. Influencers help you spread your brand message and reach out to thousands of relevant individuals who become high-quality leads for your brand.

Garner customer loyalty – Another interesting fact is that 76% of professionals have experienced a boost in customer loyalty with the help of influencer marketing. Loyalty begins with trust. And when a trusted influencer vouches for you, they help you win over and earn the trust of their audience. This establishes a foundation for gaining their loyalty in the long run.

So you can see that there are plenty of reasons why marketers embrace influencer marketing to promote their brands. The previously-cited Tomoson study also revealed several intriguing facts about influencer marketing and its benefits such as a huge return on investment (ROI). The study discovered that marketers earn an average of $6.50 for every dollar they invest in influencer marketing.

Since the channel offers huge returns on investment and generates high-quality leads at minimal cost, it’s bound to be one of the most inexpensive ways to market your brand. In fact, the study showed how influencer marketing, along with email marketing, was considered to be the most cost-effective solution for acquiring new customers.

The Downside of Influencer Marketing

You’ve seen hard facts pointing out the extensive benefits of influencer marketing. So you should understand why this marketing channel is gaining ground in the advertising industry and in the field of native advertising. At the same time, influencer marketing does have a few downsides. The main problem with influencer marketing is the series of challenges you might encounter while trying to execute a successful campaign. But every marketing channel has its share of challenges; you just have to learn how to overcome them.

Related: What to Look Out For With Influencers in Native Advertising

Let’s take a look at what the Augure study found when they tried to determine the biggest challenges faced with influencer marketing:

• The challenge of identifying the right influencers – The biggest challenge you may encounter in influencer marketing is that of identifying the right influencers. To successfully launch an influencer marketing campaign, you need to work with the right influencers. This means you need to find out who influences your target audience and whether they’re right for your brand.

Does the influencer have a large enough following to guarantee significant reach? Do they engage with their audience to help drive conversions? These are some of the questions you will need to ask yourself when trying to identify and filter out potential influencers to work with. Otherwise, working with the wrong influencer could prove to be a waste of time and money or even end up damaging your brand reputation.

• The challenge of finding the right engagement tactics – So you’ve found some excellent potential influencers for your brand. What do you do next? You will need to reach out to those influencers and engage with them to initiate a partnership. This might prove to be difficult because 69% of professionals say that finding the right engagement tactics is the second biggest influencer marketing challenge.

When reaching out to influencers, you’ll be competing with plenty of other brands that also want the same thing from the influencer. So you will need to work on how you can stand out and grab the attention of the influencer.

• Other challenges – The Augure study also discovered many other challenges that could hinder your influencer marketing efforts and prevent you from successfully implementing a campaign. Some find it difficult to measure their campaign performance, while others are unable to accurately keep track of an influencer’s activity. For some marketers, budget constraints may even come in the way of success with influencer marketing.

How To Avoid Influencer Marketing Failure

Although there are plenty of challenges in influencer marketing, thorough preparation and planning can help you overcome those challenges. Use some of these tips to avoid the biggest influencer marketing mistakes:

• In-depth research of your target audience and potential influencers can help you find the right influencers. To make your research and outreach process easier, make use of tools like Klear and Traackr.
• Have a set goal in mind and then create a plan based on that goal. Document your progress along the way so you can keep track of what’s effective and what’s not.
• Take time to get to know your audience so you can gain a better understanding of which influencers they look up to and which social channels they’re most likely to use. This will help you determine the most effective methods to reach out to them.

Bottom Line

By now it should be clear that influencer marketing plays a significant role in today’s marketing scene. As marketers are compelled to win the trust of their target audience, the channel offers an effective solution that is proven to boost visibility, customer loyalty, and conversions.

Looking for more info on influencer marketing? Check out this influencer marketing infographic for interesting facts and figures about the future of marketing.

Photo credit: Flickr/Quinn Dombrowski