Social media influencing connects your brand with some of the over 2.7 billion people in the social media space. No wonder influential marketing is now a key strategy for brands wanting to increase sales and expand their reach. To make your influencer campaign a success, it’s important to secure a mutually beneficial deal with the right influencer.
Since there’s no rulebook guiding the compensation of influencers, negotiation is an important skill in influencer marketing. Many influencers do, however, use rate cards outlining their charges. In cases where the influencer doesn’t have a rate card, a few negotiation classes. Here are five tips to consider when preparing to talk with influencers.
Pick the Right Influencer
Your products, services, values, and objectives as a brand determine the kind of influencer you need. For example, if you supply electrical products, hiring an electrical DIY influencer will likely be of more benefit than hiring a celebrity who isn’t considered a professional in that field.
While metrics such as number of followers, likes, views, and subscribers are important, context is key. So, it pays to consider the influencer’s relevance to your brand first. Be sure to also consider factors such as their:
- Rate of interaction
- Quality of followers
- Reputation
- Values
- Authenticity
There are three main classes of influencers:
- Celebrity influencers (> 500,000 followers)
- Macro-influencers (< 500,000 followers)
- Micro-influencers (2-10,000 followers)
Celebrity and macro-influencers have larger followings and so offer your brand more reach. However, micro-influencers may be more relevant to your brand, are more cost-effective, and are seen as trustworthy by their followers. Micro-influencers also tend to attract more engagement from their followers.
Determining the best class to work with ultimately depends on the aim and objectives of your marketing campaign, target audience, and your budget.
Make the Anchor Offer
Research shows that making the first offer in negotiations gives you a psychological advantage. Once you make the first offer, it becomes the anchor that all other offers revolve around and sets the tone of the negotiation.
While you’re trying to get the maximum ROI, your anchor offer should be justifiable. Otherwise, you may lose the influencer’s interest. If the influencer feels your offer is way off their valuation, then you may need to use more cost-effective influencers or raise your budget.
Track the Campaign’s Progress
You may agree to compensate an influencer based on your campaign’s success. One way of tracking progress and compensating accordingly is by giving a promo code to your influencer, then paying based on how often their code was used to seal a purchase.
Flat rates are also great, but influencers often put in more effort if their productivity relates directly to how well they get paid. Also, if the campaign isn’t driving as much engagement as you’d hoped, you have the flexibility to take appropriate measures. You can re-negotiate with the influencer, adjust the content of your ad, or part ways with the influencer.
Draw Up a Content Strategy
While influencers persuade their audience with recommendations, it’s your job to attract and retain potential customers. A big step to achieving conversion is selecting the best class and format of content to share.
Do you want a mention at the end of a video? Do you want your influencer to post an infographic? Perhaps you need something more complex? These packages come at a cost. An influencer will likely charge more for a quick shout-out in a live video than posting your brand’s infographic on social media, for example.
Also, it pays to take advantage of social SEO for increased sales and organic traffic growth. Including relevant links and keywords in your content opens up your website to increased web traffic from social media. So, you consider selecting an influencer with strong SEO skills.
General tips for creating a compelling ad:
- Use a powerful headline.
- Use video, infographics, or a mix of media.
- List the benefits of the product.
- Make an irresistible offer.
- Take away all doubts.
- Include testimonials.
- Use a call to action.
- Include your contact information.
Negotiate Long-term Collaborations
A long-term collaboration may allow you to buy more posts at lower rates. As well as saving money, you also get to build your brand awareness and strengthen your brand’s reach long-term. Besides, long-lasting impressions take time, and one-off posts won’t always grab people’s attention.
Building long-term relationships with micro-influencers is a budget-friendly option. In fact, micro-influencers are likely your best bet if you’re looking for an influencer with a loyal and highly engaged audience in a specific field.
