Successful brands leverage top influencers in their niches to reach larger audiences and engage them. That’s because a majority of consumers look up to their social peers for recommendations these days.
A solid influencer strategy can help you boost your brand’s reach, engagement, and overall growth. But influencer marketing can sometimes turn out to be a costly mistake too.
If you want to leverage influencer marketing successfully, you should reach out to the right influencers for your brand.
Though influencer campaigns might take some time to pay off, there are times when your strategy just might not be working. If you see any of the following five signs, it’s time to revisit your influencer strategy and optimize it to drive the desired results.
1. You can’t see any clear results
Do you ever look at your influencer campaigns and wonder what results they are driving? You might not see any clear results such as improved reach, engagement, leads, or sales.
If you can’t see any significant improvement in your brand’s visibility, chances are that your influencer strategy isn’t working.
One of the best ways to keep track of the effectiveness of your campaigns is to set clear goals. Some of the most important goals of influencer marketing include:
- Increase brand awareness
- Increase website traffic
- Drive more engagement
- Improve conversions
- Boost the ROI of your influencer campaigns
Though setting campaign goals should be the foundation step of any influencer strategy, even top brands sometimes forget this when planning their strategies. After setting clear goals for your influencer marketing campaigns, it’s essential to measure their success meticulously and consistently. Ensure to track engagement rates, click-through rates (CTR), and conversion rates to gauge the effect of each influencer collaboration. Tools such as Google Analytics can help monitor traffic to your website and conversions, while social media platforms have integrated insights into reach and engagement.
To make your job faster, you can even leverage specialized influencer marketing platforms like GRIN for a more granular view, and simplified tracking, of your campaign’s performance.
2. You’re sending mixed messages
If your influencer strategy is not in harmony with your overall marketing strategy, you can end up sending mixed messages to your audience.
You might be saying one thing on your blog and something entirely different through influencer content. This inconsistency can drive a wedge between you and your target audience. This could be the most dangerous thing you do with your brand.
To avoid this, you need to maintain consistency across all the marketing channels you use for your brand. You should find and collaborate with influencers who suit the aesthetics, tone, and values of your brand.
For instance, partnering with a radical environmental activist influencer isn’t going to reflect well on a more conservative brand.
Mixed messages can also come through when you have many different influencers promoting the same product or service. While you might think this is showing your product to have broad appeal, others may wonder if the product is really right for them. This can hold a negative impact on your product sales
Choose a message and stick to it. Find influencers who support this message and uphold your brand image.
3. You can’t find influencers
If you can’t find influencers, you probably have a problem with your strategy!
The most common reason people can’t “find” influencers is because of the way they’re defining “influencer.” Some people think influencers must have vast followings in order to qualify. They may not be able to find influencers in this category who “fit” their products or brands.
Other marketers have the opposite problem. They see everyone as a potential influencer! Sorting the “good” from the “bad” then becomes a fruitless endeavor, which leaves them rethinking how valuable influencer marketing really is.
If you’re having trouble, try revisiting your definition of an ideal content creator.
4. What influencer strategy?
Your strategy isn’t working precisely because you don’t have one. You’ve been approaching influencer marketing haphazardly, partnering with this influencer or that one as the opportunity arises. Your campaigns end up mixing messages. They rarely mesh with the marketing department’s overall messaging. You don’t measure analytics or define goals. You don’t actively seek out influencers who fit your corporate image.
This may be the result of needing to think on your feet because your company demanded influencer marketing. You never had the opportunity to sit down and hash out a plan. If you need help building a strategy, don’t worry. Help is close at hand.
Case Study: Find out how a personal care brand went from no influencer marketing strategy to a full program.
5. Your audience isn’t responding
Influencer marketing is a unique form of advertising in some ways. It’s much more measurable than older tactics such as print ad campaigns or radio jingles. You can measure how many views a video or blog post gets. Social media records the number of shares, likes, and comments your influencer’s content receives. You can track how many websites hits you’re getting and where those visitors are coming from.
Evolving with the times
As digital marketing continues to evolve, your influencer marketing strategy should as well. Make sure to keep on top of emerging trends in the digital marketing and influencer marketing landscape. For example, are you reaching out to micro influencers? Nano influencers? Are there new and emerging social media platforms you could be tapping into? Staying adaptable, informed, and ready to pivot your strategy in response to new developments, insights, and consumer behaviors will ensure your influencer marketing campaigns remain effective and relevant.
Key takeaway: If your influencer marketing strategy isn’t producing the results you want, it’s time to dig deeper to find the problem area.
With all this information in hand, it’s easy to see when your audience isn’t responding. In most cases, your influencer strategy is mismatched to your audience. In some cases, you may have fundamentally misunderstood your audience’s needs.
If you notice any of these signs, it’s time to revisit your strategy.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
