Influencer Marketing and Holiday Campaigns
The holiday season is one of the busiest and competitive times of the year, which is why it is important to strategize early on how to incorporate influencers into your marketing plans so you can make sure your brand gets noticed.
According to the State of the Industry report, influencer marketing is now practiced by 93% of marketers. “But consumers won’t accept advice from just anybody. Marketing over-saturation has made them skeptical, eroding their trust in brands, and forcing them to turn to buying recommendations from those that they already know. Within this trusted inner circle reside social media influencers. These are social media micro-celebrities who espouse the values or live the lifestyles that their followers aspire to, in every arena from world travel to fashion, parenthood, video games, and comedy. Unlike traditional forms of advertisements, influencers are real people who share their lives publicly. Consumers are lured by the refreshing burst of authenticity and expertise that they offer.”
Be sure to start early with planning your campaign. This is important because influencers’ calendars fill quickly this time of the year. We recommend giving yourself as much as seven weeks time to leave room for negotiation and contracts, product procurement and shipment, and content creating and editing. Because so many brands want to partner with influencers to promote their products, getting a head start here is key.
When looking for influencers to partner with, consider ones you have worked with in the past or ones who are already talking about your brand. Working with those you have previously partnered with is great for building a long-term relationship and showing your trust in them. You know they will produce quality, result-worthy content, meet deadlines, and are already familiar with your brand. Another option for finding influencers is to search for ones who are already talking about your products. Their content will be extremely authentic and seem less ad-like to their followers since they have featured your products in past content.
Reviewing content prior to influencers posting is the best way to make sure they have met campaign requirements and that their content contains all the necessary material. Create a submission deadline for this, and have everyone send their content at the same time to be sure you aren’t missing anything from anyone. Make sure this deadline provides influencers enough time to make any edits if necessary prior to their posting date. Though they may only be required to post on select platforms, now is the time to consider if influencer content will translate well across other platforms, too. The State of the Industry report notes that 90.1% of brands either are or plan to repurpose influencer content across different marketing channels. This may be something to bring to your influencers’ attention prior to them beginning their work, either in their proposal or contract.
As influencers begin uploading content, make sure you have a system in place to measure results. There is no shortage of software platforms to choose from, from site likes Tell, CreatorIQ, Upfluence... the list goes on. Many of these platforms provide services beyond just pulling metrics, so take time to do your research to find out which platform will work best for your needs.
Do you have any influencer campaigns in the works this holiday season? If you do, great! If you don’t, start thinking about your influencer marketing campaigns for next year now.
Dara Schlossmann is an Influencer Manager at Foodie Tribe. In her free time you will find her taking advantage of the sunny Florida weather, traveling, or in the kitchen cooking up a new recipe.