Understanding influencers' value

© Marcos Calvo Mesa via 123RF

You can also expect to see the rise of full-time influencers – skilled creatives who produce quality branded content and less of those who rely on their popularity to sustain the hype.

As marketers, it is our job to establish the rules of engagement so that both parties can get the most value out of the brand-influencer relationship. Here we share three hard-won lessons we have learned while working on over 1,000 influencer marketing campaigns at Webfluential.

Three lessons

1. Let the influencer do the talking - Audiences are smart; they see through generic brand plugs. Hayley Wessels, Webfluential’s national sales manager, has some advice for brands. “Remember that it is the brand’s role to write the brief, not the content. Using an influencer to wax lyrical about your product while reading product benefits straight from a brochure almost guarantees failure. Influencers know their audience better than you do, so rather let them craft the message – that’s what you’re paying them for.

2. Search for The One, not just anyone - Webfluential content strategist, Thozi Sejanamane, suggests investigating the social feeds of potential influencers you would like to collaborate with. Look for someone who is picky about the brands they work with and not an influencer who says ‘yes’ to every brand that comes a ’knocking – your content will not get the love it deserves. Another important consideration is whether they work for the competition. “You need to search for an authentic voice with a true passion for your brand and products, rather than someone with a big follower count,” says Sejanamane.

3. You get what you pay for - You are not just paying for a photo to be taken or a few promotional sentences posted online without much thought. When you pay an influencer, you pay them to create authentic content that their audience will engage with. The influencer also gives you access to an audience you may not have been able to reach otherwise.

“It’s not just about content creation – you’re also paying the influencer to endorse your brand,” says Wessels. “Whether we like it or not, the moment they create content for the brand, they’re aligning with it.”

Influencer marketing works – just look at Casey Neistat’s work with Mercedes-Benz and other examples – and, like any marketing effort, you need to be smart about who you partner with. Apply these lessons to your next influencer marketing campaign and you are guaranteed to create greater value and reach for your brand.