Influencer marketing has proven to be an extremely effective marketing strategy for companies to reach and impact their audience. But just like any other marketing effort, it is important to know how to execute in order to get the best possible results.
Working with influencers is hot and we notice a great deal of interest in this type of marketing, but not everyone is aware of how to ensure that the collaboration is favorable and successful.
Often, you make the mistake of evaluating the outcome simply by measuring the last measurement point (for example, conversions in your webshop) and not evaluating the entire effect. at the last measurement point, for example, conversion using a unique discount code. That conversion is super important but if that is the only point you measure the effect on you miss a lot.
In order to provide more data for oneself, one should provide the influencer with UTM-tagged links for each channel. Then we can track all traffic the collaboration provides, per channel and campaign. For example, you can see how much traffic you get to your site from the influencer’s blog versus the Facebook page and how each campaign is performing. Do not run individual campaigns but make a plan for a longer time to come. Identify the purpose of the collaboration.
What is it you want to achieve with the collaboration? Do you want to achieve pure sales in our webshop? In those cases, buying with a certain discount code is a good measuring point to look at.
But if you want to build a brand or reach new customers, then exposure is a better measuring point. Many people miss setting a clear purpose linked to one or more clear measurement points for their cooperation with the influencer.
What are the most important key figures for evaluating influencer cooperation? Use a lot of the buying pressure when working towards a goal, for example, different phases that the customer goes through that they have a need or problem they need to solve, that they find out a product that can solve the problem or satisfy the need, that they start to find out more, compare different options, that they buy the product and what happens after the purchase itself.
Did the customer have a positive experience of you as a supplier and of the product? Has the customer had a relationship with you that is positive or negative?
The different phases of the buying process: See, Think, Do and Care Our advice is in all digital marketing to make it clear for yourself where in the buying process you want to meet the customer with a certain message or activity. So linked to marketing themselves with the help of and in collaboration with influencers: do you want to reach out early in the buying press (See) with the aim of getting more people to discover that we exist?
Or do you want to talk about the benefits of our particular product or offering (Think)? Do you want to sell products or get customers to contact us (Do)? Do you want to gain loyal followers and customers by creating a deeper relationship with the customer after the purchase has been completed and thus getting repeat customers and ambassadors? (Care) Clarify this for your influencer campaign and it will clarify for you what to measure.
How does your customer’s purchase journey look and what do you want to achieve in each phase? An example of what you want to achieve in each phase and what you can measure:
SEE: Get more people discovering who you are and who you are: Measure exposure and reach.
THINK: Get more interested in a particular product or service: Measure website visits DO: Make people buy product/contact you: Measure conversions (e.g. purchase or completed contact form, use of discount code)
CARE: Get ambassadors: Measure engagement and new followers
So to summarize. Beware of doing just that. As in all strategic communication, make sure you have a plan, that the plan has a purpose and that you simply know why you are doing what you are doing – and measure correctly so that you know if you have succeeded.
