Right now, there are people using the internet across the globe to build an online community of followers centered around a common interest. In marketing circles, we simply label them as influencers.

Influencers call blogging sites, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook their home. Creating an active and engaged audience from these places is not easy; as most brands are well aware of.

But brands are also becoming more and more aware of what influencers are capable of when they partner up. Leveraging the audience of an influencer has become massively streamlined over the past 5 years and is more effective than ever – thanks to the innovations competition has wrought. Influencer marketing has fully become a part of our online fabric of reality.

Currently, influencer marketing is returning an average $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 spent. So not surprisingly, it was also rated as the fastest growing customer acquisition channel by marketers.

So how do we approach this strategy to have the most effective possible outcome? Here’s a few of our suggestions.

Sponsor social media posts

Here’s what opportunity looks like – your target audience is constantly looking for new posts from their favorite influencers – all you need to do is open that door. Now more than ever, your customers are taking to social media to find the latest and greatest ideas. Your potential buyers have their feeds filled with influencer posts and they’re often ready to just in a buy.

Sponsor blog posts

The number one tip here is that the blog needs to be authentic. So the blogger needs a decent degree of freedom for creative writing and additional thoughts. If a post feels slanted, it’s just not fun to ready. This also means that if the blogger should have the option to be honest. This is why blog writers will only accept proposals for a sponsored post if they honestly love the product/service, thus, relationship building before the post is made is required.

Execute your campaign execution with strategic timing

The time of the year, the week, the day, and special occasions like fashion week and holidays are things to consider. All bloggers that have been in the game for a while know of a certain time during the year that they get more engagement/traffic numbers. Finding this time and targeting it during your campaigns help to maximize ROI.

And remember that you can’t just launch a campaign and let it simmer in the pot. You need to amplify its power by promoting it on all fronts from your end as well.

Build something with the influencer

Sponsoring a post is the most classic method of influencer marketing, and finding a way to break the mold can be hard. Admittedly, building a product idea with an influencer can be daunting. But imagine your reaction if you found out your favorite fashion blogger helped to design a new summer dress along with a big brand. You’d be ecstatic!

Co-creation is a longer route to success but the end payoff is almost always worth it if you have the right influencers working with you.

Invest in a guest posting strategy

Combining your content team with an influencers established channel can lead to huge opportunities. Guest posts on influencer blog platforms allow you to give the inside scoop, a behind the scenes look, or the industry expert opinion. The most important thing here is finding the proper blogs to invest time into guest posting.

You’d need to align your content with the blog so it has to be a direct match. Blasting a bunch of emails off with the same copied request is a terrible idea. Research, consideration, and careful outreach is the only way to accomplish this right.

Video

Video is the most transparent, and easily digestible form of media we have access to today. YouTube, Vine, or Facebook videos are all great places too look. Video offers a far more interesting way to interact with your viewers than a simple blog; especially with products. And when you allow the influencer free creative reign to produce sponsored content, it always comes off as more authentic and enjoyable.

Remember that quality content always trumps quantity. When your influencer produces a video and mentions your brand, make it quick and make it interesting. There’s nothing worse than a video that drags on for hours without accomplishing anything.

Raising the ROI of your next campaign

But before you send out those campaign requests, brainstorm the following items.

1. Who is your target audience?
2. Take a look at the influencers you’d be working with.
3. Examine the engagement with their content.
4. See how other brands have done it.
5. Remember to build a long-term relationship.

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