7 Best Influencer Marketing Strategies You Should Try

Influencer marketing strategy has become an indispensable necessity for brands today because they are more inclined towards influencer marketing than ever.

They partner with influencers to enhance and promote their brand, drive engagement, and influence purchasing decisions for millions of users. Statista says that global influencer marketing platform market value would be more than 22 billion by 2025.

However, as good as it sounds, deriving benefits from influencer marketing isn't a straightforward task. You'll have to select the right influencer whose values, audience, and content align with your brand. Additionally, you'll have to take care of compliance and post-campaign analysis. That's a lot.

Crafting a meticulous influencer marketing strategy plays a huge role here. The strategy outlines every step to ensure marketing campaigns are goal-driven, impactful, and efficient. It also helps you to build meaningful connections with your target audience.

So, if you're looking forward to getting full benefits from influencer marketing, we have 7 proven strategies here you can try.

What is an influencer marketing strategy?

Influencer marketing strategy is a framework that guides brands on how to utilize the trust and reach influencers have with their audience to promote products and services. It encompasses:

• Defining goals
• Identifying target audience
• Selecting the right influencer
• Crafting relevant and engaging content
• Optimizing campaigns
• Ensuring compliance and transparency
• Measuring ROI

Collaboration with influencers becomes highly effective when your brand's target audience overlaps with theirs. That's because influencers often share authentic, relatable reviews and personal experiences with the product and services.

And that makes your brand endorsements feel more authentic and trustworthy than conventional advertising. Hence, making it desirable for consumers.

Types of Influencers: Mega, Macro, and Micro

Based on size and reach, let's talk about three types of influencers: mega, macro, and micro.

Mega-influencers

They are famous personalities who have done outstanding jobs in their respective fields and are loved by a wide range of audiences. Their follower base exceeds a million – allowing them to enjoy A-list celebrity status. Hence, their name itself is enough to attract people's interest.

For instance, the Adidas Jersey with Lionel Messi’s name was sold out worldwide during the FIFA World Cup 2022. This speaks volumes about how their extensive reach makes them appealing to brands looking for exposure.

However, mega-influencers can be costly and often lack a personal touch due to their diverse demographic and psychographic audiences, making them better suited for brand awareness campaigns rather than direct sales.

Gil Eyal, head of marketing and innovation at Silverstein Properties, notes that despite their widespread fame, mega influencers often have limited actual influence. Additionally, reports from Markerly indicate that Instagram influencers with over 10 million followers achieve only 1.6% engagement.

Who benefits from mega-influencers?

• Large enterprises who have goals to create brand awareness on a global scale, and have the budget and resources for the same.
• Lifestyle and luxury brands who want to reach aspirational audiences. The endorsement creates a halo effect, making it appear more desirable.

Macro-influencers

Macro-influencers hold a space between micro and mega-influencers, with follower counts ranging from 500K to 1 million.

Many macro-influencers have established themselves in their respective fields, such as sports, acting, or social work, allowing them to easily attract followers and foster a community on social media, regardless of their content. Additionally, some influencers achieve massive followings due to their original and engaging content.

While they may not be as famous as A-list celebrities, they enjoy significant popularity. However, they still might be on a costlier side, and might not always bring the desired level of engagement.

Who benefits from macro-influencers?

• Entertainment businesses like movies and games create a buzz.
• Travel and hospitality businesses to showcase destinations and travel expenses.
• Nonprofit organizations to drive awareness or to raise funds.

Micro-influencers

Micro-influencers’ followers fall within the range of 10K and 50K. They are mostly niche-focused which means they create content around a specific topic or industry. Hence, they attract followers who share the same interests.

For example, Isabella Murray is a micro-influencer who creates content around beauty and workouts. And her audiences are the ones who want to learn make-up or love to work out. Hence, despite fewer followers, there's higher engagement.

These influencers build a genuine follower base over time by consistently sharing content that aligns with their audience, leading to higher engagement. 82% of their followers are convinced to make purchases recommended by them.

Meanwhile, their content may not be as well polished as that of larger influencers, but the higher degree of personalization makes them a suitable choice for brands.

Who benefits from micro-influencers? 

• Local businesses: Micro-influencers often have a strong connection with their local community, making them ideal for promoting local shops, restaurants, and services.
• Niche brands: Brands that cater to specific interests or hobbies can benefit from micro-influencers who have a dedicated and engaged audience within that niche. 
• Startups and small businesses: These businesses can leverage micro-influencers for cost-effective marketing, gaining exposure and building a loyal customer base without the high costs of macro-influencers. 

How to create a successful influencer marketing strategy

A successful influencer marketing strategy demands the adoption of the right steps and engagement in thorough planning. Just as you would with any other marketing style. So, here are several key factors you should consider when developing your influencer marketing strategy.

1. Outline your marketing campaign goals

The first step to an influencer marketing strategy is to define what your marketing goals are. That can be:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Generating leads
• Driving sales
• Enhancing market positioning

Establishing specific goals not only enables you to set measurable KPIs but also empowers you to make informed decisions like resource allocation and action prioritization.

2. Plan your budget

When allocating your budget, it’s crucial to do so efficiently. Overspending on influencers who fail to deliver the desired results can be a significant risk, while underpaying them may hinder your campaign's success.

Planning your budget enables you to direct funds towards high-impact influencers and campaigns. It keeps you from financial risks by avoiding unplanned expenses.

Therefore, to optimize your cash flow, consider calculating and planning your expenditures on the following:

• Creator compensation costs
• Number of influencers
• Type of influencers
• Social media platform

3. Keep your message clear

Clear messaging is another critical step in influencer marketing strategy because it enables influencers to understand your values and objectives better. That further helps them to plan their content and convey the same message in a way that resonates with their audience.

Not only that, but a clear message creates better engagement. It makes it easier for followers to navigate their next actions, like visiting a website, making a purchase, or interacting with content.

To ensure your message is clear and impactful, include:

• Highlight what makes your product unique.
• Clearly outline the benefits your product offers to the audience.
• Create excitement and encourage participation through giveaways.
• Direct the audience with clear CTAs.
• Tailor your message such that it resonates with your audience’s interest and pain points.

4. Qualify influencers and start the outreach process

The right influencers for your marketing campaign are the ones whose niche aligns with your brand's value and target audience.

Therefore, for a successful partnership, look for the following criteria:

• Is the influencer consistently sharing content that reflects your brand's values?
• Do they maintain a reliable engagement rate with their audience?
• Have they successfully collaborated with brands similar to yours?
• Does their style and personality resonate with your brand's image and needs?

It establishes authenticity, improves engagement, improves campaign performance, and develops long-term partnerships, which benefits your brand as well as the influencer.

5. Manage your influencer campaign end to end

Managing your influencer campaign means organizing every step involved in working with influencers.

It involves planning, executing, monitoring, and evaluating campaigns to make sure they meet the marketing goals.

To assess that your campaign meets its objective:

• Leverage an influencer database to gain insights into audience demographics and engagement rates.
• Establish clear goals and expectations for your collaborations.
• Monitor and evaluate the influencer's performance regularly.
• Utilize influencer management platforms for streamlined communication and tracking.
• Foster open and transparent communication with influencers.
• Provide creative freedom to encourage authentic content creation.
• Adhere to legal guidelines to ensure compliance and ethical practices.

It offers better control and flexibility and strengthens the chances of your campaign's success.

6. Track your results and refine your strategy.

Continuously monitor key metrics to evaluate whether the campaign met its objectives. It allows you to refine future strategies.

You can assess if the campaign achieved the desired results by:

• Measuring the increase in website traffic, social media mentions, and public relations coverage.
• Tracking the number of new social media followers and email opt-ins.
• Assessing engagement levels generated by the campaign, including likes, comments, and shares.
• Evaluating the number of leads, sales, and overall ROI.

Expert influencer marketing strategies

1. Data-driven influencer selection

Data-driven influencer selection is crucial to make your campaigns more effective, cost-efficient, and authentic. As it enables you to collaborate with the right influencer whose strength aligns with your campaign needs.

And the approach is not only about follower counts. It covers more areas like engagement rates, audience demographics, evaluating engagement metrics, past performance, and alignment with your brand's voice.

A great example here is Nike, which understood its target audience – athletes and sports enthusiasts. Based on that, they collaborated with mega influencers like Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, and many more.

How to find your ideal influencer?

• Compare your target audience with your influencer's followers.
• Evaluate the influencer's content history to see if it resonates with your brand's perception.
• Look if their engagement such as comments and feedback is authentic or bot-generated.
• See how their audience is reacting to their content. Are there frequent criticisms and negative sentiments?
• Request data from their past collaboration with other brands to assess their performance.

Find your perfect influencer with a few clicks

Sprinklr Insights uses AI-driven analytics to discover influencers by: 

• Analyzing their content to track mentions, sentiment, and audience engagement. 
• Comparing influencers' performance against competitors. 
• Identifying influencers who are at the forefront of trends that resonate with your audience's interest. 

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2. Omnichannel campaign management

50% of Customers often utilize four touch points before making a purchase or seeking information. Being accessible across all channels with consistent information significantly enhances their experience.

Omnichannel campaign management helps you create, manage, and coordinate marketing campaigns across multiple channels. This facilitates seamless customer interaction across different channels.

And when we talk about multiple channels, it's not just about online platforms but in stores as well. Omnichannel influencer campaigns effectively bridge the gap between online and offline interactions. This approach can also drive foot traffic and sales by attracting online followers to physical stores.

For example, TikToker Khaby Lame became the face of Hugo Boss. Interestingly, his partnership with the brand was not confined to TikTok. The men's fashion label incorporated Lame's presence across its OOH and website activities, and on social media to promote the brand × influencer product.

So, for an effective omnichannel campaign management:

• Develop a content calendar to maintain consistent and timely messaging across all channels.
• Encourage influencers to cross-promote your campaigns. For instance, linking YouTube video links in Instagram stories or blog posts.
• Understand your audiences' preferences on different platforms and run your influencer partnership accordingly. For instance, younger audiences may prefer Instagram and TikTok, while professionals may prefer LinkedIn.
• Track KPIs across all channels that you choose to run an influencer marketing strategy.

Post content across 30+ social channels with Sprinklr’s omnichannel publisher 

• You can get channel-specific content ideas by generative AI for various formats. 
• It helps you publish your post at an AI-recommended time for higher engagement. 
• It ensures your content is brand-compliant. 

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3. Long-term partnership

Partnership with your influencer for an extended period is an effective influencer marketing strategy that builds genuine connection and trust. Because they understand your brand and its requirements on a deeper level. As a result, they create content that aligns with your brand image with ease.

Additionally, the followers who trust the influencer will end up trusting the brand too.

Moreover, if you choose to collaborate with a few influencers for a longer period, it saves you time and money in the long run. You wouldn't be required to recruit new influencers each time and pay for each collaboration.

However, here are a few things you need to keep in mind while going for a long-term partnership.

• Pick influencers whose values and audience align with your brand. It eases the communication process.
• Treat them as partners, not mere contractors. You can enhance the relationship by showing a genuine interest in their work, sending personalized gifts, or engaging with content beyond paid promotion.
• Consider signing a long-term contract that specifies the duration and terms of the partnership. It provides a sense of stability and commitment, encouraging them to prioritize your brand.
• Always make fair and timely payments.
• Offer exclusivity to long-term influencers, preventing them from promoting competing brands.

4. Creative freedom for influencers

Influencers have a devoted audience for a reason. They know what works well and what does not. Creative freedom allows them to blend your product/service into their content in the most natural way.

To support this, let's discuss how you can offer creative freedom while sticking to your core objective.

• Provide briefs about the campaign. Be clear and specific about the message, and desired outcomes. Give examples of what type of content you'd like to see while keeping the whole idea flexible for them to adapt.
• If your campaign involves a product demo, let the influencers demonstrate how they use the product most naturally. Authentic demos are often much more convincing than scripted ones.
• Empower your influencers instead of controlling them. Excessive control and edits make the post feel forced or inconsistent with the influencer’s authentic voice.

5. Collaborate on social causes

Planning and executing promotional campaigns to promote a social cause builds trust and emotional connection with the audience.

Especially when trusted influencers do it, the brand they collaborate with also benefits. So when your brand aligns with meaning through influencer collaboration, it will create a strong and positive impression in the minds of consumers.

This enhances emotional value and makes consumers more likely to support it.

For example, TOMS shoes “One for One” campaign, where a pair of shoes gets donated for a pair of shoes sold. The campaign has been widely promoted by influencers.

Source

How can you collaborate on social causes?

• Collaborate with influencers, and organize events where they can discuss the cause, interview experts, or encourage live donations or sign-ups.
• Launch challenges or contests to promote awareness of the cause. For example, Always, a feminine hygiene brand, started a LikeAGirl campaign, asking people to share what they thought “like a girl” meant, with an idea to change the perception of the phrase from an insult to a statement of strength.
• Document the influencer's involvement with the cause such as visiting the relevant locations, meeting the victims, and working alongside the organization, to give followers a glimpse of personal connection.
• Create merchandise with its portion going to the cause. Influencers can promote these products and raise funds.

6. Affiliate links or discount codes

Affiliate links and discount codes are another great way to drive sales and increase audience engagement. It incentivizes influencers to promote products they're more passionate about. Meanwhile, discounts create a sense of urgency and exclusivity. Sharing codes not only promotes sales but also subtly reinforces brand awareness and loyalty.

To do it the right way:

• For each influencer set up a unique trackable code.
• Ensure that the code reflects the influencer's name or handle for authenticity.
• While deducting a percentage for followers and a commission for influencers, make sure the offer still covers costs and leaves room for profit.
• You can also consider rewarding higher-performing influencers with better rates.
• Be clear about what qualifies as a sale, the duration, and the payment schedule. It prevents misuse of codes like influencers buying products through their codes.
• Set the expiration date or the number of times the discount code can be used to prevent overuse.

7. Performance Tracking and Optimization

Keeping track of performance regularly helps make real-time revisions – adjusting the trajectory as needed, and optimal resource distribution. Not only this, it offers insights regarding which influencers deliver the most value to your brand.

Further, sharing performance reports with influencers can help build trust and facilitate discussions about strategies for improvement.

Key metrics to monitor:

• Reach and impression: The number of people who have seen the influencer's content featuring you. And the total number of times your content has been displayed.
• Compare engagement on different content formats like blogs, posts, videos, stories, etc to see what your audience prefers the most.
• Identify the influencers who drive the most valuable traffic such as conversion and revenue. It helps you distribute resources better based on high performance.
• Incorporate social listening tools to monitor brand mentions, audience sentiment, and influencer impact on your brand awareness.

Final Thoughts

Influencer marketing thrives on effective influencer selection, clear goals, and precise performance tracking. Whether you're working with micro or mega influencers, success depends on optimizing every aspect of your campaign.

Sprinklr Social empowers you, offering advanced analytics to identify, monitor, and engage with influencers across platforms while ensuring that all interactions align with the brand's voice through custom workflows and governance rules. Its AI-powered tools assist in campaign management and real-time performance tracking. Additionally, with robust analytics and reporting, it measures campaign ROI and optimizes future strategies, making it scalable and efficient for managing multiple campaigns simultaneously.

Book a demo today and experience the difference first-hand.