Known as a marketing medium that heavily relies on word of mouth, influencer marketing has expanded to become the fastest growing marketing methodology. After all, social media has millions of users. Therefore, if done well, influencer marketing has the ability to tap into this endless stream of potential consumers.
Now that we have established influencer marketing as a powerful marketing method, does this mean every influencer marketing campaign is equally successful? The simple answer is no. This is most likely because of certain mistakes that are made in the campaign process. Today, we would like to point out the most common mistakes you could be making in your influencer marketing campaign.
Influencer marketing mistakes: #1: Not defining your goals
This should be the first step in your influencer marketing campaign. Before you approach your influencers and how you want to promote your brand, your goals should be defined.
This is because your goals would determine the following steps in your influencer marketing campaign. When you set clear goals, you will be able to better plan a campaign. From selecting the best fit influencer to setting up an interesting campaign, these can be completed with clear goal setting.
I will use the following example to prove this point. If my goal is to focus on brand awareness, my influencer mix will consist of influencers with a large following. To add on, I will probably collaborate with influencers I have not worked with, as their followers have not yet been exposed to my brand.
To add on, defining your goals is also important as it helps you better measure the success of a campaign.
Therefore, do avoid the mistake of not setting goals for your influencer marketing campaign!
Influencer marketing mistakes: #2. Only choosing influencers with huge followings
This is one of the most common mistakes in the influencer marketing industry.
This is because of the misconception that macro influencers are always better. While macro influencers tend to have a larger reach, micro influencers cannot be let out of the equation. This is because micro influencers tend to enjoy higher engagement rates. This means that they tend to have a larger proportion of followers interested in what they are posting, and engaging with them via liking, commenting or sharing the posts.
To add on, marketers often pick influencers they are well aware of. More often than not, these influencers are macro influencers as they have been popular on social media for a long period of time.
These decisions might result in a mismatch of influencers to campaigns. Picking influencers solely based on following as a criteria is not ideal. Instead consider factors such as relevancy. Whether the influencer has mentioned your brand, or post content that is in line with the industry your brand is located in.
Influencer marketing mistakes: #3. Not having an influencer marketing strategy
You might think influencer marketing is just the process of getting an influencer to pose with your product and to subsequently upload a picture of it online. Therefore, you might make the mistake of not having an influencer marketing strategy.
An influencer marketing strategy is important as it determines how well your campaign does. You should always identify your target audience and the type of content that interests them in your influencer marketing strategy.
After all, anyone can get influencers to post something related to your brand. However, not every marketer will have an impactful marketing campaign. An impactful campaign can only occur if you have a well thought out plan/strategy.
Ask yourself these questions. What will my target audience find interesting? How is my campaign different from the other influencer postings users see on social media? These questions can help you to come up with your content angle.
Influencer marketing mistakes: #4. Not disclosing that your content is sponsored
You probably have seen hashtags like #ad, #sponsored on social media nowadays. The disclosure of a sponsored is highly encouraged in an influencer marketing campaign.
However, not all marketers are doing so. The repercussions of not getting your influencers to disclose the postings are many.
Firstly, research has shown that consumers are increasingly concerned about marketing transparency. Therefore, advertisements that are not disclosed might cause a loss of trust in the brand.
Secondly, the guidelines by The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) strongly encourages the disclosure of sponsored content on social media.
Therefore, it is highly advisable to add disclose your ads in influencer marketing!
Influencer marketing mistakes: #5. Not measuring the success of your campaign
Just like any other marketing campaign, measuring the ROI of an influencer marketing campaign is extremely important. It tells you what you did well in the campaign and can be used to determine whether your original goals have been met.
However, some marketers skim through this process. They either fail to use the correct method of measurement or skip this step entirely.
For example, some of you might think that using sales tracking, a common marketing indicator is suitable for every influencer marketing campaign. While this is not wrong, influencer marketing also has a unique set of ROI
They are the reach and engagement rates of an influencer marketing campaign. Reach refers to the number of users that have been exposed to your campaign. Engagement refers to the number of users that have liked, commented and shared the campaign’s postings.
The type of ROI you are using also depends on your campaign goals. If your initial goal was brand awareness you might prefer prioritising reach to measure the success of your campaign. On the other hand, if your initial goal was an increase in sales, sales tracking might be suitable for your campaign.
To add on, good ROI measurement will help to evaluate the success of your campaign. This will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of your campaign. Therefore, these feedback can help improve your next influencer marketing collaboration. Therefore, do avoid skimming through this last but important process of influencer marketing!
Conclusion
In a nutshell, influencer marketing can be used to achieve multiple goals for your organization. However, there are influencer pitfalls you can avoid to ensure your influencer marketing campaigns goes smoothly. Our advice would be to do your research about influencer marketing and have a clear plan before going ahead with it.
Sources
nativeadvertisinginstitute.com, 5-common-mistakes-brands-make-influencer-marketing/
sproutsocial.com/insights, social-media-transparency/
asas.org.sg/news,Post-Implementation-Public-Consultation-Guidelines-on-Interactive-Marketing-Communication-Social-Media adespresso
