We have made it to the end of our journey! We hope you’ve enjoyed our expedition through the Digital Marketing wilderness. Now, just like influencers do we wanted to recap our travels. Through our first six stops, we’ve shown you how to grow your email lists, how to compete with amazon, the best ways to deal with new and existing business technologies, how to encourage sales without using a discount, some of the best ways to push your extra inventory, and the ultimate branding guide. What a trip! But it’s not over yet. Are you always trying to get more out of your influencer relationships? Do you need better ways to drive revenue through influencer sponsorships? Well we are here to help again. Influencer marketing is all about creating strong relationships. Our seven point guideline below, developed by our affiliate management team, will help you develop a strong strategy for influencer implementation.

1. Narrow Down Your Recruiting Focus
The first tool to generate revenue with your influencers is to focus on influencers that are a good fit for the demographic you’re in. Too often, brands focus singularly on follower count instead of determining which influencers are going to be a true advocate for the brand. Think about why people are buying your product – are they trying to be healthier? Then focus on a fitness or clean eating audience. Are they trying to live a more sustainable life? Then focus on influencers who are big conversationalists on that topic. Use hashtags to find popular influencers writing about your vertical. Be sure to think through if their audience would believe they were a true advocate for your brand.

2. Don’t Forget about Other Social Channels
Instagram is the most widely known and sought-after channel in influencer marketing. However, there are a lot of other benefits to expanding your efforts outside of Instagram. YouTube content lives forever, TikTok is still relatively untouched territory in advertising, and Facebook Groups are more targeted and have the highest engagement rates across all channels. Make sure you’re diversifying your efforts to ensure you’re reaping the benefits of different audience types and where those audience types congregate.

3. Form Long Term Relationships
When creating an activation strategy be sure that your goal is one of longevity. If an influencer is posting a new product every week, your brand will get lost in the shuffle. Consumers associate long term campaigns with authenticity – if they consistently see an influencer promoting a brand and using that brand on a regular basis, consumers are more likely to trust that influencers recommendation. Align with your influencers on a content strategy and calendar that gives them the opportunity and incentive to promote your product for the long term.

4. Activate Campaigns Around Particularly Important Times
Make sure you’re paying attention to what the world is talking about and pertinent time periods where your message may resonate more strongly than others. During the Climate Change conference, our sustainability brands took a stance against how certain products are affecting our environment and how their own products could help combat these issues. They were passionate about their missions, and because it was a topic of conversation, those brands and their influencers were heard. It was easy to see that consumers were resonating with their messages. Rastelli’s is already gearing up for “New Year, New Me” in January by planning a strategy with influencers to share how their product can be used for clean eating resolutions. Pay attention to times like this and use these key moments to have your brands voice be heard.

5. Create a Cadence for Sending New Product Releases to Top Influencers
Influencers are a great way to showcase new products. Make sure you’re creating a cadence to keep your roster of high performing influencers up to date on your newest products and launches. DMi helps our clients create buzz around new launches by creating strategies around new product sneak peaks and showcases.

6. Share Influencer Content on Your Own Channel
Reward your influencers by sharing their content with your audience base. It will show your current followers that other people are finding value in your brand and will motivate the influencer to continue posting you. By sharing their content, you will create a stronger partnership and push future collaboration.

7. Be Creative with Your Content
How many times have you seen an influencer simply pose with a sponsored product? Boring, right! Create challenges, perform giveaways, have influencers takeover your Instagram account, conduct a Q&A about their product with your audience. These are not only more interesting options, but they encourage engagement. For a beauty brand DMi works with, we had influencers go into their store for a consultation and review their experience. Consumers want to hear a story, make sure you’re giving that to them.