Influencer marketing is one of the fastest growing marketing channels today and is expected to gain up to $5 billion to $10 billion in ad spend by 2022. Currently, for every $1.00 spent businesses are earning $6.50 from this approach. Brands, however, are finding it difficult to navigate the infancy of this channel. From influencer terminology, to how to properly recruit and activate campaigns, there is a lot to consider when implementing an influencer strategy. Here are the industry’s buzzing topics:

1. Macro & Micro Influencers - Are you engaging macro or micro influencers? There are benefits to exploring both. Micro influencers are considered influencers with a following of less than 10,000, while macro influencers have a following greater than 10,000. While micro influencers have a cap on visibility and reach, they’re considered more believable, authentic, and relatable which in turn makes their audience hyper-engaged. Additionally, because they do not have a mass following, they are often more willing to work on an affiliate basis, saving brands from investing in hefty flat fees. While macro influencers have a massive reach, they can see lower engagement rates as their audiences become fatigued by obvious product placements, resulting in less downstream sales activity.


2. Recruitment - How do you find the right influencer for your brand? Start by searching hashtags related to your industry and do a deeper dive into the influencers already promoting your product. Social monitoring tools like Mention can give insight into who is talking about your brand and what is buzzworthy about what you’re offering. Use this knowledge to help recruit new affiliates. Tools like Heepsy can help you determine relevance, reach, and engagement of potential prospects so you can evaluate if their output will be worth your time. Additionally, explore influencer networks like RewardStyle which gives brands access to over 30,000 influencers under one network – these partnerships help expand your reach with limited effort.
   
   Most Importantly having a strategy planned out in advance will help you present value propositions to influencers on why they should work with you. How will you be supporting their initiatives? Will you be paying them competitively for the sales they generate? Will you give them free product to showcase to their audience? Will you support a giveaway to their followers? Will you repost their efforts on your own channels? All of these tactics should be evaluated when compiling your media strategy. The more competitive you can make your offering, the more willing influencers will be to prioritizing your brand over your competitors.


3. Disclosures - According to a study done by Activate, only 52% of influencers and 60% of marketers have a solid understanding of FTC guidelines for sponsored posts; and only 56% of influencers and 31% of marketers were able to correctly identify how to disclose a free product gifted to an influencer. In order to avoid trouble with the FTC, make sure you know the rules and regulations for disclosing partnership opportunities. Do your research on the FTC’s guidelines and make sure your influencers are always using Instagram’s “Paid Partnership” feature when representing your brand.
   
   Interested in hearing more? DMi Partners offers influencer strategy & recruitment as a part of our affiliate management service. We successfully represent leading brands as their affiliate OPM (outsourced program management) and have successfully executed on influencer strategies that have comprised a large part of their overall affiliate revenue. If you’re interested in hearing more please contact affiliate@dmipartners.com.