The allure of influencer marketing is STRONG for brands.
When you take inventory of an influencer’s channels, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, LinkedIn, Clubhouse, Pinterest, you realize somebody else has spent hours cultivating a relationship with your customer avatar. They put in years of algorithms, photoshoots, and videos. And they’re happy to share their connection with this niche of people with your brand.
This always leads to brands dreaming up the *perfect* scenario.
“If this campaign converts at 2% for their 3 million person following with a $20 product—I’ll be a millionaire!”.
That’s the allure of influencer marketing. And that’s why you see so many huge brands, like Dunkin, leaning right into this strategy. Dunkin works closely with Charli D’Amelio, one of the biggest influencers in the world (she has 130+ million followers on TikTok).
They’re sharing their hospitality brand with her massive Gen Z audience. I’d venture to guess the partnership cost them a pretty penny…and it was worth it. Dunkin and Charli have been working together since 2020, and we continue to see their relationship grow as they add a Charli-inspired drink to the menu and feature her image in their stores.
For Dunkin, a partnership with Charli was clear (because as a New Englander, she was a huge fan of their brand). But, that doesn’t mean Dunkin could hop right into a partnership with Charli.
First, they had to go through 5 prerequisites to make sure they understood what they were looking for from their campaign, they had to know how to approach Charli’s team with the idea, and they had to confidently go into a contract with the influencer superstar.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into influencer marketing so you can get started with your first campaign.
Step #1: The 5 Prerequisites for Influencer Marketing
Before you reach out to any Influencer there are 5 questions you need to answer:
- What is your current Customer Acquisition Cost?
- What is your budget for the promotion?
- What’s the offer/ask?
- Are KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) in place for that product or service?
- What is your overall goal in teaming up with an Influencer?
The more you know your numbers the more you can make data-driven decisions for your business when teaming up with influencers. If you’re new to data and analytics, check out the DigitalMarketer Data & Analytics Certification to get a step-by-step plan for building a powerful analytics dashboard.
These five answers will set you apart from all the companies reaching out to these influencers. Unlike the companies who are reaching out asking for a partnership, but not having worked through the details, you’ll be the one who knows what they’re looking for.
- You’ll know if this influencer is a right fit based on their responses to your questions.
- You’ll cut down on back and forth communication because you already know what you’re looking for.
- And, you’ll have benchmarks to measure performance to know if you want to continue working with them.
TIP: If you’re launching a new product or service you’re going to want to know questions 2, 3 & 5 before you reach out.
Once you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to reach out to influencers in your niche.
Step #2: Your First Influencer Outreach Campaign
Before you reach out to influencers, you need a list of the people you’ll be reaching out to. Make a list of 10-20 influencers with an audience of your customer avatar. Look for their email address in their bio or Linktree. If you can’t find it, see if their website has a “Contact Me” page or slide into their DMs.
Your outreach should have 3 things:
- Introduction to yourself.
- Link to your product/service.
- Request for them to share their media kit.
Usually, there’s someone managing outreach for bigger influencers. You’ll hear back from someone on their team within the week, if not sooner. When you get their media kit, here are the KPI’s you’re looking for:
- Number of downloads
- Engagement
- Audience demographics
- Reach
This gives you a picture of if you want to take the conversation further.
Your biggest consideration is if this investment will get you the ROI you’re looking for. If your goal is brand awareness and presence, then influencer paid marketing is your path. Influencers have cultivated a relationship with your target audience—and that relationship speaks volumes in engagement and conversions.
Step #3: Contracting with Your First Influencers
There’s only one more step to creating your first influencer marketing campaign. Getting the official yes from the influencer to work together! This comes after they’ve checked all the boxes that you’re looking for.
Here’s what happens next:
#1: If you’re interested in working together, you’ll schedule a call with the influencer or their team member to get clear on the offer, discuss the budget, and goals of the promotion. Pricing may have already been disclosed in the media kit or it will be disclosed on the call once you’ve both decided it’s a good fit to move forward and what content you’re looking for them to create.
#2: From here, you’ll map out a scope of work for each platform available for advertising and deliverables.
#3: You’ll agree on pricing, signed off on agreements, and send payments.
Now, you’re off to the content creation races!
Influencer Marketing is All About Creation
The beautiful part of paid advertising with influencers is it’s all up for creation!
You can create new types of content, content for different channels, and have a new marketing arm that’s a direct line of communication with your customer avatar (what could be better?). As influencers post content to nurture the relationship they have with your audience, you can focus on your other campaigns, products, offers, and the logistics of running a business.
When you’re ready to have them promote another campaign, influencers have a content-hungry audience completely interested in what they’re up to.
It’s the ultimate symbiotic relationship, between brand and influencer.
If you find an influencer gem to work with, they’ll bring ideas for content to the table based on what they feel their audience will love (they do know their audience best so trust them in that process.) You want them to promote your product or service as authentic as possible.
That’s what makes influencer marketing a win-win-win for all.
Valerie Viramontes
Valerie Viramontes is a purpose-driven entrepreneur, women’s and girls empowerment leader, conscious marketing expert, media strategist, and founder of V2 Solutions & Girl Hacks.
Valerie created her boutique agency specializing in product launches and sponsorships for health conscious podcasters, influencers, and wellness companies. She uses her experience to create win-win-win deals for her clients, brands, and audiences. This has put her behind launches of companies and products with sales into the millions working with brands like Spartan Races, Barbell Shurgged, The Strong Coach, Complete Human and so many more!
In Valerie’s free time she is a catalyst to remind young women of their inherent wisdom, intuition and power, and guide them to access the confidence within to make healthy choices in their lives. Add in hiking, dancing, reading, exploring new places to eat and she’s in her happy place!
