Leeann Froese
Like it or not, influencer marketing is here to stay, and companies really need to consider it as a component of their marketing mix.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a tactic that focuses on using thought leaders to drive your message to a larger market. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, you instead pay influencers to get out the word for you. There are different types of influencers: social media, bloggers, members of the media and celebrities.
Do it for the ‘gram
Where this tactic is commonly used is on today’s favourite social media platform: Instagram.
Influencer marketing on Instagram resonates very much with the age cohort of digital natives (a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology and therefore familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age) because they are the active users of social networks like Instagram. So if your campaign aims to reach these groups it is a relevant tactic to consider. (If not, maybe search for other tactics or platforms that can reach your audience better.)
On Instagram, there are three mediums to present content: posts, videos, and stories. It is the static images (posts) that are most popular among marketers. The idea is that those with a lot of engagement and followers will be able to give great exposure to your brand.
What are the options?
There are different ways to work with an influencer, including guest posting, sponsored content, co-creation, contests, mentions on social, and discount codes / special offers.
The important thing is to treat any agreement professionally, and to make sure that whatever you give, be it cash, product, or experiences, that the influencer notes in writing what kind of coverage they will provide. Will it be a post in their stories only (which disappear after 24 hours) or will there be a post on multiple social media channels that stays permanently? Bonus is if a blog post is included!
Should I work with an influencer?
Influencers hit large numbers of eyeballs with just one post. Like with earned media, with an influencer endorsement you gain 3rd party credibility. Benefits include “Brand awareness. Identity,” says Ashley Spilak, content marketing manager for the Wines of British Columbia.
I feel that as someone in marketing and PR it is my job to get eyeballs on my clients, regardless of the channel. Influencers, bloggers, and legacy media are all potential channels. It is also my job to vet and determine who is of value. So, in order to work with an influencer, you first need to identify the right influencer in the right target market that aligns with your brand. There is a good opportunity to reach segments of your target market using influencers with distinct reach and levels of influence. And size doesn’t always matter. There are niche influencers with strong engagement that can do a lot more for your brand than people with a very big audience.
Instagram INfluencer Rates
What does it cost?
Next, you need to come to an agreement with clear deliverables for the payment.
In the earliest days of influencer marketing, social influencers would take on partnerships in exchange primarily for free product. Those days are long gone — while there are some micro-influencers willing to exchange free product for promotion, today’s biggest Instagram influencers are charging significant dollars to create posts for brands, as their Instagram accounts have become their main source of income. Yes, this is now a career choice in 2019.
In order to have a beautiful post on Instagram there is background work that occurs to style and properly light a photo. Also, most Instagram influencers have a certain aesthetic that appears on their feed and they need to style their photos to keep the look cohesive. This takes effort and time, and the influencer wants to be compensated.
And there is no one-size-fits all pricing. Factors to take into consideration include engagement rate, your budget, length of campaign, and other partnership specifics.
Is it worth it?
Does a print article directly sell more wine? The exposure on Instagram is not unlike being mentioned in traditional media. Avi Gill, influencer and media relations manager for Destination Greater Victoria notes that when an influencer talks about you on their feed, that feed can be likened to a newsletter, and your brand is one of the stories in that news.
For those that may resist, Joe Roberts, a friend of mine and the author of the blog 1 Wine Dude recently wrote an excellent post about wine brands questioning working with influencers. In his article he notes “… just because an attractive celebrity staging an IG photo for 25 minutes to get the perfect combination of lighting, vineyard, and bottle shot doesn’t feel like “real” wine journalism to you, doesn’t mean that it’s without value. We spent years in the wine biz debating the worth of something (blogs) that didn’t fit the traditional wine media mold, but whose value in exposing wine brands to those who otherwise might never see them should have been ridiculously obvious to anyone who cares about expanding their brand presence and mindshare.”
Spilak comments. “To ensure your wine brand stays relevant, in a sea of wine brands, you need to be seen. Influencers help brands break through the digital advertising noise with a genuine message. And it's a voice their followers already trust and have a relationship with, so they are more likely to pay attention and listen.”
So it is not a matter of IF you should work with influencers, but more about, which ones?
Leeann Froese owns Vancouver-based Town Hall Brands – a full service marketing agency that specializes in wine, food, and hospitality. See Leeann’s work at townhallbrands.com or follow online at @townhallbrands