Here's How to Create a Successful Influencer Campaign in 5 Steps

1. What is an influencer campaign?
2. Which KPIs can be used to measure the success of an influencer campaign?
3. Working on a successful influencer campaign – step by step
4. Advantages of Influencer Campaigns
5. No-goes and Musthaves for Influencer campaigns at a glance
6. Examples of good influencer campaigns
7. Conclusion

Influencer marketing campaigns have been booming for years. But hardly any other marketing discipline makes brands sweat as much in the process. One thing is emphasised in bold: CREDIBILITY. In this article, guest author Janin Geike explains everything you need to know about influencer campaigns, what needs to be considered before collaboration and what exactly is required to set up a successful influencer campaign.

What is an influencer campaign?

As the name suggests, this is a marketing tool where companies or brands, with the help of influencers on social platforms, attract attention and want to win customers. The term describes people with a large following on social networks like Instagram or YouTube, who are trusted to a great extent and whose opinion is of great importance to their followers.

Due to their reach, their reputation or their status as experts, they are incredibly interesting for the marketing of companies on the social web. By hiring and sponsoring influencers, companies can increase their own reach and target new customer groups. By sharing interesting content with their fan base, products and services can be made more well-known.

Which KPIs can be used to measure the success of an influencer campaign?

Which KPIs in influencer marketing are relevant depends on the chosen social media platform, the formats used (post, stories, reels etc.) and of course the intended objective of the campaign. In general, the following key figures are often of importance:

1. Interaction rate

This is not only a success metric, but above all a quality detector. The interaction rate is crucial for measuring the success of influencer campaigns. Number of followers, likes, shares and comments are included in the calculation. If the campaign is successful, the interaction rate is between five and 10 percent. If it falls below four percent, this should alert every marketer because either the followers have suddenly lost interest or they have been bought.

2. Reach and number of followers of influencers

The number of followers of influencers reflects the reach of campaigns. Here a distinction must be made between gross and net reach: gross includes the total number of followers, net shows the number of users who were actually reached.

3. Cost-per-Engagement

To be able to make statements about how many interactions the respective influencers actually have, the costs per engagement are calculated: Here, the interactions that a post has are related to the reach. This can be used to calculate how much money was spent per engagement.

4. Campaign hashtag

For many campaigns, it makes sense to integrate specific hashtags and determine additional reach of the campaign. To calculate their success, brands put into relation how many posts were distributed as part of the campaign with this hashtag and how many users reused the keyword.

Working on a successful influencer campaign – step by step

So what does it take to successfully handle an influencer campaign? We'll show you in detail:

1. Browse through platforms

In the first step, marketers should know exactly where they need to search for influencers. For this, there are, for example, a number of blogger associations or cooperation platforms like bloggerei.de, blogvertising.de or eqolot.com. On these platforms, you can look for influencers who fit the theme, or you can rely on already known faces from social media and prepare a corresponding request.

2. Laying the groundwork: defining goals, target groups, channels and topics

As diverse as the selection of influencers is, so are their individual areas of interest and expertise. On the one hand, this gives brands the opportunity to draw from a large pool of potential influencers, on the other hand, the final choice must be made carefully. So when companies decide to include influencers in their marketing mix, a few things must be considered beforehand:

2.1. Set goals

The goal of collaboration with influencers can be the promotion of your own brand awareness. On the other hand, marketers can also positively influence the image of a brand and thus increase its attractiveness. Another goal could also be to increase general social media engagement or to collect information about the respective target group. Only by defining the goals can a strategy be implemented accordingly.

2.2. Analyse target group

Precisely defining the target group is crucial for selecting the right influencers for your brand. Each of them has a certain follower composition, whether it's age, gender, origin, preferences, interests etc. Does the followership of the influencers match the chosen target group? Then the next step towards successful influencer marketing has been completed.

2.3. Select social media channels

After the 'what' and 'who' comes the question of 'where'. Where is your target group located? Where do they spend their time? Where can they be effectively addressed?

The selection of potential influencers is reduced once again here, as not every one of them is active on all channels.

2.4. Define relevant content

What topics interest your target group? What information are they looking for? Not all influencers cover every area of interest. The selection is narrowed down once again here. Supporting tools can also be used here Keyword research tools such as Sistrix or Social media monitoring tools can also be used.

To find suitable content creators or Influencers, you first have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here you should consider the following:

• Which people are suitable? Are there known influencers in your field of interest and if not, how can you proceed to get information? This is where true brainstorming is needed.
• Are there promising newcomers with whom a cooperation might be faster and easier to realise than with the big ones?
• What dimensions should the cooperation have? You have to choose between nano, micro and macro influencers. What is possible, what makes sense?
• Are there possibly accounts that have already been in contact with you and your brand? Inquiries, tagging or hashtags? There might be interest in a cooperation from the start.

All these questions can be quite overwhelming, which is why the use of Influencer marketing software and various tools can't hurt.

Here you will find a small selection of influencer marketing tools:

IROIN® Influencer Marketing Suite

Storyclash

influData

Nindo

CreatorIQ

kolsquare

EQOLOT

3. Check if you're compatible and start an inquiry

The first preliminary selection has been made, round 2 continues immediately. Now it's about which person actually matches you and your company the best.

Here you can ask the following questions as support:

• What content does the community of influencers who have made it into your preselection want to see? And to what extent does this coincide with what you want to convey with your brand?
• How do you estimate your own community? How much are they willing to accept an advertising figure from outside?
• Which channels do influencers use and is your target group there?
• How loyal is the person? Or put differently: Does she constantly advertise for new products, follows no straight line and therefore seems not very believable?
• Have you dug something in the past of the influencers? Were there possibly massive mistakes that could still have a negative effect on you and your brand today?

In addition to a very thorough examination of potential campaign partners on social media, you should also consider your own role in the whole setup. What do you hope to gain from a collaboration? What are the specific benefits for both sides? What costs are you willing to bear for this? If all this is clarified, nothing stands in the way of an Influencer Cooperation.

4. Work out the specific campaign together

If everything has gone smoothly up to this point and the person is also interested in a campaign, the real work now begins. Now is the time to plan the collaboration concretely. This includes collecting ideas, setting specific schedules, the number and type of content pieces and, of course, the remuneration. It must also be clearly stipulated how communication with each other will take place, so that mutual accessibility is always guaranteed. Naturally, the key figures described above need to be discussed and which party will carry out which evaluation.

Also not to be neglected is the legal part: this applies to the protection of both sides. Who must fulfil what to ensure the campaign is legally secure? Not to be forgotten here is the Telemedia Act, which states among other things that advertising must always be marked as such. This also applies to cooperations, as they serve "the promotion of the sale of goods [or] services".

5. Maintain contact and evaluate the campaign together

Even during the evaluation of the campaign results, teamwork is paramount. On the one hand, influencers know their own metrics best and can send you all the necessary data. On the other hand, a collegial, transparent and sincere cooperation is the best prerequisite for future joint projects.

Advantages of Influencer Campaigns

Campaigns with influencers can bring many advantages for brands and - used correctly - lead to more visibility and influence on the market.

From these influencer benefits you can benefit:

• Reach: Whether it’s micro-, macro- or celebrity-influencers, they all have a reach that a brand can only benefit from. When influencers speak positively about a brand, a product, or a service, it reaches a multitude of people and increases your visibility.
• Low costs: It doesn't always have to be the big ones, especially campaigns with micro-influencers can be realized with a smaller marketing budget. Their success can also be measured easily and directly.
• Advertising with trust and authenticity: Influencers build up a community that aligns with their values and interests. The trust built up accordingly transfers to recommendations and statements and is one of the biggest advantages of influencer marketing. Companies can place authentic and brand-relevant content, appeal to consumers and strengthen their own brand.
• Storytelling: Successful influencer marketing relies on authentic content and exciting stories. This not only arouses emotions for the brand, but also promotes interaction with the target group. Therefore, influencer marketing can also be described as a form of content marketing. But beware: advertising is advertising and must always be labelled as such in social media posts.
• Creativity: As a brand, you can benefit from the creativity and initiative of the influencers when it comes to creating content. Content is individually integrated into the existing communication. This creates stories that are real and convincing and, with the appropriate reach, can generate a great deal of engagement.

No-goes and Musthaves for Influencer campaigns at a glance

What works and what doesn't in influencer campaigns? We'll tell you briefly:

Dos

• Clear communication: In every relationship, both business and private, good communication is indispensable. For the campaign, it should be clearly defined what happens under what conditions, in order to prevent misunderstandings.
• Create a strategy plan and draft a schedule: This way, both parties can check at any time who is in charge of what and when.
• Transparency: Besides the legal aspects, the credibility of the influencers also plays a role here. As described above, for example, advertising must be clearly marked as such on social media.
• Provide freedom: Campaigns and collaborations should always be based on the ideas of all parties. You set the framework, but your partners should also be able to move freely within this and meet with your willingness to compromise. Only in this way can the content be marketed as authentically as possible.
• Appreciation: For many, but not for all, to be taken for granted. Respect and recognition for the work done should never be forgotten.
• Regular contact: Continuous exchange during and after the campaign is of great importance.

Don'ts

• Arbitrary contact: Potential cooperation partners know exactly when you are using standard messages and have not dealt with the person, their account and their content beforehand.
• Wrong focus: Don't forget to look "behind the scenes". Followers and interactions can be bought, so pay attention to the actual reach of the content and don't be blinded by high numbers.
• Too strict guidelines: The community of influencers can often judge very well when something does not correspond to what they are usually used to. So if the created advertising content has no personal touch, but is perhaps presented by several accounts in the same way, it causes frustration in the followership.
• Annoying calls and emails: Both for the first contact and for the later cooperation applies: Good things take time. Give potential cooperation partners enough time to respond to your message. Mass emails only cause aversion and disinterest in the project. And during ongoing cooperations no concrete schedules are created for nothing. Constant checking is therefore not necessary.
• Lack of professionalism: Influencers become your business partners. So stick to agreements and meet them with the same respect that you expect yourself. False superiority and inappropriate power plays have no place here.

Examples of good influencer campaigns

Vapiano – "Pamela Reif Specials"

For their 2022 campaign, restaurant chain Vapiano brought fitness and lifestyle influencer Pamela Reif on board. Advertising materials on site as well as various postings on the respective social media channels and the website complete the cross-media campaign.

As a highlight for Pamela Reif's community, an exclusive meet & greet prize draw was also held.

Source: VAP Marketing GmbH

Procter&Gamble – #DISTANCEDANCE

In the course of Covid restrictions and lockdown orders, Procter&Gamble called on its followers to have fun at home and film themselves dancing around with the hashtag #distancedance. Together with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, the campaign recorded over 8 billion views in the first week. Other influencers and celebrities also took part in the viral action.

Source: Procter&Gamble  

Daniel Wellington

The Swedish watch brand Daniel Wellington is known for its interchangeable watch straps and has grown exclusively through influencer marketing. At first, thousands, mostly micro-influencers, were provided with free watches. To increase sales, they were asked to share special coupon codes. In this way, the company established itself as one of the must-have brands in the affordable watch segment.

Source: Kolsquare

Conclusion

Finding the right influencers for a successful campaign is not always easy and requires pre-work and a keen sense of detail. A well-thought-out strategy helps to convey the added value of their own brand at the relevant touchpoints, build closeness and trust and thus assert themselves in the loud world of online media.

Influencer campaigns on social media can therefore be a very effective tool in your online marketing mix. With relatively little effort, you can achieve your set marketing goals and advance your brand further. If you heed the necessary steps as well as dos and don'ts, nothing should stand in the way of a successful campaign.

Now you know how to do it!