Common mistakes brands make with influencer marketing and how we can help

By Kehlani Seth, Intern at WeAreTENZING

Influencer marketing has flipped historical marketing strategy on its head with its success.
Navigating this new territory can be an intimidating task, so here is some insight on common mistakes and how WeAreTENZING can help you avoid them.
In the digitalised world we live in, influencer marketing has become the fastest growing
customer reach method. These are some reasons why influencers are an asset to your brand’s marketing strategy:

  • ROI - in 2018, Influencer marketing had 11x higher return on investment than conventional digital marketing. In reality, for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, companies make $6.50.
  • Trust - influencers are considered more trustworthy than advertisements. 30% of consumers are more likely to buy products that come recommended by a non-celebrity blogger.
  • Authenticity- influencers are perceived to be more authentic and relatable than advertisements.
  • Reach - influencer marketing has the ability to reach niche consumer segments that traditional marketing methods have not been able to grasp.

Here are the common mistakes that brands make when working with influencers to promote their brand and how WeARETENZING can help you avoid them.

Partnering with the wrong influencer

The key to a successful campaign is finding the appropriate influencer to work with. The ‘right’ influencer is not only determined by the size of their following or how often they post. The influencer should be compatible with your brand’s image and message, so much so that customers should be able to make an immediate connection between the influencer’s and your brand’s core values.

How WeAreTENZING can help:

  • Suggest influencers to collaborate with that match your brand’s target marketage/income/trends.
  • Provide information about previous collaborations the influencer has done to help gauge how much exposure your brand can attain from the campaign.

Not defining clear goals from the get go

Brands often make the mistake of not setting clear goals for their influencer campaign. This means the influencers are left in limbo about what is expected of them and the brand is unable to ultimately gauge how well the campaign went. Additionally, this makes the process more disorganised and results in unideal success.

How WeARETENZING can help:

  • Our client managers facilitate face-to- face meetings with brands and influencers to outline objectives and set goals. The goals are often linked to a metric that is later used to measure success.
  • Once defined, these goals are continuously referred to throughout all stages of the campaign to ensure things are on the right track.

Failing to recognise influencer campaigns as a two-way street

Brands often fall into the trap of overpowering the influencer, where the brand calls all the shots and does not let the influencer be creative. This usually results in inauthentic and ‘copy-paste’ style content being created. On the other hand, brands also may leave the influencer entirely to their own devices after the initial briefing. The outcome of this can be content that is creative and well- made, but is totally off brand.

How WeAreTENZING can help:

  • Our campaign process involves creating draft content that is sent to us and passed on to the brand for approval.
  • The brand then has the opportunity to emphasise requirements, provide feedback and make suggestions.
  • The draft and approval process is then repeated until both parties are happy with the content.

Not measuring results

It is important to measure the effectiveness of the influencer campaign, referring back to the goals set out at the beginning. For example, if a goal was to increase engagement, social media analytics tools should be employed to measure how much it increased/decreased/ or stayed the same etc. Measuring campaign performance is key in gauging to what extent the campaign was beneficial for the brand and learning from mistakes to improving on for the future.

How WeAreTENZING can help:

  • After every campaign we use social media analytics tools to collate results into reports which contain key information including: reach, engagement rates, story completion rates, and audience sentiment.
  • These results are also compared to recent industry standards to convey how successful the campaign was in relation to industry benchmarks.

Having a ‘one- off’ mentality

It is a common mistake to consider influencer marketing as a 'one-off' campaign. The brands that have the best results from influencer marketing utilize influencers on a frequent basis. The more a customer hears about a product or service, the more likely they are to trust the recommendation is truthful and real.

How WeAreTENZING can help:

  • Our client managers assist in keeping connections alive between brands and their influencers. They can also help create plans for the frequency at which the influencers will promote the brand i.e. monthly, quarterly etc.

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