Brands That Use Influencer Marketing Need Creators Like You!

We hope some micro-influencers are reading this right now. Have you considered engaging in some influencer marketing? Not all brands that use influencer marketing can afford celebrity influencers. Some of them like the genuity that micro-influencers can provide with their user-generated content (UGC).

These days, the average brand uses influencer marketing strategies now and then. We could provide you with a list of brands. Still, it’s safe to assume that most brands are open to the idea. It is the future of advertising. 

Some people say that influencer marketing is losing its authenticity. Well, that means that influencers must work harder to gauge audience personas. In this article, we will break down how you can have the best possible experience with a brand.

4 Steps To Get the Best Influencer Marketing Experience

If you’ve never taken part in Influencer marketing, you don’t have to find it daunting. You are already a talented creator. You just have to learn how to add some Instagram business acumen to your skills. 

Knowing how to create beautiful posts is not enough. You will have to be tactical with the content you share online. This is especially important since you are working with a brand with an established reputation.

We want you to have the best influencer marketing experience possible. Here are four steps you can follow to ensure that you do this.

1. Create Measurable Objectives

Different brands and creators have different goals in mind. Some just want to put their name out there. They want to expand their brand’s reach in their target audience. It could be enough for them just to make people more familiar with the name. 

Of course, other creators and brands have more aggressive goals in mind. Some of them want to increase their sales immediately. Maybe they have excess stock at the time and need to get rid of it immediately. Maybe they’re simply out of season, and the demand for the items isn’t there anymore. 

Whatever the reason, you must have a clear idea of what the goals are. This is how you know what you are working towards in your campaign. Of course, the brand should be in agreement with this plan as well.

2. Align on Content Expectations

The influencer and the brand must agree on the content type they want. There are so many ways to create content for brands on Instagram. 

Brands working with influencers will have their specific idea of what they want. They may want simple posts on their page. They could also ask for carousel posts, which include multiple photos and sometimes even videos. You could even promote brands on Instagram Stories. They may last for 24 hours, but they are effective while they are there. 

Instagram Reels are taking the platform by storm. It’s reasonable that brands would want this kind of promotion as well. Both parties need to have an understanding of what the content should be. They also need to agree on where the content should go in terms of social media platforms. 

If you also have a TikTok account, they may want you to promote there as well. You just need to make sure that you take this into account when pricing. Additionally, you should agree on the frequency of these posts. It’s best not to assume that the brand just wants to post once. 

They may even want you to post at a specific time of day. This will likely be the time of day that your followers are most active. You should like this as well. This will get you the most impressive engagement rates. It may not be as simple as sharing a post and tagging the brand. You may have to be very particular with how you execute this content. 

Some brands may even want to approve content. When there are so many terms involved in the contract, consider writing everything down. If you communicate in the DMs, you may have some proof.

3. Agree on the Tasks Involved

It may not be enough to just post on your social media. Naturally, your loyal followers will start asking questions. If your content is intriguing enough, they may want more information. 

You must ask the brand if they expect you to interact with comments. Will you have the power to answer the questions that potential customers ask? What if they come to your DMs? Should you refer them to the brand’s page? This could become excessive depending on the product. It’s best to iron out expectations before your followers start to ask questions.

4. Revisit the Goals When Tracking Results

You have to be very transparent about the progress of your influencer campaign. You don’t want to think you’re doing well while not meeting your goals. This is where you use your Instagram Insights to see the results in black and white. 

Look at the reach of your posts. Are you reaching more people than you usually would? Consider the engagement. Are there more people commenting and asking questions than before? The brand will be in the best position to see if sales have increased. Some influencer marketing campaigns require occasional re-visiting. 

You have to be able to pivot to get the best results in this industry. Maybe your products need instructional content. This could include involving more Instagram Reels. Some behind-the-scenes information could help market the products. If so, head to your Instagram Stories. That’s the forum for more down-to-earth sharing.

3 Influencer Marketing Campaign Examples You Could Try

Brands working with influencers can take several different forms. There are many ways to promote a product to a following. Of course, we know that the old ways of commercials and flyers are obsolete. To keep up with the rest of the world, let’s talk about some influencer marketing campaign examples. 

Depending on the brand’s budget, they tend to use one or a few of these methods. They are all great in their ways. Some may be more appropriate for particular brands.

1. Contests

We are grateful to the person who cracked the code on online brand giveaways. People tend to like the prospect of getting free things. Fortunately, Instagram has an easy way to host an entire giveaway. It doesn’t even require people to pay money to enter a raffle. 

On Instagram, you can enter in different ways. Typically, giveaways, at minimum, require entrants to like, comment, and follow the page. Doing this will give them an entry into an online raffle system. Fortunately, these are all acts of engagement. It will reflect positively on your page. 

Some creators take it further and require you to tag other IG users. This advertises your page even more at no extra cost to you. While the giveaway is in progress, you must post content people like. This way, they will stick around afterward, even if they lose the giveaway. You must also ensure you have a good way to pick the winner. 

A good giveaway picker can ensure that you maintain the goodwill of your follower base. You want to let them know that you chose the winner fairly. You can even host a live stream to announce the winner. This way, they see the process.

Your page will reach new followers and have a spike in engagement. The hardest part will be choosing the prize that will make people want to enter.

2. Joint Posts

This method is great if you know someone with a bigger follower base. Or they may have a follower base full of a different type of IG user. Share a joint post if you want to get a shortcut to another creator’s followers. Joint posts show up on both creator’s pages. This means that the people that follow them each get an opportunity to see the post. 

Your post could land in front of someone who does not follow you. That allows them to know who you are. They could follow the post and go to your page. From there, they can decide if they want to follow you or not. Or, they may follow you simply because of the person you collaborated with.

They could see this Instagram collaboration as you getting a stamp of approval from someone they already follow. This is how you leverage someone else’s following to increase your following. Ideally, the other party gets the same benefit from your Instagram page. This could mean that you both get an opportunity to expand your following. 

This is a special type of influencer marketing Because there may not be an explicit product involved. This could be a very simple post between two people doing something casual. It will still serve as an advertisement on the platform.

3. Instagram Takeovers

Some brands like the idea of inviting a creator to take over their Instagram page. It’s not enough for this creator to make posts and Reels for a brand. They want their creator to inundate the page with their branded content. 

This is how it typically works. A brand will be looking for more market exposure. There will be an influencer who has access to that brand’s ideal target audience. That influencer could gain access to the brand’s Instagram page. They will post the entire day promoting the brand. 

The skillful ones will make it look natural. Influencers could take the followers on a journey of their entire day. They could use the brand to show how it applies to their daily routine. Creators could host Q&A in the Instagram Stories. They could even make posts on the feed. It just depends on what that brand needs from the influencer. 

The influencer will gain some marketing for their page. The brand will benefit from the traffic that the influencer brings.

Become More Attractive to Brands That Use Influencer Marketing

We want to get you on the radar of brands that use influencer marketing. To do that, you will need a special type of following. You need followers who engage with your content regularly. We can help get that for you. We’re not just about inflating numbers on your page. We want to build a community for you and your following. 

We have an internal platform for Instagram influencers. They get amazing support from our proprietary AI targeting algorithm. Together, they provide the results that you need for your page. 

What are you waiting for? Start growing your Instagram following with Plixi today!