Strategy, Tactics, and Budgeting

 

Influencers have taken the online world by storm, regular people inspiring regular people. For this conversation, it is essential to note that we are not discounting celebrities, athletes, or musicians but focusing on engaging micro or macro-influencers in your marketing mix with strategy, tactics, and budget.

Strategy

As with all marketing strategies, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to utilizing influencers to broaden your brand across social media platforms. You’ll first need to identify your goals for an influencer program to work for your brand. What demographic are you trying to influence? Are you trying to increase revenue or focus on improving brand recognition? Do your research and consider the three R’s of collaborating with influencers:

• Relevance: Who are particular influencers relevant to your product or brand?
• Reach: Reach is the number of people in the influencer’s follower base.  Remember, more is not always best, especially if trying to create an authentic connection to a product.

Nano-Influencers have 1,000 followers.

Micro-Influencers have 10,000 to 100,000 followers.

Macro-Influencers have 100,000 to one million followers

.Mega-Influencers have one million+ followers.

• Resonance: What is the level of engagement the influencer can create with their relevant audience to your product or brand? Mirco-influencers may have fewer followers but are generally very dedicated and highly engaged.

Tactics

Beyond finding the right influencer, marketing tactics include utilizing the right tools, i.e., social media platforms. According to eMarketer, Instagram is projected to reign supreme until 2025. Facebook is a close second, but we must remember the influence of both TikTok and YouTube on younger generations.

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Budget

Marketing dollars and spending are expected to surpass $4 billion in 2023 (SOURCE). Rightfully so, influencers expect to be paid for engaging and influencing their followers. Considering which influencer will equal the most value for you will depend on your marketing goals (first step).  We will keep it brief here, but a standard baseline formula utilized for Instagram posts looks like this:

$100 x 10,000 followers + extras for type of post (x #of posts) + additional factors = total rate.

There is much to consider when setting your influencer budget as part of your marketing budget. You don’t want to break the bank for a macro-influencer if you don’t have to.

Finally, engaging influencers have specific rules set forth by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is the responsibility of the influencers to know when and how to make a disclosure, and this goes without saying; it is the responsibility of the brand or product to know if their influencer is following the rules.

Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers

Engaging influencers can significantly benefit your marketing strategy and brand/conversion rate growth. At YCS Marketing, we know a few things about effective marketing strategies and influencers. Please find us at ycsmarketing.com or click HERE to get started.