Working with Influencers

By Joy Crosby, ACN Board of Directors

Content creators are all around. They are like you and me and they reach the small niche markets and large-scale markets. So, if you are looking to up your game a little in terms of promoting your brand, organization or business then check out influencer marketing and determine if it is a right fit for your brand.

I recently attended a Peanut Marketing Summit hosted by the National Peanut Board and Golin Public Relations Agency. One session focused on influencer marketing; specifically, understanding how to effectively work with influencers to expand our brand messaging.

If your organization or business has never worked with influencers, here are a few tips to ensure a smooth influencer activation to promote your brand.

1. Determine goals for the partnership with an influencer. What would you like the influencer to do – raise awareness, increase engagement, change minds or drive traffic to a webpage? Then determine priority metrics, such as impressions, engagement and traffic based on the program’s goals. Lastly, define what success looks like for the influencer partnership and whether it is based on past performance or industry benchmarks.
2. Define the influencer type to partner with. There are three types of influencers to consider: macro influencers, micro influencers and industry experts. The macro influencers are larger influencers who are known for their wide following, while micro influencers are smaller content creators who have developed a more intimate community among their following. Two examples of micro influencers are niche creators like recipe developers or lifestyle influencers. The industry experts following are cultivated from their expertise, such as a famous chef or registered dietitian.
3. Source influencers based on previous relationships, tools, partner agencies or manual searching and social listening. The influencers can be people you have met who would make a good partner in promoting your brand or business. There are resources available on platforms like Instagram Creator Marketplace, or you may work with a public relations agency to source the right influencer. Through manual searching, individuals can identify creators by what they post or create, and how they engage on social media with their followers. 
4. When a business has found potential influencers then it is important to make sure the influencer aligns with the organization’s values and is relevant to the program’s themes and purpose. By choosing an influencer who already creates content or promotes your specific brand then you can further strengthen the partnership. One example for the peanut industry would be to search for influencers who already are sharing recipes using peanuts or peanut butter.
5. Determine the budget for the influencer program and be realistic about what your organization or business can afford. As a communicator, you may have found the perfect influencer who shares your values and is very engaging with followers but if their fee is $25,000 for one post and your budget is only $5,000 then there is no benefit in wasting each other’s time discussing a proposal. However, with your budget in mind, you can direct message various influencers, request their rates, and then compare the rates with their followers to better determine what range you can afford.
6. Once the program’s goals and budget are set, reach out to the influencers to determine interest and rates. After an influencer is secured develop a creative brief that clearly explains what the influencer will be creating while providing room for influencer creativity. The creative brief should include a program overview and key messages, a full list of deliverables and timelines. Finally, set up a call with the influencer to discuss the vision and expectations for the partnership.
7. Following the call with the influencer, develop and finalize the agreement, which should include the agreed-upon cost and payment terms, deliverables and timing, plus usage rights of the content. Once the influencer partnership begins, continued management throughout the length of the partnership is a must. Communication staff should monitor comments on social media platforms to gauge sentiment, request screenshots of the post’s performance metrics for reporting and ensure constant communication throughout the program duration.

These steps will help you in finding influencers, setting up your program and managing the overall program results. Influencers provide additional support and promotion of your specific brand. If you have never worked with an influencer before, then I encourage you to try it out. You may be surprised what an independent third-party influencer may create for you! – Crosby is editor of Southeastern Peanut Farmer