Influencer Marketing: How Not to Screw It Up

Kevin Gessay, managing director at PMK•BNC London

Influencer and brands now go hand in hand but this comes with specific challenges. You’ve got the client, you’ve aligned on narrative, and you’ve secured an influencer budget. Now what?

I’m going to paint a picture. After much deliberation, you’ve convinced the powers that be to invest in influencer marketing. You’ve got a big chunk of the marketing budget for this, an anomaly in your company, and needless to say, all eyes are on you and the team to see how effective this will be. Very exciting, right? Well, so much can go right but so much can go wrong.  So how can you bullet proof your strategy? Ultimately, how do you make sure you don’t screw this up?

 Above: some of PR Week's top lifestyle influencers. You may not know who they are, but your audience does...

To give you a bit of context, we are in the middle of an influencer invasion. 63% of marketers have increased their influencer marketing budgets for 2017 and 84% say they will do at least one influencer marketing programme in the next 12 months.  In the last decade the traditional model of celebrity alignment with a brand has, through the new digital age, catapulted itself within the last 12 months into a must have tactic for any brand who wants to stay relevant and be part of the pop culture conversation. And the definition of influencer has changed.

 Above: just one of the many ways influencer marketing can go wrong...

So what does this mean to you as you embark on you influencer journey? The challenge here is separating the authentic from the contrived, the legit from the self-proclaimed, and the data from the hype. Once you get past those elements, then you need to understand the most effective way to use them. There is a method to the madness and a winning formula on using influencers.

This is how you don’t screw it up!

Look at influencers like a stock market investment. Did you do your homework? Do you know enough about them and their audience to make an informed choice? There can be no more decisions just based upon likes and followers. And while this may sound ridiculous it still holds true that some will select the influencer of the moment just because your kids like them and they are popular. You have to data mine and build a case using analytics to back up your goals. Do they talk to the consumers you want to talk to? Do they create content that aligns with your brand essence and point of view? Will they move the needle on positive sentiment, awareness and potentially sales?

A great example of brand that gets it right is Revolve, the Los Angeles-based, trend and data-driven e-tailer.  At the recent Coachella weekend event it appeared to dominate, with its mixture of live music, cool venues and top-tier influencers.

There are a few key elements to the influencer play book that you have to enact in order to protect your investment.

The foundation to any plan starts with creating a filter and establishing the right mix of influencers to diversify your portfolio. This ensures you’re taking a holistic approach, and all the components (PR/Influencer/Digital) are complementing each other, including content, and finally, measurement. A perfect example of a brand that took a holistic approach was GAP's successful Styld.by campaign.  The campaign had enormous reach due to the participation of multiple influencers from different niches. It featured a number of influential social media personalities showing how they integrated GAP clothing into their wardrobes, and anyone viewing the influencers’ posts was given the option to ‘shop this look’.

But even with a play book there are many common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid.

• Social media numbers don’t equate to influence – Numbers can be bought and sold and high numbers don’t actually translate into consumer engagement

• Forcing brand language into influencer vernacular – Brands make the mistake of dictating creative choices to the influencer to weave into their narrative…huge mistake as their fans will call them out immediately

• Level of influencers don’t match level of experience – You can have the perfect influencer fit but if your brand experience or product falls short of the promise, you will lose

• Watered down influencer - Seem to be promoting everything- Ubiquity to their brand then makes yours not feel special
  
  
  

  

  Above: just one of the many influencer posts about the ill-fated Fyre Festival.
  
  

Best of Class: Do this

• Create Trust – Influencer brand connection is believable and authentic and their content is organic

• Be Inclusive  – Consumer feels on the “inside” or part of the experience

• Tell great stories - Influencer organically feels like part of the brand DNA and marketing mix. It feels right

• Talk to the right audience  – Influencer is talking exactly to the consumer you want to reach (use data to back this up)

• Generate conversations – Consumer targets start having conversations with your brand.

The challenge for brands is that the media landscape continues to change in today’s digital world. About 80 per cent of consumers interact with brands on social media about one or more times per day.  Influencers will continue to have a growing voice as they gain equal footing with traditional news sources. But the key is to make sure the influencers equal the experience. The Fyre Festival is an example of a best of class influencer programme with an experience that did not hold up to the promise. They have to complement each other or failure is imminent.

Conclusion - it’s not one size fits all 

The biggest lesson is that there are many components to a successful programme. It is not one size fits all. The goal is to focus on the connection between the influencer and the consumer. If you do your homework and align the influencer promise with the experience, we’ve got yourself a winner.