Focusing on followers, not engagement
Followers aren’t the golden standard for evaluating the quality of a potential influencer. Instead, you should think more about your audience’s interests, engagement rate, demographics, etc.
With those facts in mind, then you can determine which influencers will work best for YOU.
Ignoring brand fit
Brand fit matters. Some influencers will “fit” with your brand narrative, and others won’t.
Effective influencer marketing isn’t just about signing influencers with massive followings; instead, it might be better to work with “smaller” influencers who actually support your brand and who fit seamlessly into your brand’s story.
Those are the influencers who make content that feels 100% genuine.
Pursuing one-off shout-outs, not brand partnerships
A one-time shout-out by a huge influencer (think: Kim K), isn’t a sustainable influencer strategy (and it might just break the bank).
In reality, it’s better to build real partnerships with influencers who really believe in your brand and who want a sustainable marketing relationship.
Brand partners/ambassadors can be a massive value-add for your company.
Regular posts (once a month, for instance) also come across as more genuine—continuity builds credibility.
Avoiding micro-influencers
Don’t shy away from “micro” influencers (even those with ≥10k followers).
They might not possess the organic reach of a Kanye West, but they generally have a much closer relationship with their followers.
Smaller followings usually mean a highly engaged audience.
These types of influencers are typically experts in their vertical—they’re the Mom who’s really into vegan cooking or the recent college grad who knows the in’s and out’s of crypto investing.
They’re usually normal people (i.e. they have day jobs) who’ve organically grown a following simply by being so knowledgeable in their field or niche. Influencers like Annie Nelson or Joelle Friend are good examples of the new push towards these more niche influencers.
Final Thoughts
These aren’t the only mistakes when it comes to influencer marketing, but they’re some of the most common we see when working with our clients.
Thinking critically about your strategy and taking steps to avoid these mistakes will help you create influencer campaigns that drive real results for your brand.
Want to learn more about influencer marketing? We’d love to chat.
Feel free to reach out at hi@slope.agency!
Originally published at https://blog.slope.agency.
