Influencer marketing for small business: 9 things to know before hiring an influencer
Ready to hire an influencer? Read this first.
For small business owners, the prospect of marketing on social media through the use of influencers can be daunting. Not only is finding the right person and negotiating rates enormously time-consuming, but there’s also no guarantee of a return on investment [ROI].
Yet Sara McCorquodale, the CEO and founder of British influencer service Corq Studio, says when done correctly influencer marketing - particularly through social media channels like Instagram - can be game-changing for small businesses and brands.
McCorquodale recalls a small fast-fashion brand she worked with that nervously took a chance on a relatively unknown YouTube influencer with a social media marketing campaign.
“They paid that one YouTuber £6000 [AU$11,400] and the return was $2.4 million in sales,” says McCorquodale. In other words, an ROI of more than twentyfold.
And while not all influencer marketing partnerships will be this successful, it’s clear that more and more small businesses view social media stars as an increasingly important – and efficient – element of their marketing strategy.
Overall, the influencer market has grown from US$1.7billion to $9.7billion in 2020.
The secret to succeeding with influencer marketing for small and niche businesses is a combination of research, savvy and serendipity, says McCorquodale, who notes that the fast-fashion brand in question had extensive experience with social media marketing campaigns by the time they partnered with the YouTuber, and, “there was a lot of learning, experience and data informing their decision”.
Here’s what you should know before your small business engages in influencer marketing:
1. Find influencers who already use your product
Reaching out to those who already use, love and post about your product/s is the easiest way to tap into a community that’s most likely to respond well to your brand. The best influencer marketing campaign, especially for a small or niche business, is most effective when it is authentic and engages with a social media marketer who truly believes in what they're spruiking to their Instagram followers.
"Influencers prefer to work with the brands they are already authentic about."
Plus, says Anthony Svirskis, CEO of global influencer marketing platform Tribe, most “influencers prefer to work with the brands they are already authentic about, rather than just being given free things in exchange for a post”.
To find those who are already engaged with your brand, start by researching who’s tagged you or look at relevant hashtags. (For example, an organic baby food brand could search hashtags around motherhood, babies or baby food). You could also try using digital marketing platforms like Corq or Tribe, which provide insight into influencers: who and what is trending, data analysis, due diligence, and brand-ambassador management.
2. Align your values
It's key when using influencer marketing and social media channels to promote your brand to ensure the influencer you work with shares your small business and brand’s values. For example, there’s little chance a sustainable-fashion advocate who traditionally works with niche labels will be interested in working with a fast-fashion brand or that a wellness influencer will have success acting as a marketer for an alcohol brand, for example.
New York digital creator and social media influencer Joel Moore-Hagan, who has worked with brands like Chloe, Dior and L’Occitane, only works with advertisers that fit with his lifestyle and aesthetic, and he particularly values diversity.
“If I go to the brand's website or socials and don't see anyone who looks like me, then I won't participate in the campaign” he explains.
“Sometimes, it seems as if the company just looks at the number of followers and engagement rather than if the creator is the right fit. There's been countless times where brands have reached out to [me] and my content creator friends for something that doesn’t match our personal beliefs or brand at all,” says Moore-Hagan.
3. Do your due diligence
It’s also wise to research a prospective collaborator's historic social media content before you engage them in marketing your small business. Without this, any prospective ROI could quickly go south.
“Can you find evidence of racism on their Twitter feed? Or historic bigotry? Or any views that you as a brand might find unpalatable or controversial,” asks McCorquodale. “You need to know who you’re working with as you don’t want any surprises after the campaign goes live.”
"Know who you’re working with. You don’t want any surprises after the campaign goes live.”
“Be sure to look across platforms, too, as we’re finding that the sentiment towards an Instagram influencer isn’t always reflected on TikTok [for example]. Also be aware that some influencers delete negative comments,” says McCorquodale.
Quick tip: a simple Google search of the influencers name plus a topic or issue you’re concerned about could reveal any need-to-know information. This could be the difference between a successful influencer marketing campaign and a PR disaster for your small business.
4. Go beyond ‘likes’
It’s one thing to look at an influencer’s follower count, but for influencer marketing it’s arguably more important to look at engagement (the percentage of an influencer’s followers connecting with their posts through likes and comments). After all, if an influencer’s followers aren’t engaging, they’re unlikely to engage with products or brands that influencer promotes.
Another important tip is to read the comments that followers leave on posts.
Mehak Saini, influencer marketer at Australian shapewear and maternity activewear brand emamaco, says, “The actual conversation that happens between the influencers and the followers is very important. Are they asking questions of their audience? Do they write thoughtful replies or just reply with emojis?”
Saini has found that influencers who engage with their followers and build rapport often generate higher conversions. She believes that this is because there is a higher level of trust, with followers viewing recommendations as more like a suggestion from a friend rather than a sales pitch.
5. Sign a contract
If you are paying for an influencer, it’s important to have a contract, but McCorquodale advises that “the smaller the influencer, the more boilerplate you want to make the contract – you can’t be paying someone $250 and have a nine-page contract,” she says. “The bigger the influencer, the more detail you can go into.”
Your contract should include factors such as content deliverables, caption requirements, date and timing of posts, usage and approvals.
Find out more about how to negotiate influencer rates and contracts here.
6. You can ask for approvals
Many brands ask influencers to submit their creative concept or even the finished post and caption before it goes live.
However, it’s worth remembering that most influencers prefer some creative freedom and that, ultimately, they will know what content resonates best with their audience.
To this end, don’t expect influencers to stick to word-for-word marketing messages. The most successful influencers often have their own style and a unique voice. Some influencers even have a format that they use for every post.
“Keep your umbrella marketing thought the same, but how the influencer speaks to that umbrella thought needs to be genuine and authentic to them – it can't be forced,” advises Saini. “A collaboration is a careful balance of what the brand needs and what works for the influencer’s community.”
If you decide to ask for approvals over captions or creative, ensure the influencer understands that creative approval is required before posting. And remember: you can also ask for proof of results, such as screenshots of insights, at the end of the campaign.
7. Consider repurposing influencer content
Reposting influencer marketing content is a great way for small businesses to demonstrate social proof – and using influencer-generated content (IGC) in paid advertising can be an effective way to amplify the message, reach, and – hopefully – conversions.
Don’t forget you can also turn an IGC Instagram post into a display ad, repurpose a reel across TikTok or Facebook, or simply promote the original post itself.
You may also want to consider using IGC in your email marketing or on your website. However, before you can do any of that you need to ensure that your agreement with the influencer allows those usage rights.
8. Build a tiered strategy
Rather than taking a blanket approach for all influencer partnerships, consider a tiered strategy to influencer marketing, which targets different types of influencers (from micro to macro) in a variety of ways.
“Think about some kind of tiered influencer marketing strategy,” recommends McCorquodale. “Every marketing strategy should have a gifting layer so that you can push what you have out there in a way that doesn’t require you to have a six-figure marketing budget.”
Example of a tiered strategy:
- Gifting tier
gifting products and potentially paying $250 per post to influencers with smaller followings
- Mid-tier
includes influencers with 100,000-400,000 followers with a more open-minded case-by-case budget
- Heavyweight tier
bigger promotions and campaigns with ambassadors
The benefit of a tiered marketing strategy is that each layer can inform the next. “You want to set yourself up so that by the time you reach a point where you have budget for big-name ambassadors who will get you mainstream coverage, you have so much information about what your core audience like and don’t like that you’re able to make your investment wisely,” explains McCorquodale.
9. Be clear on objectives and goals
The result of a influencer collaboration all depends on what kind of influencer you’re working with, as well as your reasons for partnering with them, and what you hope to achieve. Some influencer marketing drives sales; some drives brand awareness; and others create beautiful content for you to repost on your own channels.
“Certain influencers will give you a very direct ROI [return on investment], which was definitely the case in 2015 or 2016,” says Justin Gaggino, the general manager of teeth whitening brand hismile, which runs an extensive influencer programme.
“But influencer marketing has become a more saturated market,” he warns, adding that conversions are increasingly difficult to achieve. In many instances, he explains, the biggest benefit will be brand awareness.
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