Marketers consider influencer marketing one of the top forms of digital marketing in terms of return on investments. While influencer marketing is expected to reach over $16 billion by the end of 2022, it is further estimated to be worth over $24 billion by 2025, demonstrating the channel’s high impact on the marketing and advertising world. Over the last few years, influencer marketing has come to the forefront, and brands have started to invest substantially higher amounts to ramp up their influencer game. But then there are some roadblocks that brands face while commencing their influencer marketing journey. That ranges from identifying the right influencer or determining the influencer’s influence, measuring the campaign’s performance, or understanding the different types of influencers. This blog will look at five top problems brands face with influencer marketing campaigns.
Getting the right influencer
The most crucial aspect of any influencer marketing campaign undertaken by brands is to get the right influencer on board. If the influencer is not the right fit for your brand and the product, the whole exercise can prove futile. And this is where most brand marketers struggle while embarking on their influencer marketing journey. So how will you decide who is the right influencer to take your marketing campaign to the next level? The brands will have to consider various aspects before onboarding the influencer for the campaign, which will, in turn, help them in making the correct decision. For example, they have to be clear about the campaign’s objective and the target audience, determine the influencer’s influence, and understand their engagement rate. iConnect, the influencer marketing platform from ArabyAds, can help brands solve this problem. The leading platform in MENA helps brands onboard the best influencers for their campaign based on its cutting-edge AI technology.
Measuring a campaign’s performance
A successful brand campaign made by social media influencers can do wonders for the company. But how will a marketer ascertain if the campaign was successful or not? To gauge the success of an influencer marketing campaign, brands should keep an eye on top KPIs (key performance indicators) and keep measuring their impact. But it is easier said than done. Most brand marketers revealed they have never measured the campaign’s impact and the influencer’s performance, which has become one of the most challenging issues for brands. To calculate the campaign’s performance, marketers should keep track of the return on investment on the particular campaign. Another important KPI that is equally significant for brand marketers to determine the campaign’s success is to monitor the post’s engagement with the audience. The better the engagement on the post, the more likely it is to succeed. Brands should also keep an eye on the conversion rate and the level of brand awareness the campaign could generate. Apart from these critical KPIs that every brand should keep a keen eye on, there are other indicators like content, web traffic, influencer post volume, and user-generated content that marketers should track actively.
Determining fair influencer compensation
What is the fair compensation for the influencer working on a particular campaign? As a brand, how will you determine if the amount you are paying to the content creator is ideal, low, or on the higher side? According to various researches, brands face significant difficulties in determining the proper compensation for the influencers and vice versa, especially in the MENA region. While the majority of influencers are of the view that they will only work with a brand that will be a good fit for them and their audience, even if the compensation is not on the higher side, a notable percentage of influencers are ready to collaborate with any brand which offers them reasonable compensation. The payment amount also determines how much time and effort an influencer will give to the brand collaboration. With iConnect, brands can know the appropriate remuneration for the influencers. iConnect’s algorithms thoroughly analyze influencers’ profiles, engagement rates, audience profiles, and post frequency and tell each influencer’s proper compensation.
Also Read: Top 4 ways to compensate your influencers effectively
Brand-Influencer relationship
How much creative freedom should brands give influencers when creating or designing an influencer marketing campaign? Should brands only work with the content creators for one-off projects, or whether they should form a long-term partnership? These are some of the issues brands grapple with when engaging with social media influencers. There is no right or wrong answer. The primary put-off for influencers is when brands want them to read out the pre-written lines to their audience. The basic premise of influencer marketing is the trust and connection that influencers have with their followers. And by not involving the influencers in the content creation process, who are in the best position to know what content will work well with their audience, brands can jeopardize the campaign’s outcome. On the other hand, brands should also control the content creation process to ensure the influencers follow all the brand guidelines because their name is at stake. While most influencers are forthcoming to work with brands looking for a long-term relationship, brands are still trying to solve this puzzle set.
Understanding different influencer types
For brands, it is crucial to understand which influencer will be best for their campaigns and who can help them achieve their goals efficiently. While mega or celebrity influencers can charge more than a million dollars for a single post on Instagram, there are nano influencers who can do the job of promoting your brand amongst their niche followers for less than 100 dollars. Then there are macro and micro-influencers who can also influence their followers to take note of your product. But brands should have a clear understanding of their goals and the influencer marketing budget they have at their disposal. Unfortunately, brands often only think an influencer falls in the mega and macro-categories, restricting them from effectively creating their influencer campaign. With iConnect, search influencer profiles best suited for your brands across platforms like Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. Then, choose from top social media influencers across categories and tell your brand story effectively.
