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How to Succeed With Influencer Management in Melbourne

Once upon a time, endorsements as advertisements were limited to celebrities, who sang the praises of services and products to us on TV or the pages of magazines. Today, the creation and proliferation of social media platforms have seen the birth of ‘influencers’; individuals on social media who have a large following upon which they exercise their influence – specifically on their audience’s buying habits. Influencers have been a contentious subject of late, but whether you love them or hate them, it seems that they’re here to stay with most companies, both large and small, utilising influencer marketing to some degree. So if you’re looking to increase your business’ exposure and profitability, perhaps it’s time to look into some clever influencer marketing. Not sure where to find the right influencers or how to work with them? Read on for our guide on how to succeed with influencer campaigns and management!

KNOW YOUR NICHE

Before even beginning to approach influencers for your campaigns, it’s important to pinpoint your brand’s identity, target market and goals. Having these clear in your mind will be a huge help in choosing which influencers will be right for you. After all, in a city as vibrant and creative as Melbourne, it makes sense that there are hundreds of influencers out there, all focusing on different industries, locations, approaches, styles, demographics, social media platforms and types of content. Not only that, but knowing the goals of your campaign will also help you determine what sized influencers – mega, macro, micro-influencer – you should be focusing on. Note that depending on the size of their following or what you’re asking them to do, some influencers may ask for monetary payment so make sure that you decide what your budget is, too!

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Once you’ve got your business’ identity and objectives sorted, it’s time to do some research. As we previously mentioned, there are countless influencers on social media – even within the range of those that are relevant to you – so it’s important to take the time to choose the best ones for you and your aims. Not to mention that some influencers are guilty of being difficult to work with due to not carrying through with the agreed upon deliverables, or simply having terrible attitudes. There’s also a belief that some influencers have bought fake followers to inflate their actual influence.

Ideally, you want to increase your exposure, and hopefully your sales, by working with various influencers who appeal to different demographics, but that are all relevant to your brand. If you’re a cafe in Melbourne, there’s really no point collaborating with a Instagram tech influencer based in Brisbane, is there? Or, if your target demographic is 40-60 year old women interested in gardening, then you definitely shouldn’t collaborate with a 20-something Tik Tok influencer who specialises in viral dance videos.When carrying out your research, consider the following:

  • Reach: How many followers/ subscribers do they have? 

  • Engagement: How many views, likes and comments do their posts receive? The higher their engagement, the more likely they are to have an authentic and active audience that truly values the endorsements of the influencer.

  • Platforms & Content: Which platforms and their correlating features are going to be best to feature your business and products on? Which influencers are making the best content that suits your brand’s aesthetic on these platforms?

  • Voice & Values: To truly stand out, influencers need to have a distinct voice to set themselves apart. Observe what your interested influencers talk about and how they talk about these subjects, as well as how they talk to their followers via comments. Depending on what’s important to your business, you may also want to consider where they stand on important social, political or moral issues.

  • Audience: Who is most likely to be interested in what this influencer says and posts? Are they relevant to your business?

  • Reputation: Do you know anyone that has done influencer outreach with them? Have they had a positive or negative experience? This one can be difficult to determine beforehand, but you can usually tell once you’ve made contact with them how easy the collaboration will be. You can tell this by analysing their response to working with you.

  • Competitors: Keep an eye out for influencers that have worked with your competitors. Are these also influencers you want to work with at a different time to your competitor or does that influencer interact with similar accounts that could be a better fit?

  • Budget: How much do these influencers charge and what will they do for you for this price? Does this fit into your business’ budget?

If you’re unable to find this information on their profiles or websites, contact the influencers and ask them for their media kit. They should have all the information you need here!

Get In Touch

Now, this is when your influencer management really begins! Once you’ve made a shortlist of the influencers you’d be happy working with, get in touch with them to express your interest. When approaching the influencers, make sure to let them know why you’d like to work with them and what aspects of their profile you’d like to leverage (stories, feed or reels perhaps?). This lets the influencer know what you prioritise as a brand and begins to explain what you’re seeking as part of the collaboration.

 

In this introductory email, let the influencer know a little bit about your brand and why you want to work with them, whether it’s just for a specific campaign for a holiday/ event, or simply to share your products with their audience. It’s important to outline your expectations accurately so that the influencer knows what they’re signing up for and allows everyone to get on the same page. If it’s a paid campaign, they’ll also use these expectations to quote you their fee. After this first contact, there’s likely to be some back and forth while you negotiate payment and deliverables. 

Once you’ve come to an agreement you’re both happy with, it’s a good idea to put together a formal document. If you’re a small-medium business, this doesn’t need to be a full contract, but you should at least state the agreed upon fee, deliverables, time frame etc and a brief for the campaign, including any specific requests, such as a style guide or mood board of what you’d like the content to look like, or phrases and hashtags you’d like them to include in their content.

Keep communication open

Whilst the bulk of your influencer management is now done, it doesn’t mean the job has been completed! Make sure to keep in regular contact with your influencers to see how they are going with their content creation, timeline for publication on their channels and if you can assist them with any further information. Some influencers may also send you drafts, and will ask for your feedback and approval before they post.

Once the posts have been published and the campaign has been wrapped up, don’t forget to thank your influencers for their work and creativity, and remind them where to send their invoice if it’s a paid campaign. After all, a kind word is always appreciated and it’s just as important for your brand to be known amongst influencers as a business that’s great to work with!

 

Are you a Melbourne business that could use a hand with your influencer marketing? Contact us at MBP today and let us take care of it! Or, check out some of our influencer case studies to see just how successful these campaigns can be.