Influencer marketing: 8 best practices in 2023

Influencer marketing. You know it, you’ve seen it, you might even have tried it. Or maybe you’re planning your first-ever influencer campaign as we speak? 🎉

Whichever situation you’re in, just know that influencer marketing can be a powerful strategy when executed effectively.

Here are 8 best practices to make the most of your influencer marketing campaigns:

1. Define your objectives, expectations and guidelines

First thing first: the practical side of things. 💻  Long before your influencer campaign even starts, you need to be clear on your objectives, expectations, and guidelines. If these are not clear from the get-go, you might be losing out on some of your campaign’s potential.

Identify specific measurable goals you want to achieve, such as increasing brand awareness, driving sales, or reaching a new audience. Next to that, clearly communicate your campaign’s requirements, guidelines, and expectations to the influencers. Include your key messaging, disclose any rules and any content restrictions.

2. Match the right influencers to your brand

When setting up your influencer campaign, look for influencers whose values and audience truly align with your brand. Authenticity and relevance are key factors in selecting influencers who will resonate with your target audience.

When there clearly is no match between your brand values and the influencers you’re working with, followers will definitely notice and won’t be convinced. ❌

3. Use an influencer marketing platform or agency to find influencers

Sometimes, your marketing team is just a one-(wo)man-show and you carry the brand’s marketing on your back. 💁🏼‍♀️ And one person can’t possibly take care of the full strategy by themselves, right? Queue influencer marketing platforms or agencies.

4. Lean into nano and micro influencers

Each influencer level comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, so deciding which one to go for really depends on different factors.

Want to create mass awareness? 💡 Then yes, by all means, place your bets on macro and mega influencers and their gigantic followings. Just know that you’ll have to reach deep into your pockets.

Looking to target a tight-knit, niche community? ❤️ Nano and micro influencers are the way to go. They have a much smaller, but often more targeted, audience and a high engagement rate. Generally speaking, these influencers are also a bit more budget-friendly.

5. Prioritize transparency

Ensure that your influencers comply with relevant advertising and disclosure guidelines, such as clearly marking sponsored posts as advertisements.

In Belgium, the Raad voor Reclame and FeWeb set up a series of recommendations and guidelines for influencers to disclose collabs with companies. Influencers are obligated to use the words (in Dutch) “reclame”, “advertentie” or “sponsoring” in those posts. They could also use hashtags such as #spon, #adv #prom of #reclame.

6. Put authenticity first

Authenticity starts at selecting your influencers. Check potential influencers thoroughly to ensure they really fit your brand, but also to make sure they’re building an authentic and genuine audience and community. 👌🏼

On campaign level, there are two factors at play. First of all, your brand message you want to convey. Secondly, the influencer’s creative freedom. You’ll want to allow your influencers enough creative freedom so they can craft content that speaks to their audience, while still aligning with your brand message.

7. Establish long-term partnerships

An influencer collab doesn’t have to be a one-off situation. 🤝 You can really foster your connection with the influencer and build lasting relationships. Over time, this leads to even more authentic content and a deeper connection and awareness with their audience.

8. Measure results, analyze performance, and make adjustments

Throughout your campaign, keep track of the right analytics. Measure the reach, engagement, conversions, and other relevant metrics to determine success and make data-driven decisions. Only this way you can really decide if your influencer campaign was truly successful. Then take your learnings and apply them to your next campaign. 😉

Influencer marketing requires some strategy and planning for it to fully reach its potential. Once you found your ideal influencers and you foster a deeper connection with them, it will become less time-consuming, while still delivering a high performance.

Not sure where to start? We love to help! Adman Agency takes away the time and effort you can spend on other important parts of your marketing strategy. Let’s grab a coffee and put that first influencer marketing campaign on the rails, shall we?