April 16, 2024 - 6:29pm - by

Raise your hand if your bank account has been personally victimized by influencer marketing. 

Partnerships between brands and influencers are now more strategic than ever. It's not just about slapping your logo on their feed; it's about creating meaningful collaborations that resonate with their followers.

Our blog post will walk you through what influencer marketing looks like in 2024, how to find the right creator for your brand, how to set clear goals and expectations for a successful campaign and more. 

What is Influencer Marketing

If you’re reading this blog, you probably have a pretty good idea of what influencer marketing is, but here’s a quick summary for the newbies. 

Influencer marketing is when companies collaborate with popular social media personalities to promote their products or services. It's like getting your cool friend to recommend that new restaurant to you, but on a bigger scale. In 2024, the average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media per day, so it makes sense that this is a popular way to reach your target audience. 

These influencers (or creators) have a loyal following who trust their opinions and recommendations. So, when they talk about a product or service, their followers are more likely to check it out and maybe even make a purchase.

The State of Influencer Marketing

It’s not really an exaggeration to say that everyone is on their phone all the time. Consumers make purchasing decisions because of that. New data shows that 81% of respondents have either researched, purchased or considered purchasing a product or service after seeing friends, family or influencers post about it.

 73% of Gen Z look to creators when making purchase decisions, and 69% of consumers trust what influencers say and recommend. 

Because it’s where people are spending their time, U.S. Brands are predicted to increase investments in influencer marketing in 2024 to 7.14 billion. Before you hop on the influencer marketing bandwagon, let’s dive into the details so you get the highest return on investment for your campaign. 

Nano Influencers Are Thriving 

Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to influencer marketing anymore. 

People know when they’re being sold to when they see a sponsored product from a social media celebrity. The days of perfectly curated feeds are dead. Your audience craves authenticity. And this is a great thing! It’s mutually beneficial for the audience and the creator because real content fosters stronger bonds between influencers and their audience, enabling influencers to build trust gradually. This trust, in turn, boosts engagement, and when brands collaborate with these influencers, they inherit that trust.

Nano influencers, with smaller but highly engaged followings, are proving to be more effective in reaching niche audiences than their macro counterparts. 

Here's where the familiarity principle kicks in: people are naturally drawn to what feels familiar and relatable. When brands partner with nano influencers, they tap into this principle, connecting with audiences on a personal level. 

Wait, What’s a Nano Influencer? 

There are five tiers of influencers. Not every agency agrees on the exact number, but the consensus is in this ballpark. Understanding the differences between each tier helps brands create targeted and budget-friendly influencer strategies that match their goals.

• Mega Influencers: They reach a huge audience with broad appeal.
• Macro Influencers: They have substantial reach and engage with a diverse audience.
• Mid-tier Influencers: These guys strike a balance between influence and authenticity, making more personal connections.
• Micro Influencers: They're all about specific niches, building genuine connections within their communities.
• Nano Influencers: They keep it real with a small but super engaged audience.

Find the Right Influencer for Your Brand

Start looking for influencers on social media by looking up keywords and browsing your competition’s pages. Throwing a question sticker on your Instagram Stories could be a great way to directly ask your audience whose content they enjoy.

Once you’ve found a potential content creator, browse their content. Ask yourself:

• Is this a good fit? 
• Who is their target audience?
• What is their engagement rate?
• How do their values align with your brand?
• How often are they posting sponsored content?
• Would this person enjoy your product or service?

Once you’ve decided this is the person you want to work with, it’s time to reach out. Look for an email address. Content creators get a ton of DMs. If you can’t email them, make sure to comment on their post that you’ve sent them a DM — but make it an authentic message so you don’t sound like a bot! 

It’s important to be mindful that being a content creator is often a full-time job, so be respectful with their time. Before you reach out, make sure you are familiar with the type of content they produce, who their audience is and what your specific ask is. 

To set the right context, ask for their media kit and be clear about who you are and what you're looking for. Don't forget to mention your budget upfront. Smaller influencers may be open to gifting opportunities, but remember, this is their job and they deserve to be paid fairly for their time. 

When it comes down to negotiating timelines, content creation specifics, and budget considerations - make sure it's a win-win situation for both parties involved.

Set Goals and Expectations 

What does success look like for your campaign? Are you aiming for increased brand awareness, higher engagement, more website traffic, or actual sales? Here are some key performance indicators you should consider before your campaign rolls out:

Brand Awareness

This includes reach, impressions and views — anything that indicates your audience size and visibility. 

Engagement 

Here you are looking for likes, comments, saves, shares and @ mentions. This is our favourite because you can get direct feedback on what’s resonating with your audience. 

Click Through Rate

This measures how much traffic went to your website during the influencer marketing campaign. 

Conversions

To increase your conversions, create special promo codes and affiliate links for your influencers before your campaign starts. 

Expectations

There is a reason we love documents and processes. That way, everyone is on the same page. We’ve heard horror stories about working with influencers, so it’s important to set clear expectations on:

• Type of post (video content, Stories, single images, carousels) 
• Key messages you want the content to include 
• Date and time of the post(s) 
• Posting frequency 
• Call to action
• Budget 

Influencer marketing is about understanding your target audience, building authentic connections, and creating meaningful content that resonates. By working with content creators who share your values, you can position yourself as a leader in the industry and drive impactful results for your brand.

If you’re interested in influencer marketing, the team at Starling Social can manage your campaign from start to finish. Contact us here to learn more. 

---