5 Steps to Build a Winning Influencer Marketing Strategy in 2024

Right now, social media is buzzing with influencer partnerships and collaborations. 

Your brand should be a part of the buzz.

However, influencer marketing can be a bit of a challenge if you are new to the game.

Here’s the good thing:

With a great strategy, it’s a lot less daunting. 

This blog will show you how to build a killer strategy for your influencer marketing campaign. 

We will outline:

• The definition of influencer marketing strategies
• The benefits of influencer marketing
• Steps to create a winning influencer marketing strategy
• Common pitfalls to avoid
• The metrics that can show you you’re running a successful influencer marketing strategy

We are excited! 

Let’s dive in! 

What is an Influencer Marketing Strategy

An influencer marketing strategy is a well-thought-out plan that a brand creates for its influencer marketing campaign.

The strategies revolve around identifying, engaging, and collaborating with influencers who can make a significant impact on a brand's target audience.

The impact in this regard does not necessarily mean amassing a large follower count on social media.

It could mean improving engagement, increasing sales or brand awareness, generating leads, and increasing conversions.

Identifying the objectives you plan to achieve with an influencer will help you in creating a defined and successful marketing strategy.

For instance, if your aim is to drive sales on TikTok, you might offer discount codes or affiliate programs to incentivize social media influencers.

You might also want to reach out to an influencer to co-create compelling content.

As part of the outreach, you can offer exclusive product samples for the influencer to try and share their honest reviews with their audience.

Healthish’s influencer marketing strategy uses this technique.

They send free products to relevant influencers like fitness vloggers, fashion enthusiasts, and other groups related to their target market.

These influencers then share images and videos of Healthish’s products online—if they love the product.

In a world where attention is scarce, and consumer preferences constantly shift, influencer marketing helps you cut through the noise and connect with your target audiences.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what an influencer marketing strategy entails, let’s explore its benefits.

3 Benefits of Influencer Marketing

Why influencer marketing?

First, the interactive nature of influencer marketing allows direct communication between the influencer, brand, and audience.

There are more benefits below.

Increased social credibility

37% of consumers are more likely to make purchasing decisions based on an influencer’s recommendations.

This proven trust factor plays a crucial role in establishing brands who use influencers as a credible source to consumers.

For instance, imagine a fitness influencer with a dedicated following of health-conscious individuals.

When this influencer partners with a sports nutrition brand and showcases how their products have contributed to their fitness, their audience is more likely to trust the brand and purchase their products.

The influencer's social credibility acts as a powerful endorsement, generally enhancing the brand's reputation and driving consumer trust.

Wider reach

One of the primary benefits of influencer marketing is the ability to tap into a wider audience and reach potential customers.

In 2021, it was discovered that 55% of consumers learn about new brands on social networks. This is more than half of a brand’s prospective customers.

When you use an influencer, their substantial following across different platforms, allows you to engage with diverse demographics.

Let’s look at a typical illustration.

When a fashion brand collaborates with a popular fashion and lifestyle influencer like Chiara Ferragni, she showcases the brand's clothing line to her followers.

As a result, the brand gains exposure to a broader audience, who may have different interests and demographics than the brand's existing customer base.

This wider reach increases brand visibility and the potential for new customer acquisition.

Higher engagement and conversion rates

When micro-influencers promote a new product, they have a unique ability to capture the attention and interest of their followers.

Their storytelling skills create a more compelling and relatable experience for the audience, leading to increased engagement.

This fosters a sense of community and encourages meaningful interactions, such as comments, likes, shares, and even direct messages.

As a result, brands can ultimately build a loyal and engaged customer base that actively participates in conversations surrounding their products or services.

However, to harness the full potential of influencer marketing and maximize its benefits, it is essential to follow a well-structured plan.

Keep reading to discover how to create this plan.

5 Steps to Create a Successful Influencer Marketing Strategy

Crafting a winning influencer marketing strategy requires careful planning, thoughtful execution, and a deep understanding of your target audience.

Let us dive into five essential steps to create a powerful and effective influencer marketing strategy that amplifies your brand message.

Step #1: Define your goals and objectives

What do you hope to achieve with your campaign?

Start by identifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your goals.

For example, if your objective is to increase brand awareness, you might focus on metrics like reach, impressions, and social media mentions.

If you aim to increase sales, your KPI would focus on tracking conversion rates, referral traffic, and customer acquisitions.

Whatever your aim is, setting specific and measurable goals will guide your strategy and help you track your progress.

Step #2: Find relevant influencers

To find influencers, you need to reflect on your brand objectives and your target market.

You can ask questions like:

• What is the influencer interested in?
• Do they share similar interests with my brand?
• How would my audience perceive the brand’s message from this influencer?

Sometimes, researching influencers that suit your niche or industry is exhausting.

Thankfully there is a solution—influencer marketing platforms.

You can easily leverage the advanced search filters provided by platforms like Insense.

Insense allows you to filter your search based on criteria such as niche, audience demographics, engagement rates, marketing budget, location, and more. 

This targeted approach ensures that you can identify the right influencers, whose content and audience align closely with your brand's target market.

As soon as you have identified a pool of potential influencers, Insense simplifies the communication and collaboration process.

You can directly reach out to influencers, discuss campaign details, negotiate terms, and streamline the entire influencer selection process within the platform.

Step #3: Create a detailed brief

Give the influencer a list of expectations, an overview of the personal brand, and perhaps a moodboard to inspire their creation.

A comprehensive brief always sets the foundation for a successful collaboration and ensures that both parties are aligned on the campaign objectives.

The brief should include essential information such as campaign goals, key messaging points, content creation guidelines, and any specific deliverables you require.

Be clear about the timeline, pricing, deadlines, and any legal or regulatory considerations.

Additionally, encourage your content creators to bring their creativity and unique perspective to the campaign.

Step #4: Prepare a content plan in collaboration with the influencers

The success of your campaign lies in the synergy between your brand's objectives, the influencers' creativity, and the connection with their audience.

Therefore, you and the influencer need to brainstorm and come up with a plan for the type of content that will be appropriate for the audience.

Start by discussing the key messaging and brand integration points that need to be highlighted in the content.

Consider different content formats, such as social media posts, videos, blogs, or live streams, depending on the influencers' strengths and the preferences of their audience.

It is also important to talk about content rights at this stage so everyone knows what is expected of them.

Step #5: Review and refine your strategy

After each campaign, take time to review the results so you know how to iterate and improve.

Monitor the performance of your campaign by analyzing your KPIs.

You can use analytic tools to gain insights into the effectiveness of different influencers, content formats, or messaging strategies.

Keep in mind that the best influencer for your brand usually has the most results.

Based on the campaign's performance, adjust your strategy as needed.

Identify what worked well and replicate those elements in future campaigns.

Similarly, learn from any shortcomings or challenges encountered and implement changes to optimize future campaigns.

While following these five steps can significantly increase the likelihood of a successful influencer marketing campaign, it is equally important to be aware of potential pitfalls and challenges that may arise along the way.

Pitfalls to Avoid During a Campaign

Launching and managing an influencer marketing campaign requires careful attention to detail and a proactive approach.

However, there are potential pitfalls that can hinder the success of your campaign.

Some of these pitfalls will be discussed below.

Failing to define key performance indicators 

One of the crucial mistakes many brands make is not clearly defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for their influencer campaigns.

With specific goals and metrics in place, it becomes easier to measure the success and impact of your campaign accurately.

Imagine launching an influencer campaign without defining your KPIs. As a result, you are unable to assess the campaign's impact on your sales or brand awareness.

Without concrete metrics, it becomes challenging to gauge the success of your efforts and make informed adjustments for future campaigns.

Not researching influencers 

There are different types of influencers: 

• Mega-influencers
• Macro-influencers
• Micro-influencers
• Nano-influencers.

To choose the appropriate type for your brand, you need to analyze the influencer's content, engagement rates, authenticity, and audience demographics.

Ensure that their values align with your brand and their audience matches your target market.

For example, if you don’t research an influencer's past collaborations and content, you could end up partnering with an influencer who has a large following but doesn’t connect with your target audience.

The collaboration could then fall flat, and your message would be lost to the influencer's uninterested followers.

By conducting proper research, you can avoid such pitfalls and align with influencers who have a strong connection to your target audience.

Limiting influencers’ creative freedom

While it is crucial to provide guidelines and align influencers' content with your brand's values, it is equally important to give influencers creative freedom.

Influencers excel at creating authentic and engaging content that resonates with their audience.

Restricting their creativity can lead to forced or inauthentic content, diminishing the impact of your campaign.

Trust the influencers' expertise and unique perspective.

All you have to do is provide them with a clear brief and messaging points while allowing room for their creativity to shine.

By fostering a collaborative environment, you can create content that not only aligns with your brand but also resonates with the influencer's audience.

Audiences can easily tell when something feels scripted.

For instance, if you tightly control every aspect of an influencer's content, the content will lack authenticity.

When the influencer's audience notices the lack of genuine enthusiasm, it automatically leads to lower engagement and a missed opportunity for your brand to connect with potential customers.

Let’s now explore various ways you can measure the success of your influencer marketing campaign.

How to Measure the Success of an Influencer Campaign 

By implementing effective measurement techniques, you can gauge the performance of your campaign and make data-driven decisions. 

Here are some ways to measure your success.

Create branded hashtags 

One powerful way to track the impact of your influencer campaign is by creating branded hashtags.

These unique hashtags, specific to your campaign or brand, allow you to monitor the engagement generated by influencers and their audience.

By consistently using these hashtags in relevant posts, you can measure the organic reach, user-generated content, and overall buzz surrounding your campaign.

Share tracking or affiliate links  

Another effective method to measure the success of your influencer campaign is by utilizing tracking or affiliate links.

These are unique links that lead to your website or specific product pages.

When you provide influencers with these links, you can track the number of clicks, conversions, or purchases attributed to the influencers' efforts.

Employ tools like Google Analytics or dedicated affiliate marketing platforms to monitor the performance of these links.

The data you receive will allow you to directly attribute outcomes to the influencers' contributions, identify high-performing influencers, and optimize your campaign strategy accordingly.

Leverage reporting tools

Leverage the reporting tools offered by social media marketing platforms and influencer marketing hubs.

This will provide you with comprehensive insights into your influencer content performance and return on investment (ROI).

These tools track key metrics such as SEO, impressions, reach, engagement rates, and audience demographics, enabling you to evaluate your campaign's success and identify areas for improvement.

Some tools within social media platforms like Instagram Insights or YouTube Analytics can help you monitor your campaign performance.

Additionally, utilize reporting tools provided by influencer marketing platforms like Insense. 

Insense has an all-in-one campaign management dashboard. 

This feature enables you to seamlessly review performance analytics, monitor submissions, and track the progress of your campaigns all within one dashboard.

By implementing these measurement strategies and analyzing the insights gained, you can effectively prepare to launch your influencer marketing campaign.

Ready to launch your influencer marketing campaign?

Now that you have a solid understanding of influencer marketing, you are well-equipped to launch your own influencer marketing campaign.

Lay the groundwork for success and start connecting with your target audience.

Are you ready to build brand awareness and drive meaningful engagement?

Sign up with Insense to find the best influencers and get started.