There are many things to keep track of when you have to run an influencer campaign, and mistakes can happen on the fly which make it difficult to achieve a successful campaign. This blog post focuses on 6 things you must not do or overlook when creating influencer campaigns on Instagram.
1. Focus exclusively on the number of followers
Finding the right influencer(s) for your campaign is the most important thing for the campaign to be successful. And I see many who still only look at the influencer's follower count. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Because the influencer can have enough followers, but if they don't reach those followers... then it doesn't matter!
There are a number of qualitative and quantitative parameters that you need to keep in mind depending on what your aim with the campaign is.
It is above all more important that the influencer has a good reach efficiency rate. It tells how large a part of his followers the influencer actually reaches. A good reach efficiency rate must be over 50%, and the higher, the better! It is important that it is high in order to have the best starting point for converts, but also to reach as many people as possible with your message. Other quantitative parameters can be: engagement rate and demographics of the followers. Qualitative parameters can be: the influencer's values, visual style and other collaborators.
2. Taking the first and best influencer without looking at data
This one is somewhat related to the first, but still deserves its own point. Unless you are only looking to get content out of the collaboration that you can post on your own platforms, it cannot be emphasized enough how important it is to look at the influencer's overall data set/media kit.
You must look at the mentioned reach efficiency rate. It should be at least between 45-60%, but preferably even higher. It can also be important to look at the engagement rate. What it should be on depends on how big the influencer is. If you are marketing to a Danish target group, I would also recommend that at least 70% of the followers come from Denmark - the higher, the better. That way you can also try to avoid fake followers. In addition, you must look at the gender, age and interests of the followers. The more homogeneous the following, the better for your campaign. And of course it must match your target audience!
If you don't have access to a data tool that can see all these numbers, ask for screenshots of the influencer's media kit.
3. Forgetting to activate discount codes
It's a classic if you're running a sales campaign. And it's just super boring. Both for you and the influencer, who gets put in the inbox. So remember to keep track of your own setup and check that discount codes are activated before the campaign starts. It ruins the experience for the buyer/follower if the discount code doesn't work when they have visited your website.
The same may apply to links and UTM links - of course they must work too 😊
4. Forget to have control of your own platforms
The influencer can make enough cool advertising for your company - but if your landing page does not carry the experience forward, it can all fall to the ground. I often see that the influencer manages to create many clicks to the website, but it is not converted into a sale. And it is usually not something the influencer can do anything about. But you can. Remember that it must be an integrated experience, and create a cool landing page in the same universe as the campaign. This can be, for example, with "Her er Katrine's favourites", which shows the influencer's favorite things on your website. Make it easy for the follower to buy! It becomes even more interesting when the follower gets the opportunity to shop directly through Instagram – it's on the stairs! But until then, it is extremely important that you are in control of the customer journey all the way.
5. Avoid advertising marking
This part just needs to be taken care of. Period. It falls back on your company negatively if the influencer doesn't advertise correctly, so please keep an eye on them doing it right. There are some really good guides on the subject at the Consumer Ombudsman.
There are only two approved advertising markings, and they are the words: Advertising and Advertisement. It must appear first in a post, and on stories it must appear clearly on all stories. It is also important that you can see who is being advertised to - this is also a great advantage for your company 😊 The "Paid partnership" function is being looked at by the Consumer Ombudsman, but for now it is also used as advertising marking. You can always stay up-to-date on the rules on their website. In general, remember to keep up to date with the latest legislation. For example, there have been regulations regarding the marketing of sustainable products, products for children and the marketing of food.
6. Forgetting to evaluate the campaign afterwards
Finally, unfortunately, I also see many who forget to evaluate their campaign when it is finished. And it's just such a shame, because then you don't know what you can do better for another time. You learn from both good and bad campaigns. In order to be able to evaluate correctly, it is important that you have defined your purpose for the campaign to begin with. And then you collect reach, engagement rate, sales, traffic etc.
Remember to measure both on the influencer's content, but also on your own platforms such as the website. I often see that you only look at the influencer's performance on e.g. Instagram, but it is at least as important to look at your own platforms. For example, the influencer may well have caused many clicks to the website, and also converted many sales - but the basket size has been small. Then you have to screw up your campaign in a different way next time with some other products, e.g.
This blog has been translated by Startup Central.
