Table of Contents

Effective Communication to Bridge the Gap between Brands, Influencers, and their Audiences
Leveraging Influencer Agencies by Setting Boundaries and Expectations
Relatability & Authenticity to Create Engaging Campaigns
Prioritizing the Audience

Authenticity is the word of the week. Life is fast, life is busy, and life can sometimes be… superficial. It’s easy to get caught up in work, family commitments, responsibilities, chores, hustling, and well, all of the things. When we get caught up it can cause us to unintentionally take moments that are amazing opportunities to connect with others and remember our humanity and glaze over those moments like it’s nothing more than something we need to check off our to-do list.

In the ever evolving landscape of digital and influencer marketing, tech, ai, social media, etc- it’s easy to forget that impactful, authentic CONNECTION is what powers the world. Many of us shy away and retreat when there is a chance to connect because we are burnt out, busy, and focused on other things, but the truth is that creating these authentic connections is what powers the energy of everything we do- especially in the marketing sphere. In a time where we are more digitally connected than ever (while the least connected personally) it’s important to prioritize authenticity.
Influencer brand collaborations have emerged as one of the most powerful digital marketing tools to connect brands with their target audiences. Influencers have the ability to promote products while creating authentic and relatable content and building a community. Successful influencer partnerships require more than just picking an influencer with a ton of followers. When beginning a new brand/influencer partnership it is important to establish effective communication, set clear expectations, ensure reliability, and convey the brand’s message effectively while staying true to the influencers’ voice. Let’s dive in a little deeper and explore the elements that ensure the influencer marketing campaign you’re putting into action is establishing real connections that can grow into something amazing.

1. Effective Communication to Bridge the Gap between Brands, Influencers, and their Audiences:

One key foundation of successful influencer brand campaigns is communication! I’m sure you’ve heard “communication is key” in many areas of life. Online is no different. Brands have the ability to create a strong rapport with both influencers, their own communities, and the influencer’s communities. This enables influencers and brands to work together towards shared goals. Here are some actionable strategies to foster effective communication!

Defining Objectives: When building an influencer marketing campaign you need to start by deciding what it is you are aiming to achieve with this partnership. What are your objectives? Who are you trying to reach? What message do you want them to take away? What is your desired outcome- new followers, more sales, higher engagement? Partnered influencers and brands should review all of this information so everyone has a clear understanding of the goals the content should be created around.
Transparency: Honesty and transparency go a long way when getting into a new partnership. It builds trust! And trust is what holds the world together. By providing influencers with comprehensive briefings including campaign details, deliverable requests, timelines, compensation, and any other relevant information you are sure to start off on the same page and create a foundation that can grow over time. Clear guidelines and expectations help everyone involved. This is something an influencer marketing agency specializes in. They ensure with their tried and true methods and systems that brands and influencers walk away from a brand campaign fulfilled and with tangible results.
Listening: As influencers, taking the brand’s guidelines seriously is important! But as brands, listening to influencer feedback, insights, and ideas is equally as important. They will be showcasing your product and/or services to THEIR audience. They know their likes, dislikes, and what will get through to them on a real level. Listening and valuing each other's opinions, ideas, and needs leads to a more successful collaboration.

2. Leveraging Influencer Agencies by Setting Boundaries and Expectations:

Influencer agencies play an important role as intermediaries between brands and influencers. Influencer agencies help facilitate smooth collaborations, manage expectations, and make the likelihood of success increase! They also handle negotiations so brands and influencers can focus on building a relationship with one another rather than having money talks which can sometimes create riffs.

Finding the Right Fit: When partnering with an influencer agency, it’s a good idea to make sure they align with your values! You want to choose an agency (as a brand or influencer) that understands your goals, vision, and can connect you with people you want to work with. The right agency will connect brands and influencers that make sense. Influencer matching for brand campaigns is an art in and of itself. There needs to be more prerequisites than a large following. Agencies pair brands and influencers that will be beneficial to each other’s success, rather than the relationship being one sided or lackluster in substance.
Clear Communication Channels: When working with an influencer agency, establish your communication channels that everyone will be using. The influencer, agency, and brand should all have reliable communication in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Regularly communicate expectations, campaign details, and any changes or questions that arise. By keeping the agency informed, potential misunderstandings can be mitigated.
Collaborative Briefing: Collaborate closely with your agency. For brands- create comprehensive briefs for potential influencers. For influencers- create your media kit in a way that helps showcase you properly to brands you want to work with. Highlight your core values, messaging, and desired outcomes. Collaboration will ensure compelling, valuable, on-brand content that benefits both the brand and the influencer.

3.Relatability & Authenticity to Create Engaging Campaigns:

The success of an influencer brand campaign is partly based on the relatability and authenticity of the content. To ensure the campaign resonates with the proper audience, use these strategies!

Influencer / Brand Selection: Work with partners who align with your values, aesthetics, target audience, voice and message. Authenticity cannot be forced. When brands and influencers don’t match up the success of the campaign will be lackluster, if it was successful at all. Look for partners who naturally complement you!
Storytelling: Use storytelling to promote your product or service! Use anecdotes, honest reviews and experiences, and showcase the product or service in it’s element. Give influencers creative freedom while incorporating the brand’s message.They know their audience best! They know what will resonate with their followers. Storytelling creates genuine connections between influencers, the audience, and your brand.
Disclosing Sponsorship to Your Audience: Always be transparent! Maintain trust and credibility by disclosing sponsorships clearly! Just because you disclose that you’re being paid doesn’t take away the value from your review or make what you’re saying untrue- working with brands that you’re proud to be associated with and love will mitigate the chance of this happening. Authenticity thrives when influencers are open and honest with their communities.

4. Prioritizing the Audience:

Campaigns are nothing without the audience! They make the whole thing go round! It’s important that you choose your target audience and then make sure what you’re communicating will resonate with them!

Consistent Brand Voice: Brand voice is the tone in which you communicate with your audience. Are you cheeky? Are you formal? Do you use cute language or bold language? Do you joke with them? Consistency from your brand’s page to the influencer’s page is important! It helps reinforce your brand’s identity and allows your audience to recognize your messaging and values.
User Generated Content: Encourage the target audience to create and share content that they create. Use hashtags, run contests, and have a product or service people would be proud to create with and talk about. Then engage with the user generated content! Share it on your profile, post it on your stories, comment on it, send DMs to them! Get involved with your audience and have fun while doing it. Engaging with user-generated content demonstrates a brand’s genuine interest in its customers which fosters community and brand loyalty.
Analyzing Results: See what works and what could be changed to work better! Continuously track and analyze results, monitor metrics, and choose your key performance indicators before your campaign start! This allows you to adjust and refine your approach to maximize success! We have a whole blog post on that here! Using data to drive your campaigns helps make sure you are seeing a return on your investment!

More About Influencer Marketing:

Creating Authentic Connections: Effective Influencer Brand Collaborations

Building Stronger Brands: Identity & Voice Across the Interwebs

What is Meta Verified? How to Verify Your Instagram and Facebook Accounts in 2023