Influencer Marketing Guide: How to Reach and Engage New Audiences

Influencer marketing is growing in leaps and bounds. More than 80 percent of marketers are using influencer marketing, Social Media Today reports, and the market now tops $16 billion, per Influencer Marketing Hub. But if you aren’t already leveraging an influencer marketing strategy to reach new audiences, the idea of finding the right influencers and developing campaigns might seem a bit intimidating. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll walk you through the basics, including how influencer marketing can help, where to find influencers who align with your brand, and how to set your campaigns up for success.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Historically, brands worked with celebrities when they wanted to expand their reach or generate more interest. For example, a product manufacturer might have an actor appear in their TV commercials or a model in their magazine ads. Jennifer Garner’s appearance in Capital One commercials is a prime example.

Influencer marketing in modern times works in a similar way. However, the influencer is present in content marketing campaigns versus advertisements, and the influencer generally has a more authentic relationship with the brand.

For example, Dunkin’ Donuts partnered with Charli D’Amelio. The Gen Z content creator danced her way to TikTok stardom and has around 150 million followers. Because she mentioned her love for Dunkin’ long before any formal relationship was created, she was a natural pick as an influencer. But, Dunkin’ didn’t just ask Charli to have a drink or a donut on screen in her videos. She shared her favorite custom drink with her fans, and Dunkin’ then launched “The Charli” in stores so fans could order it. Throughout the partnership, they held contests, sold merch, and even launched a second drink.

On the first day the drink was available, Dunkin’ reported a 57 percent increase in app downloads. Within five days of launching “The Charli,” Dunkin’ sold hundreds of thousands of her signature drink, Rogue Rocket reports. The collaboration was a smashing success and helped Dunkin’ stand out against Starbucks with younger demographics.

Influencer Marketing Defined

Digital influencers are people or organizations who have a strong following within a specific niche. Some of the first influencers were bloggers, though the concept has since evolved, and most influencers work via social media.

Because influencers have strong relationships with their audiences or are perceived to be experts or authorities in their field of interest, they have the power to impact buyer behaviors and purchasing decisions.

When brands partner with influencers to help reach their business and marketing objectives, it’s referred to as “influencer marketing.” A typical campaign often involves content creation with product placement and endorsement, as well as distribution of that content. Campaigns are generally carried out via social media, though it’s quite common for influencer marketing campaigns to extend beyond these platforms as brands move more toward multichannel and omnichannel experiences. Dunkin’ Donuts’ release of a drink called “The Charli” while working with Gen Z influencer Charli D’Amelio is a prime example of this.

Who’s an Influencer: The 3 Rs of Influencer Marketing

Influencers who have the potential to help a brand reach new audiences possess the three Rs: relevance, reach, and resonance.

Relevance

Strong influencers have common ground with the brands they help promote. They usually share niche-specific content and share an audience with the brand.

Reach

Reach refers to the total number of people a brand can potentially connect with by working with a specific influencer. Some influencers have millions of followers. Others may only have a couple of thousand followers.

Resonance

Resonance relates to the engagement an influencer receives. Brands should keep this in mind when selecting a partner because an influencer with a large reach doesn’t always get the same level of engagement that a smaller influencer with a dedicated following receives.

Influencer Marketing vs. Content Marketing

Content marketing focuses on creating and sharing valuable content, such as blogs, videos, or guides, to attract and engage a target audience. The goal is to build trust and provide value, rather than push for an immediate sale.

Influencer marketing, on the other hand, leverages trusted individuals to promote or share branded content with their followers. While it often falls under the content marketing umbrella, it adds a layer of third-party endorsement and wider reach, helping brands build credibility and expand audience engagement.

Influencer Marketing vs. User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is any kind of content designed by everyday people. It’s the comments that people leave on articles on a blog, responses to Facebook posts, Yelp reviews, TikTok videos that help brands go viral, and more.

UGC has traditionally been a form of earned media, meaning brands don’t pay for it. It happens organically, much in the way a person might talk to a friend or family member about a brand. However, there are now user-generated content creators, and these people design content for payment. The core differences are that:

• Influencer: An influencer designs and distributes their own content to their audience, which gives the brand more reach. This is handled more as a partnership, with the brand and the influencer working together to ensure the messaging is right.
• Paid User-Generated Content Creator: A paid user-generated content creator doesn’t distribute the content or increase a brand’s reach. This is handled more as a contractor relationship, in which the brand either encourages the person to convey a specific message or only pays for content that they’re proud to share.
• Unpaid User-Generated Content Creator: An unpaid user-generated content creator creates and distributes their own content, but the brand doesn’t have any say in the narrative.

Types of Influencers

Influencers are usually categorized by reach.

How Does Influencer Marketing Work?

There are five main influencer marketing tactics: sponsored content, special offers, contests, takeovers, and ambassadorships. A single campaign may leverage one or more elements.

Sponsored Content

The most common influencer marketing tactic is sponsored content. With this method, the influencer creates something related to the brand and posts it on their own page. For instance, an influencer in the beauty realm may take a photo of themselves wearing a particular product, then share it with their audience and describe what they used. Or they might record a quick video tutorial outlining proper application if that’s more in line with their traditional style.

Special Offers

Oftentimes, sponsored posts are paired with a special offer, such as a discount or free item. The influencer is usually given a special trackable link or unique promotional code to share with the audience, so it’s easier for the brand to gauge the success of the campaign.

Contests

Many brands use influencers for contests and giveaways to help boost engagement even more. In some cases, the influencer simply promotes the contest or creates content related to whatever is being given away. Other times, the brand gives something away that’s related to the influencer.

Takeovers

Brands that want to increase activity and engagement on their own channels can do so by inviting an influencer to manage a profile in a temporary takeover or by publishing the influencer’s content on their own marketing channels.

Brand Ambassadors

Brands that want to work with an influencer for an extended period can make the influencer a brand ambassador.

Benefits of Influencer Marketing

There is a wealth of influencer marketing statistics that highlight the benefits of influencer marketing. For instance, 61 percent of people say they trust influencer recommendations, per Shopify research. The return on marketing investment (ROMI) is also impressive, with the typical brand bringing in $5.78 for each $1 spent, Influencer Marketing Hub reports. A successful influencer marketing campaign not only increases ROI but also drives lasting visibility across the social media platforms your audience uses most. But this is just the start.

Increase Brand Awareness and Reach

In addition to direct ROI, influencer campaigns often deliver strong earned media value (EMV), amplifying your brand through unpaid shares and impressions.

Expand Your Social Following

Followers of an influencer often follow other channels their influencer is involved with to explore more of their content or learn more about what interests the influencer.

Diversify Your Content Marketing Strategy

Diversification helps ensure that if one tactic experiences a dip in results, your brand continues to attract new customers and generate sales through the others. Your influencer strategy serves as a way to future-proof your business.

Save Money Over Traditional Advertising

Not only are digital channels more targeted than traditional advertising channels, but they are typically more cost-effective, too.

Improve Your SEO and GEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) increasingly look to third-party signals as proof that your business is worth presenting to others. A strong influencer marketing campaign creates buzz around your brand that gets noticed.

Influence Purchase Decisions/Boost Sales

One of the key benefits of influencer marketing is that it can drive sales. Whether you’re trying to sell a physical product or offering a service, a thoughtful word from someone who is trusted goes a long way.

Build Trust and Strengthen Relationships

The trust someone places in a public figure is transferred to businesses they recommend. Influencer marketing gives you an immediate in with the audience. The more often you’re mentioned, the stronger that association becomes.

Risks of Influencer Marketing

Familiarize yourself with some of the potential risks of influencer marketing, so you can take steps to mitigate them. These typically fall into one of four categories: inauthentic partnerships, PR issues, disingenuous influencers, and legal concerns.

Inauthentic Partnerships

Roughly nine in ten consumers say that authenticity is important when choosing a brand, Stackla reports. They can often tell when a brand or influencer is doing something purely for the sake of image or sales, too. Because of this, it’s important to work with influencers who are genuinely a good fit for the brand and are enthusiastic about its products or services. In the same vein, influencers should share the same values as the brand they’re working with.

Furthermore, influencers should have significant creative control over any content that’s created as part of the campaign. This is the only way to ensure the content aligns with the type of content the influencer is known for.

PR Issues

Generally speaking, the more a brand works with an influencer, the better the results are. People trust the partnership, and the lines between the brands begin to blur a bit. This can become a problem if either party behaves in a manner that’s inconsistent with the other’s values. The best way to avoid this issue is to thoroughly examine an influencer’s content before making contact.

Disingenuous Influencers

Sometimes influencers can be disingenuous, too. For instance, some have been known to artificially inflate their follower counts. Although this isn’t always easy to spot, brands may catch it by evaluating the influencer’s growth pattern. Follower counts generally rise steadily rather than having large spikes. Another telltale sign is a low engagement rate.

Legal Issues

Influencer relationships must be transparent for the sake of authenticity and laws in many jurisdictions. For instance, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached out to influencers, reminding them to “clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationships.

Cost of Influencer Marketing

It’s helpful to understand the cost of influencer marketing before you begin planning. Rates vary quite a bit based on:

• Source: Whether you retain an influencer directly or go through an agency impacts the cost, as agencies add an upcharge.
• Reach: The greater the influencer’s reach, the greater the cost.
• Engagement: An influencer with more engagement is more valuable.
• Effort: Expect to pay more if the influencer must put forth additional effort in content creation or engagement.
• Platform: Where and how the campaign will be promoted directly impacts the effort and the tools available to the influencer.

Some general information on influencer marketing costs, as calculated by Influencer Marketing Hub, is provided below for reference.

Sample Influencer Marketing Costs Per Post or Video

How to Create an Influencer Marketing Strategy

Now that you probably have some idea of the type of influencer you want to work with, how you want to work with them, and what goals you want to achieve through influencer marketing, let’s look into how to find your ideal influencers and work with them.

Determine Your Management Strategy

Decide how you want to source talent and manage your campaigns. Generally speaking, it’s better to manage your influencer marketing in-house because you want your influencer to feel close to the brand and have more control over campaign guidelines. It’s more cost-effective to keep it in-house, too.

Establish Campaign Goals and Messaging

Consider what your company wants to get out of the relationship and the core messages the influencer should be trying to solidify with the audience. Also, consider which metrics you’ll use to measure the success of your campaign.

Identify Your Top Platforms

Refer to your customer personas to identify which social networks will help you reach your audience the most.

Instagram

Instagram has held steady for years as one of the best platforms to reach people under age 30, Pew reports. More than 70 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 use it. It’s primarily used to share photos, though short videos can also be shared.

YouTube

Four out of five people use YouTube, according to Pew, including more than 80 percent of people between the ages of 50 and 64 and more than 90 percent of people aged 18 to 49. Naturally, YouTube is geared toward video content. Videos of two minutes in length perform best, per Hootsuite, though the platform will give you considerably more leeway.

Facebook

Even though YouTube dominates for penetration rates in most demographics, Facebook comes in a solid second, typically capturing 70 percent or more of all audiences except the 65-and-up group.

TikTok

Teenagers originally flocked to TikTok, and while they still have a happy home on the app, the demographics are shifting as the original group of users has reached adulthood. The platform attracts more than a third of those between 18 and 29, per Pew, along with around a quarter of Millennials and Gen Xers.

Set a Budget

Although influencer marketing can be quite inexpensive, with single posts starting as low as $20 on some platforms, it should be thought of as an investment. Remember, it returns nearly $6 for each $1 spent. Take a moment to review the approximate costs before moving forward and map out a budget for your overall campaign.

Create a Branding Guide

Influencers require creative freedom to craft authentic content. However, experienced influencers understand the importance of branding and are more than happy to follow your brand guidelines. If you don’t have one, draft some guidelines for prospective influencers that include things like:

• USP: Your unique selling proposition (USP) tells your influencer how to position your brand.
• Proper Logo Use: This helps keep branding consistent on all assets.
• Brand Colors: Be specific and include how colors are used.
• Brand Typography: Be sure to share access to font files as needed, too.
• Image Guidelines: Clarify what types of images you use in conjunction with your brand.
• Voice: Outline your brand’s “personality” and the type of language you use.
• Values: Ensure the influencer understands what matters most to your brand and has the information necessary to promote your values.

Draft a Project Brief

Whereas a branding guide includes non-negotiable items, your project brief will be somewhat flexible to start. It’s an opportunity to talk about:

• Campaign Goals: Outline what you want to achieve and how you’ll measure success.
• Target Audience: If possible, include personas to make it easier for your talent to communicate effectively. 
• Preferred Platforms: Make a note of which digital platforms you’re prioritizing. 
• Dates: Include start and end dates, as well as any timeframes that are relevant to planning and reporting.
• Deliverables: Ensure your influencer understands exactly what’s needed from them at the onset.

In a later step, you’ll collaborate with your influencer to refine your project brief to ensure it works for everyone and that you’re all on the same page.

Find Influencers

Due to the rise in social media influencer marketing, there are now more than 50 million influencers worldwide, per Forbes. Use the tricks below to find influencers and create a shortlist.

Use Social Listening Tools

Even a free tool like Google Alerts will work for this purpose. Set up alerts for your branded terms and industry phrases.

Browse Social Networks

Naturally, you’ll find influencers everywhere on social media. To narrow it down, try searching for hashtags and keywords related to your brand or niche. On LinkedIn, for example, you can search by industry and job title.

Search for Bloggers in Your Niche

Use a search engine to find bloggers and other content creators within your niche.

Add a Page to Your Website

Oftentimes, savvy influencers seek out brands to work with on their own. Create a special page for influencers and link it in the footer menu of your website, including a link to your brand guide and a short form for them to complete.

Check Influencer Marketing Platforms

As a final option, you may also search via a platform that’s specifically designed to bring brands and influencers together. Be mindful of additional fees and contractual requirements.

Perform Influencer Research

Once you know your goals and who you’re trying to reach, you can start researching potential influencers. One way to do this is to simply behave like your audience. Start looking for content they consume and learn what you can about the people behind it. You can also use a dedicated influencer marketing platform that allows you to search specifically for influencers and filter your results based on fan demographics. If someone appeals to you, watch more of their content to ensure they align with your brand values and messaging.

Narrow down your candidate pool and see how the influencers on your shortlist stack up. Create a checklist that includes things like whether the influencer:

• Connection: Ensure the influencer has ties to your audience.
• Style: They should already create content in a style you like that aligns with your brand.
• Reach: Confirm they meet your follower requirements.
• Activity: Verify they’re active on your brand’s preferred social networks.
• Values: Research to confirm they share your brand’s values.
• Conflict: Make sure they’re not already serving as an influencer for a competitor.

Conduct Influencer Outreach

Start reaching out to influencers two or three months before you want to start your campaign. Keep your initial contact brief; your formal pitch will come later. Once someone expresses interest, you can go into more detail about the project and share your project brief and branding guide.

Negotiate the Terms

During negotiation, you’ll work out the specifics of your contract, such as:

• Exact Deliverables: While these were already part of your brief, it’s essential to confirm that the influencer understands them and is on board.
• Timelines and Deadlines: Verify their schedule is free and that they can meet your expectations for timeliness.
• Your Content Review Process: They may be accustomed to publishing without review, so go over details ahead of time to ensure alignment.
• Data: If they’re posting to their own profiles, ensure they know what data you will need from them and when you expect it.
• Details: Cover any special considerations, such as an exclusivity agreement or usage limitations.
• Compensation: Outline how much, when, and how the influencer will be compensated.

Create Effective Content by Collaborating with Your Influencer

Refine the project brief as part of the negotiation process or before the influencer begins work. The influencer must have the freedom to create content in their usual way, or it won’t resonate with the audience. However, you can be involved in the process to some degree or stipulate that no content is released without your brand’s approval.

Measure, Review, and Refine Your Strategy

While you can use UTM codes to track some campaign metrics like visits to your website, your influencer will likely be the only one who has access to data such as likes, shares, and comments on their posts. The influencer should share these metrics once the campaign concludes.

Compare the results to your goals. Talk with the influencer and your team to find out what went well and what you might do differently next time.

Show Gratitude

Be appreciative of the influencer’s efforts regardless of the outcome. Long-term relationships spur better results, and the more you work with an influencer, the smoother the planning and execution will go.

6 Tips to Strengthen Your Influencer Marketing Strategy

Whether you’re trying to connect with a young audience on TikTok or want to reach more business professionals on Facebook, the formula for creating a winning influencer marketing strategy is the same.

1. Establish Clear Goals

Businesses can benefit from influencer marketing in many different ways. The right approach is dependent on your ultimate goal. For example, the partnership between Charli and Dunkin’ was established to increase brand awareness and drive sales. The company could have potentially skipped offering “The Charli” to reduce expenses or as a test campaign. It still would have raised brand awareness, but it might not have seen the same level of sales.

Before you begin, consider whether you want to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or both. Clearly defining your goals will help you choose the right influencers and measure the success of your campaign.

2. Have Clarity Around Your Target Audience

Influencer marketing allows brands to hyper-target niche audiences. Spend time getting to know the audience you want to reach. Identify their interests and what types of content they engage with. This will help you choose influencers who will resonate with them.

For example, Stride Gum tapped hip-hop artist and producer DJ Khaled for its “Mad Intense” campaign on Snapchat. It was a perfect choice for the brand because it was trying to spread awareness among teens and young adults.

Google had a similar goal. The company wanted to reach a younger audience and introduce them to its Password Manager. A platform like Snapchat and a bold personality like DJ Khaled wouldn’t have been a good match. Instead, the brand opted for Zach King, a YouTube star made famous for performing illusions in video shorts. King stayed true to his nature. He filmed a five-minute behind-the-scenes video featuring numerous illusions to engage his audience, including one briefly showing him using Password Manager to unlock a physical door in his studio. It was a hit and gained more than 32 million views.

3. Consider Engagement, Not Just Reach

Check out the follower count of each influencer you’re considering. You don’t necessarily need to find a mega-influencer like Charli D’Amelio, with 150 million followers. A micro-influencer with a small, yet dedicated following can be a good fit for a brand that’s just getting started with influencer marketing, too. Depending on the niche, a nano-influencer can also be an excellent choice. Sometimes, even big brands with large budgets opt for micro-influencers and pair them together or run multiple campaigns in tandem.

It’s also important to consider the influencer’s engagement level with their audience. An influencer with a highly engaged audience is going to deliver better results than one that doesn’t see much interaction.

Look for influencers who have a high percentage of likes, comments, and shares on their content to ensure potential partners have the ability to help you reach your goals.

Sometimes brands also have concerns about influencer fraud or fake influencers. These people present themselves as influencers with large followings but are not genuine followers. They may be dummy accounts used to inflate numbers or bots.

Paid influencer platforms are often used to help weed these out, but if you’re searching on your own organically, browse the comments section.  A genuine influencer will have a thriving community of people engaging. The comments will say things specific to the video, and followers will often engage in side discussions.

4. Set a Realistic Budget

It’s estimated that influencer Charli D’Amelio has a net worth of more than $20 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. That’s because the Gen Z creator locks in $100,000 per sponsored post.  Influencer marketing can be expensive, but it generally comes down to how many followers the person has and how engaged those followers are. You may also need to set aside more if there are special factors, such as an exclusivity agreement and photo shoots involved.

5. Review Influencer Content Before it Goes Live

Influencers typically have creative control over what they publish, and authenticity is essential to the success of your strategy. Still, you should have a review process and check all the influencer’s content before it’s published to ensure it aligns with your brand message and values.

6. Foster Relationships with Influencers

Influencers aren’t just paid endorsers. They’re more like brand ambassadors and partners. Foster good relationships with the influencers you work with to ensure their continued support and keep the door open to future collaboration opportunities.

Get Help Reaching New Audiences with Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing can help your brand grow exponentially, but there’s a lot involved in finding influencers, negotiating, and planning campaigns. As a seasoned digital marketing consultant, I routinely work with influencer marketing and can help you find the right talent for your brand and build a strategy that delivers the results you need. Contact me for a complimentary consultation.

FAQs About Influencer Marketing