3 things you need to know about small business influencer marketing

Are you a small business owner who’s been wanting to work with influencers?

Not sure what that means for your small business or even where to start?

Eight out of 10 consumers have made a purchase based on a recommendation from an influencer, so, it comes as no surprise that many businesses want to work with influencers. Who doesn’t want people buzzing about their brand, right? Now, before you read any further, you may want to get more familiar with the basics of influencer marketing, check out our Influencer Marketing 101 blog here.

Think you're up to speed so far? Perfect! Now let’s take a look at 3 things you absolutely need to know about small business influencer marketing!

#1: BIGGER DOES NOT EQUAL BETTER

When you think of the people that you want talking about your products, the mega influencers like the Kardashian/Jenner sisters and other celebrities may be the first that pop into your head. While it would be awesome for them to talk about your business or services, it’s likely not realistic (it can cost hundreds of thousands per post at least) and let’s be honest, bigger isn’t always better. Instead of focusing on the big names, consider influencers with a smaller number of followers. Influencers with a smaller community of followers are often seen as more authentic and relatable, they are also more likely to be really engaged with their audience. This is key when working with an influencer because you want an ambassador of your brand to be someone that connects with their audience. When you’re selecting the influencers that you want to work with, we suggest taking a peek at their social media content and consider these questions:

• Are there a lot of comments from their followers?

• Do they reply to and engage with their followers?

• Do their followers seem to fit your target audience?

In general, choosing the influencers you will be working with is going to be a huge part of your campaign, you’ll have to do research, you’ll need to reach out to them, you’ll need to work out deliverables and payment (yes, some will request payment other than free product) and you’ll eventually need to track your results (more on that later).

#2: HAVE PRODUCT AND A BUDGET… OR A PLAN B

If you’re going to work with an influencer, you will need something to offer them and what you offer may depend on what your business is as well. You may offer a service, or a product(s) free of charge and many will be happy to talk about it... but we want you to be prepared, so we’ll be honest with you. It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but as we mentioned above, some will request payment as well. Many influencers will give you a rate card, this will list how much they charge based on deliverables, such as x amount for an IG Stories post, x amount for an IG post, etc. As small business owners, I think we can all understand the importance of fair compensation for our time and work, we all have bills to pay, so this is totally understandable. Don’t freak out if you can’t afford what they’ve asked. If you don’t move forward with them because of limitations (financial or otherwise) make sure you part on a positive note – don't burn the bridge! Then move on to your plan b.

Want to know more about influencer marketing on a budget? Check out our guide here.

#3: KEEP TRACK… OF EVERYTHING!

It’s super important to keep track of everything and we mean everything! Make sure you keep a list of who you’ve reached out to and who you’re ultimately working with – and any important notes about them. Keep track of your resources including your monetary and product budget. If you’re mailing out products, keep a log of what’s been sent out, when it’s been sent, and to whom. It’s always a good idea to track any PR or influencer packages, so you’ll want to keep a log of tracking numbers as well. Starting an excel sheet will be a great way to keep track of all of this info in one spot.

Beyond that, you’ll also want to track the campaign itself... after all, if you don’t look at analytics, how will you know if your campaign was successful? The metrics that you look at may be a bit different for everyone, for example, if you offer an affiliate coupon code for consumers to use at online checkout, you may take a look at how many people have used their specific code. Social media campaigns with influencers may involve several other analytics as well, such as reach, website clicks, Saves, etc. If you’re sharing influencer content on your social media accounts you will have access to these analytics (as long as you have a business account). However, if the influencer you’re working with is sharing the content to their accounts, you will not have direct access to these stats, instead you’ll need screenshots of the insights to be provided by them.

BONUS TIP – BECAUSE WE WANT YOU ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

SET GOALS. Goal setting is an important aspect of any plan, we cannot stress this enough! It will also play an important role in the tips we mentioned above. Your goals will help shape who you choose to work with, what you offer, which analytics you track, and so much more.

Do you have more questions about influencer marketing for small businesses? Check out our blog section for more articles about influencer marketing OR reach out to us at hello@songbirdmarketing.com to find out how we can help you!