Influencer marketing in its current form is a fairly new concept. If you’re a small-medium sized business considering influencer marketing but not sure where to get started, this guide is for you.

There are many benefits and it doesn’t need to be costly. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to do it, only how it works for your business. But in this guide are some pointers to get you started.

We’ll cover:

• What influencer marketing is
• The basics of reaching out to influencers
• The do’s and don’ts of influencer marketing campaigns
• Pricing and knowing how much to pay

First off, what exactly is influencer marketing?

It’s a type of social media marketing where businesses and companies pay people/influencers online to be part of their campaign, promote their products, promote their services or represent their brand. A contract is always required as with any partnership or collaboration. Sometimes the influencer is paid a monetary sum, or are given free products, free membership or free services. The nature of the collaboration is between the influencer and the business. 

There are different types of influencers, the type you work with will depend on your budget and business aims.

MEGA: they have a large following of at least 1 million people. Because of their large influence they can be more expensive.

MACRO: they usually have closer and more trusting relationships with their followers and somewhere between 100K – 1 million followers. 

MICRO: These types of influencers usually have 10K-100K followers. They are good brand ambassadors, but it’s important to manage your expectations of what they’re able to achieve when working with them.

NANO: Up to 10K followers. While they’re following may be small, they can still have a big impact. But again it’s important to manage expectations, as they can’t be compared to a Mega or Macro influencer.

The basics of reaching out to influencers

Your options usually include DMing or sending an email. Your communication should always be professional because ultimately they are their own business. Therefore even if you reach out via DM to introduce yourself and your business, it’s important to move things over to email as soon as possible. It’s a more direct and professional way to communicate and establish how/if you’d like to work together.

Some influencers will have a virtual assistant, PA or manager. This is more likely especially with more well-known influencers. So keep in mind you might not be communicating just with them initially, but with their employees and team. 

The dos and don’ts of influencer marketing campaigns

Some of the key points of working with influencers…

THE DOS:

• Ask for stats around their audience reach and demographic information
• Ask for information about the types of businesses and brands they’ve worked with in the past
• Find out about their pricing structure or expectations around payment
• Be upfront about your KPIs
• Be clear when reaching out about your aims to ensure they are in-line with theirs
• Put a contract in place when working together
• Write a brief and script if necessary

THE DON’TS:

• Work with an influencer who makes promises about the number of people they will reach/engagement stats (social media is unpredictable and specific stat results can’t be promised)
• Work with an influencer who encourages you to buy followers
• Be vague when reaching out – ultimately it’s a collaboration between 2 businesses and should benefit each party

Pricing and knowing how much to pay

Every influencer is different and will have different expectations. It’s important to remember that offering free items, gifts, memberships, tickets and services is usually in addition to some type of monetary payment or monetary payment structure. Ultimately influencing and being people of influence on social media is how they make a living.

Some influencers ask for a set amount per post, others set a total payment for a whole campaign, or you may choose to set up an affiliate programme. Affiliate programmes work by providing the influencer with a code or link. As they promote your products or services and provide their audience with the code, they will get a percentage of the sales they gain for your business.

So how much can you expect to pay?

Mega influencers can charge anywhere from around £5000 – £10,000 per post, if not more. But don’t forget their influence and reach is huge. You can also agree on a different structure than pay-per-post. It could be a total for a whole campaign, a bundle deal for multiple posts, or an affiliate programme.

Nano influencers tend to charge anywhere from £10 – £100 per post. But again, you can operate through a different structure if you choose. They are much cheaper, but keep in mind what your expectations would be for this collaboration as their reach will also be slightly less.

Ultimately whatever your aims or budget, there’s an influencer out there who will suit your needs and still get you results!