San Antonio Influencers Reveal the Secret to a Successful Marketing Campaign

Gone are the days of brands depending solely on traditional marketing such as print advertisements, newsletters and billboards, to guarantee the success of a campaign. On a national and local level, businesses are thinking ‘outside the box’ and shifting to influencer marketing strategies to reach their target audience.

According to Adweek, “consumers are seven times more likely to trust someone they follow on social media over a traditional celebrity.” At a recent PRSA luncheon, two of San Antonio’s top influencers reaffirmed this notion and shared some helpful tips businesses should keep in mind when establishing new influencer partnerships.

Research and Selection

First and foremost, social media is an organic way to increase brand awareness and your audience. If you’re hyperlocal, social media is a community platform that can offer opportunities to network with other local businesses and influencers.

It’s important to identify the audience you are trying to reach when vetting collaboration opportunities with influencers. There is a fine line between a media outlet and a media influencer. Do your research and make sure that their brand and audience aligns with yours. Legitimate bloggers post with a purpose. If your content doesn’t apply to their audience, it won’t be beneficial to either party involved.

After you have selected the most appropriate influencers, set aside a budget. “Some common misconceptions about influencers is that they’ll do work for free,” said lifestyle influencer, Stephanie Guerra of Puro Pinche,  “Most of the time, influencers are trying to make a living as well. Consider trade-value items. If you offer nothing, the chances of them doing something for you are low.”

Nonetheless, don’t let a small budget discourage you from reaching out to influencers. More often than not, influencers will help you do the most with the budget you have to work with and offer some alternative options.  

Transparency

When developing an influencer marketing strategy, make sure to outline your objectives and specify the goals you have in mind for your business. Are you looking for sales, brand awareness or both?  When collaborating with influencers, it’s important to provide direction and be transparent in your expectations.

Once a partnership is finalized, trust your influencers. Although traditional influencer marketing heavily relies on brand-created content for campaigns, consider giving them some freedom. Influencers know their audience and allowing them to create original content for you can help them effectively promote your business while safeguarding their brand and audience. A Gartner analysis finds, “consumers who see a user-generated photo on their path to purchase have a 4.5 percent higher chance of conversion, which increases to 9.6 percent once they interact with the photo.”

Due Diligence 

Unfortunately, influencers with the largest following won’t always garner the most successful and legitimate results. As eager as you are to secure a successful marketing campaign, be cognizant of any dramatic fluctuations in your influencer’s channels. Has there been a noticeable decrease in followers? Are their posts not garnering impressionable likes?

“Engagement rates between 1.64 percent and 3.48 percent are considered to be good,” reveals influencer marketing platform, Scrunch. “An influencer with a good engagement rate on Instagram can expect between 16.4-34.8 reactions for every 1,000 followers.”

Lastly and most importantly, be responsive and provide timely feedback at the end of your campaign together. If there is something that the influencer could have done better, be honest and share constructive criticism. Ultimately, you are both running a business and any feedback you provide can be utilized to enable success and secure each other’s credibility.

With the proper execution, influencer marketing can effectively foster growth and help connect your brand with the right target audience.

If you’re interested in capitalizing on this growing trend, we can help you develop a successful influencer marketing strategy tailored to your business.