Here at The Blogger Programme we don’t just work with bloggers but some of our team are bloggers themselves, allowing us to understand the industry from both perspectives. Check out our insider tips for carrying out successful influencer marketing campaigns.
Payment
To the ordinary person being offered a free pair of shoes or the latest handbag may seem like a dream come true, so you may be a bit alarmed when a blogger turns it down. There is a time however in a blogger's journey where free gifts turn into a lot of work and each gifted item requires content. Each gifted item comes with a heavy load of emails asking when will the content be up and even requests to change the original content. Times this by one hundred, plus a full time job and you will begin to understand the blogger's perspective and why they start to charge for their time.
If you want to get your product out to as many bloggers as possible for organic content then payment doesn’t have to be an option. However if a brand requires a brief and a deadline then payment usually results in a more successful campaign.
Incentive
Unfortunately for start-up companies and small brands bloggers are more likely to collaborate for less with big companies. This is due to the fact that a blogger usually wants access to the brand's large following, allowing them to grow as an influencer. So as a small brand you really have to think about the bloggers incentive and what you can give them.
A blogger is usually on the look out for two main things – content and following. If you can’t introduce them to an audience then help them create great content. Unique experiences or events gain a lot more organic content than a simple paid gifting collaboration and you'll often find that bloggers who usually charge will attend an experience for free. So if you have budget think wisely about pouring it into gifting collaborations when instead you could take the same amount and create an interesting on brand experience for the bloggers to share with their audience gaining a higher impact.
Events
Have you ever put on a wonderful event and wondered why the bloggers haven’t posted any images? Low lighting may create a great atmosphere however smoke machines and dimmer switches should be banned from all press days. The key ingredient for a successful blog is lighting so make sure any event is well lit to encourage photography and social activity.
Hire a photographer – one of the most important things to a blogger is photography. So why not hire a photographer for your event to take some great images of the bloggers and then send them on afterwards.
Relationships
You might notice that bloggers spend most of their days in meetings, brunches and dinners. The key to nailing your blogger outreach is building strong relationships with core on brand bloggers. It’s not just important to contact the ‘mega’ bloggers though, be on the look out for up and coming fast growing bloggers that you know will go far. Catching these influencers at the early age of their blogging career will mean they will remember you and your brand when they grow. So build relationships, get to know them and become their friend. That way when you ask them to promote for you they will be more willing to do so than with an unknown company.
Analysis
How do you measure influencer marketing? Well, the truth is it’s hard, so proving a successful campaign isn’t as easy as the more old fashion ways of marketing, possibly why some brands are still scared to take the leap of faith. However when a blogger wears a dress and it sells out immediately you know it’s worth venturing into this field.
The most common question is - how many click-throughs will we get if we work with X amount of bloggers? This is not how it works, nor should it be the core motive behind influencer marketing. Blogger outreach creates brand awareness and also gives brands the opportunity to grow their own social presence where they can promote to a larger audience for free on a daily basis. Sales and click-through rates are secondary and a result of what happens after a while of building successful blogger relationships, it is not an immediate reaction. Although reach and engagement can be calculated immediately after a campaign, results in the terms of sales should be analysed over a longer period of times.
Keep up with our blog to find out more tips about the blogging industry!
TBP x
