7 Influencer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid

Influencer marketing has become an extremely effective strategy for many brands.

Yet, despite being a billion-dollar industry, it is still relatively new within the history of marketing.

As such, many brands, marketers, and influencers sometimes still make costly campaign mistakes that can damage their reputation and audience trust, as well as their finances.

Here are 7 common influencer marketing mistakes to avoid.

1. Choosing An Influencer Based On Their Number Of Followers

Choosing the right influencer to collaborate with is essential if your campaign is to be successful.

However, one of the most common mistakes many brands make is to choose an influencer based on their number of followers.

Whilst you want to make sure that you work with someone who has a large enough following to make it worth your while, it can in fact be more beneficial to work with someone who has fewer followers, but higher levels of engagement rates.

Choosing to work with a mid-level influencer who has 10K – 100K, but high engagement rates is likely to be a more successful choice.

“When you are choosing which influencer to work with, make sure that you also look at the number of comments their posts receive and analyze the relationship they have with their followers.

This will give you an indication of whether or not your chosen influencer actually takes the time to engage with their followers,” says Ann Turner, a marketer at Assignment Help and Bestbritishessays. “An influencer with thousands of followers, but only a few likes or comments is an indication of either someone with a low engagement rate or fake followers.”

2. Collaborating With The Wrong Type Of Influencer

Equally important is to choose to work with an influencer who is relevant to your brand and industry.

Whilst it may be tempting to work with a more high-profile influencer, it’s essential that their values and audience match those of your brand. The influencer you collaborate with should be involved in the same industry as you.

Collaborating with the wrong type of influencer, even if they have a large following, could actually be very damaging for your brand and its reputation.

Instead, take the time to research the influencers you are interested in collaborating with thoroughly.

After all, they are going to be representing you and your business, so it’s important to make sure that they are a suitable match.

3. Not Providing Influencers With Sufficient Information

The influencer you work with will be promoting your brand, so it’s important that you provide them with sufficient information on your brand and the campaign to be able to talk about it confidently.

It’s your responsibility to ensure that you provide influencers with the relevant knowledge and links that they may need for this, including sharing the campaign’s theme, relevant hashtags, as well as any other useful and relevant content they might need (such as your brand story, for example) to help them make a positive contribution.

4. Lack Of Clear Goals From The Start Of The Campaign

Without clear goals from the start, your campaign is unlikely to succeed.

Before launching your campaign or even contacting any influencers, make sure that you have identified the key objectives for your campaign. What is it that you want to achieve and how will you measure your success?

Make sure that you share your campaign objectives with everyone involved in it, including your chosen influencer.

Having clear goals and outcomes in mind will also be helpful in allowing you to reach out to a more relevant and suitable influencer, who is better suited to your specific campaign.

5. Not Allowing Influencers To Have Creative Freedom

Whilst influencers need enough information to be able to contribute positively to your campaign, you also need to allow them sufficient room for creativity.

Many influencers have turned down projects because there are too many strict guidelines. Remember that the influencers know their audience best.

Rather than trying to micromanage them, provide them with all the relevant information they need and then give them the creative space to create content that will resonate with their audience, whilst authentically incorporating your brand into it.

6. Not Nurturing An Ongoing Relationship With Influencers

If you have worked with an influencer on a successful campaign, it makes sense to continue to nurture that relationship and work with them again.

However, many brands make the mistake of treating influencer collaborations as a one-off.

It may be tempting to try working with other influencers, but if you have found someone that you work well with and who has proven beneficial to your brand, then it’s worth trying to build a long-lasting relationship. It can be useful to try to plan to work with influencers on a regular basis, such as every month or every quarter.

“Working with an influencer on an ongoing basis also means that their audience will hear your brand recommendation several times, which will increase their level of trust in it.

Similarly, influencers’ followers tend to be very loyal to the influencer, so treating them well and collaborating again in future will make their followers respect your brand and will help to reinforce its authenticity,” says Timothy Ethridge, a writer at Essay Services and Revieweal.

7. Not Utilizing Multi-Channel Approaches

People use different social media platforms. Focusing on only one platform can limit the reach of your campaign.

Even if your brand isn’t active on a particular platform, your audience might be. If your brand is already active and successful on one platform, consider working with influencers on other platforms to increase your reach.

Similarly, consider collaborating with influencers who are also bloggers and who are active on multiple platforms and give them the opportunity to post on all of their channels.

Conclusion

Creating a successful influencer campaign takes time and planning.

Make sure that you choose an influencer to work with whose values are in keeping with your brand and ensure that you communicate clearly with them from the start.

By nurturing your partnership, you’ll be able to create a campaign that resonates with both your audiences.

Need help?

We can help your company select the right mix of influencers, build a strategy and create a campaign targeted to your buyers. 

Contact me to find out more.

Emily Henry is an experienced writer at Write My Essay and Big Assignments, where she regularly writes about influencer marketing. She is also a manager at Top Canadian Writers and works closely with companies of all sizes, helping them to improve their influencer marketing strategies. When not writing, Emily enjoys traveling and attending business conferences.