What is influencer marketing: How to develop your strategy

• Start by choosing the platform you want to focus on, ideally where you already have a presence. You can always expand to other platforms at a later stage.
• Look at the type of influencers you're interested in. Are you looking for celebrities with huge followings, micro-influencers with less than 2000 followers, or somewhere between 5-10k followers? 
• Social listening can help identify where people are discussing your industry and brand and help you find the most influential voices in your industry.
• Consider the expected ROI of your social influencer marketing campaign.

• When creating a budget, ensure to factor in time for planning, executing and reviewing your influencer program. A successful influencer marketing campaign is not an automated ad strategy but involves monitoring and follow up.
• If you have time and money, consider setting up a formal ambassador program.
• An influencer marketing agency is a good bet for brands that need a wider set of influencers to do the research and coordination.

Influencer marketing is often used to raise brand awareness and increase sales. However, a more effective target is to hone in on what your brand's needs are. For example, perhaps you want to increase your customer base in a specific demographic or expand into a new user group with a new product.

Your message is as important. Without stifling your influencer's creativity and uniqueness, determine how you want to structure your influencer marketing campaign and message.

Step one is to research how to find the right influencers to work with. Consider the following:

• Does the influencer already post about similar things to your service?
• Are they legit? A sign of a fraudulent account is a poor engagement ratio to follower count and spam-like comments.
• Have they worked with similar brands before?

Step two is determining how you'll be reaching out to them.

• Micro influencers can be contacted directly in a private message on the same platform.
• More established influencers may list contact information for business inquiries in their bio.

• Create a specific hashtag to track what your influencers are doing.
• If you're aiming for more sales, affiliate codes or tracking links can help establish how much is generated from influencers.

Success may vary between brands, so don't give up if your first one does not meet up to your expectations. You may find using influencers as part of your marketing strategy is very beneficial to everyone.