Well, we’ve reached the next phase of influencer marketing’s evolution. Blog posts diving deep into what it is and how to start are fewer and further between, replaced by posts like this which guide you in growing your already-existing program.
That’s because working with influencers has become a cornerstone for brands looking to expand their reach and connect with audiences authentically. And so, as we reach the end of 2024, marketers who have already laid the groundwork face the challenge in taking their initiatives to the next level.
Let’s talk about all the ways you can elevate your program’s performance.
Are you ready for a larger influencer marketing program?
Before diving into growth strategies, it’s a good idea to assess whether your influencer program is ready for expansion. Ask yourself these questions:
- Has your current program consistently met or exceeded its goals?
- Do you have the infrastructure to manage a larger network of influencers?
- Is there demand from your target audience for more influencer content?
- Can your budget accommodate an expanded program?
- Do you have the tools and team in place to measure and analyze increased activity?
You don’t need a “yes” for all these questions to move ahead. Even just three out of five is a good start, but if that’s the case make sure there are no questions about your budget and you know exactly where you stand with your current efforts.
Analyze your current performance.
It’s one thing to have an influencer program that’s meeting or exceeding goals, but nothing in this world is perfect. To chart a course for growth, you should conduct a thorough—and honest—analysis of your current influencer program’s performance and identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Some things to look for:
- Review engagement rates across different platforms and influencer tiers.
- Assess conversion rates and ROI from influencer-driven campaigns.
- Examine the quality and consistency of content produced by your influencers.
- Evaluate the alignment between influencer audiences and your target demographic.
By breaking your influencers’ performances down to these different, measurable aspects, you get a clear idea of where you can double down on what you’ve been doing. Even better, you’ll see what you need to focus on improving before—or as part of—your expansion.
Pros and cons of expanding your influencer program
To be sure, going big isn’t for everyone. Before embarking on expansion, weigh the potential benefits against the challenges:
Pros:
- Increased brand awareness and reach
- Diversified content and perspectives
- Potential for higher engagement and conversions
- Access to new audience segments
- Enhanced social proof and credibility
Cons:
- Higher management complexity
- Increased budget requirements
- Potential for diluted brand message if not managed properly
- Risk of partnering with less-aligned influencers
- Need for more sophisticated tracking and analytics
For both pros and cons, you should assess whether you have the resources to act on these things. Meaning: You might be excited to reach new audience segments, but do you have the tools to identify those segments and then target them with specific content?
Likewise, you might understand how management of your programs increases in complexity, but do you have the personal bandwidth (or supporting team) to address it?
If you’ve weighed the benefits and challenges and decided that growth is the way forward, it’s time to develop a strategic approach to scaling your program.
Let’s explore the key steps you’ll need to take to ensure a successful expansion of your influencer marketing efforts.
5 steps for growing your influencer program
Step 1: Plan your strategy.
A well-crafted strategy serves as the roadmap for your influencer program’s growth. A comprehensive plan upfront ensures every expansion effort aligns with your brand’s goals. Toward that end:
Set clear goals.
The foundation of any successful endeavor is a set of well-defined objectives. Your goals should be smart, but also steeped in cringey corporate acronyms. In other words, they should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
It’s not enough to say that you want to increase brand awareness. Define how you’ll do that, e.g. reaching 1 million new potential customers through influencer content in Q2. Don’t just hope for “better engagement,” work to boost it on influencer-generated content by 25% by the end of 2024.
Study your target audience.
As your influencer program expands, it’s crucial to maintain—and even sharpen—your focus on your target audience. Referring to data from your current program is a great place to start. By analyzing this information, you can figure out which groups of people are engaging with your ads the most, learn which influencers click with your audience, and spot new trends that your target customers are interested in.
This better understanding will help you choose influencers and plan content as your program grows. By using these insights from data, you’ll make smarter choices that match what your audience likes and does. This will lead to better partnerships with influencers that have more impact.
Step 2: Optimize your current resources
Here, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the right resources and getting all that you can out of them.
Tap micro and nano influencers
It’s easy to get caught up in the allure of partnering with big-name influencers. It’s also easy to forget that, with influencer marketing, smaller can be better. Micro-influencers (10k to 100k followers) and nano-influencers (1k to 10k) followers typically have more engaged audiences. They hang on their every word, and tend to be deeply interested in specific topics.
This means, with the right nano- or micro-influencer, your message is more likely to resonate with the right people. It doesn’t hurt that working with these influencers is often easier on your budget, allowing you to spread your resources further.
Perhaps most importantly, smaller influencers often come across as more authentic and relatable to their audience, which can boost the credibility of your brand message. By including a mix of influencer sizes in your program, you can effectively expand your reach while keeping your spending in check. It’s all about finding the right balance for your brand’s needs and goals.
Use UGC.
User-generated content (UGC), should be a no-brainer of an addition to your influencer program. When your influencers inspire their followers to create and share content that features your products or services, it adds a layer of authenticity to your marketing efforts—real customers sharing their experiences can be incredibly persuasive. Plus, you’ll find yourself with a treasure trove of content that you can share and repurpose across your channels. This not only saves you time and resources but also keeps your content fresh and diverse.
Another great benefit of encouraging UGC is the way it boosts community engagement. When people see their content being shared by a brand they love, it creates a sense of connection and loyalty. To get the ball rolling with UGC, consider setting up hashtag campaigns or running contests. These are great ways to motivate your audience to start creating and sharing content.
Repurpose content.
Influencer-generated content is really user-generated content, with all of the benefits that that implies. But that also makes it a versatile asset that can work across multiple channels. Instead of using it once and moving on, consider how you can breathe new life into this valuable content.
Maybe you share an influencer’s post on your brand’s own social media profiles, giving it a second round of exposure. Or, take those glowing testimonials from influencers and weave them into your email marketing campaigns—they’re like word-of-mouth recommendations that land right in your customers’ inboxes. Those eye-catching images and videos created by influencers? They’d look great on your website—or even in your paid advertisements.
And if you’re looking to showcase the impact of your influencer partnerships, why not gather various pieces of content into compelling case studies or success stories? By repurposing content in these ways, you’re not only getting more mileage out of each piece, but you’re also creating a consistent brand story that your audience will encounter at various points. It’s a smart way to reinforce your message and make the most of your influencer collaborations.
Step 3: Streamline your processes.
Marketing shouldn’t be manual labor! Turn to software to optimize your operations and handle the increased workload efficiently and effectively.
Automate your tasks.
As your influencer marketing program expands, you might find yourself drowning in a sea of tasks that were once manageable. This is where automation tools come to the rescue, acting like your personal assistant for influencer management. Influencer marketing platforms offer the possibility to automate the minutiae, and free teams to focus on the creative.
Software discovery tools that help you find and vet new influencers don’t exactly automate but they do centralize the task of searching and greatly increase efficiency for the task. You’ll want to make sure any tool you invest in can automate things like contracts and payments, or certain aspects of campaign management, like content deadlines and gently nudging influencers when they’re due for a post or video.
You can also automate data analytics with the right tools, monitoring campaign metrics and generating insights that help you understand what’s working and what’s not. It’s all about working smarter, not harder, and letting technology handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on strategy and relationship-building.
Communicate efficiently.
As your influencer base grows, keeping the lines of communication open and clear becomes more important than ever. Think of it as nurturing a garden—the more attention you give, the better it flourishes. To keep your influencer relationships thriving, it’s smart to put some systems in place that ensure your communication is consistent and effective.
A well-thought-out onboarding process can set the tone for your entire relationship. It’s like giving them a roadmap to success with your brand. That kind of prescribed process can also ease things on your side. Toward that same end, developing a set of go-to templates for things like project briefs, feedback sessions, and performance reviews can be real time-savers and help maintain consistency across your growing network.
If you’re searching for platforms that can automate processes (as mentioned above), look to see if they include team collaboration tools. These can be your best friend, serving as a central hub for all your communication and file sharing. It’s essentially a virtual office where everyone can meet, chat, and access important information. By focusing on efficient communication, you’re not just saving time—you’re building stronger partnerships, inside and out of your company.
Step 4: Strengthen your existing relationships.
Your existing relationships are the foundation of your success. Let’s explore how to build on them for the future.
Invest in stronger relationships with your content creators.
Before things really take off, it’s important not to forget about the content creators who’ve been with you from the start. These influencers have been key players in your success story, and nurturing these relationships should continue to pay dividends in the long run.
Think of ways to make your long-standing influencers feel special and valued. You might consider giving them first dibs on new products or inviting them to exclusive events. It’s like having a VIP club for your top influencers—they get access to exciting opportunities before anyone else.
Another way to strengthen these relationships is by providing personalized support. This could mean offering tailored resources or simply being more available to address their specific needs. It’s about showing them that you’re invested in their success as much as your own.
You might also consider involving your trusted influencers in your brand’s decision-making process. Ask for their input on campaign ideas or for recommendations of other good influencers to bring on. Their insights can be invaluable, and this level of involvement can deepen their connection to your brand.
Create a referral program
On a similar note as above, don’t overlook the power of your existing network to grow it. An effective strategy can be to implement an influencer referral program, tapping into the connections your current influencers have already built in your niche.
To make this work, start by offering incentives for successful referrals. This could be anything from monetary rewards to exclusive perks—whatever makes sense for your brand and budget. The key is to make it worthwhile for your influencers to spread the word. Then focus on making the referral process as simple as possible. Nobody likes jumping through hoops, so create a streamlined system that’s easy for your influencers to use and understand. This could be as straightforward as a dedicated email address or a simple online form.
By leveraging your existing influencer relationships in this way, you’re not just expanding your network, you’re doing so with a higher likelihood of finding influencers who are a great match for your brand. It’s a win-win situation: Your current influencers feel valued and involved, while your program grows with quality partnerships.
Step 5: Monitor and adjust.
Track your progress.
Keep a close eye on how your influencer program performs as you start growing it. Think of it as a routine health check-up. To do this effectively, you’ll want to put some robust tracking mechanisms in place.
Start by leveraging analytics tools to measure key metrics like engagement, reach, and conversions.
These numbers can tell you a lot about how well your influencer content is resonating with your audience and driving desired actions. Don’t stop at numbers, though. It’s also important to regularly assess the quality of the content being produced. Sure, this is a bit more subjective but you can focus your content audits to ensure that what’s being created aligns with your brand values and messaging. This helps maintain consistency as your program expands.
As your program diversifies, you might find yourself working with different types of influencers and content formats. Take the time to compare performance across these various categories. You might discover that certain influencer tiers or content types are particularly effective for your brand. By keeping tabs on all these aspects, you’re setting yourself up to make informed decisions as you scale.
Have a flexible strategy.
Think of your strategy as a living document that needs regular updates rather than a set-it-and-forget-it plan. As you grow your program, keep a close eye on your performance data and stay tuned to market trends. These insights might signal that it’s time to shift gears or try something new. Don’t be afraid to experiment with emerging platforms or fresh content formats. By staying open to new possibilities, you might discover untapped opportunities that give your brand an edge.
Pay attention to how your audience responds to different influencers and content types. Their reactions can guide you in fine-tuning your influencer mix. Maybe you’ll find that micro-influencers are driving more engagement than you expected, or that video content is outperforming static posts. Use these insights to make informed decisions about where to focus your efforts.
As you identify what’s working best, be ready to shift your resources accordingly. This might mean investing more in high-performing areas of your program or scaling back on less effective strategies. Remember, it’s not about sticking rigidly to your initial plan, but about being agile enough to maximize your results.
Tools that can help you grow your program
We’ve spent a lot of time talking vaguely about software tools that can help you to scale, so now it’s time to get a bit more specific. Here are some popular influencer marketing platforms that can help streamline your operations and manage a growing influencer program:
- Influencer discovery platforms: These platforms use advanced algorithms and databases to help brands identify and evaluate potential influencers. They typically offer features like keyword searches, audience demographics analysis, and performance metrics to ensure you find influencers who align with your brand and target audience.
- Campaign management software: These comprehensive platforms offer end-to-end solutions for managing influencer campaigns. They typically include features for content creation and approval workflows, campaign scheduling, performance tracking, and reporting. By centralizing these functions, they help brands efficiently manage multiple campaigns and influencer relationships simultaneously, streamlining the entire process from planning to execution and analysis.
- Analytics tools: These tools provide comprehensive performance tracking and ROI measurement for influencer campaigns. They collect and analyze data from various social media platforms, offering insights into engagement rates, reach, conversions, and overall campaign effectiveness. Often, they’re built on a foundation of AI and data science to extract helpful insights out of the raw numbers.
- Content collaboration platforms: These platforms facilitate efficient content creation and approval processes. They typically offer features like task management, file sharing, and collaborative editing capabilities.
- Payment systems: These platforms streamline the process of compensating influencers for their work. They typically offer features such as automated payments, tax form generation, and currency conversion for international transactions.
It’s important to note that you can find purpose-built software for each of these tasks or, depending on your size, full suites that offer all of these functionalities on a single platform. There’s often a question of what that size should be, and in general there’s no clear answer.
That said, if you’re going to scale your influencer roster past 50 or so, it’s a good idea to get software involved. Beyond the human brain’s capacity for the number of relationships you can sustain, there’s also just the fact of the tedious admin required for each influencer.
Brands that grew their influencer program successfully
Several brands have enhanced their influencer marketing strategies, resulting in significant growth and engagement. Here are a few noteworthy examples:
- MVMT: This watch and accessory brand grew their network of creators by 7x, boosting brand visibility and driving notable sales increases.
- True Citrus: They built their influencer program from the ground up, partnering with over 300 influencers within just one quarter, dramatically enhancing brand awareness.
- Frenchie: This dog grooming brand built their influencer program from the ground up, partnering with over 170 influencers to promote and sell their products through a Shopify integration.
- Dove: In 2022, Dove expanded its influencer community to promote inclusivity and body confidence, engaging in several campaigns like #PassTheCrown and #DetoxYourFeed. These initiatives amassed over 1 billion impressions, with a 20% increase in engagement, exceeding their marketing goals for the year.
Key takeaway: Strategic growth and adaptability are crucial for expanding your influencer program in 2024 and beyond.
Growing your influencer program requires a thoughtful approach that balances expansion with efficiency and quality. By setting clear goals, optimizing resources, streamlining processes, nurturing relationships, and remaining flexible, you can scale your influencer marketing efforts to new heights.
