Influencer Marketing is projected to reach 16.4 Billion Dollars in the year 2022. As the industry grows, so do the ways that brands that are marketing regarding an array of influencer campaigns and collaborations. It can seem overwhelming at first, but I am here to tell you not to worry as we are here to help you navigate the many options ! 

Let’s start out simple, What is an Influencer Collaboration? An influencer collaboration is defined as “one where brands provide some incentives to influencers to create and post content for them. This could be a product review, recommendation, promotion, or simply a brand mention.” Essentially, the main thing a brand is searching for is how they can use you to promote/push their product or service to a new audience outside of their own. Whether that be through content you created for them or simply a mention in one of your stories! An authentic collaboration or a personal connection to a product is

The Brands Advantage

Brands benefit from influencer collaborations as they will help them reach a new target audience, create brand awareness, generate leads, and achieve many other marketing goals.

When generating influencer campaigns it’s important to be strategic in your goals to have the most success.

The Influencers Advantage

So, what’s in it for the influencer? Well similarly to the brands advantage, the influencer involved with the collaboration will also reach new target audiences (as the brand shares your content) which ultimately will help increase your brand awareness as a public figure, a resource!

Now that we have nailed down Influencer Collaborations and their differences let’s break it down even more regarding the types of collaborations a brand could possibly ask you for.

What is a Brand Ambassador?

Let’s say a brand that you love approaches you and wants you to be their ambassador, awesome…but what is that? Well the truth is a Brand Ambassadorship could look different from brand to brand, but generally speaking a Brand Ambassador is a person vetted by a company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. This could truly be a great opportunity as it gives you an opportunity to prove that you can convert and is definitely a step in the right direction towards a long term partnership!

Giveaways

I feel as if Giveaways have been around since the very first influencer roamed the Earth.. just kidding, but really they have been around for a hot minute. Giveways are exactly that … where an influencer partners with a brand and agrees to give an item or product away. Usually, this in exchange for a follow, comment, subscription or anything that could lead to increased engagement. Giveaways have also been related to the term sweepstakes and are one of the most known ways to gain engagement on social media platforms!

Why it’s Important to Pay Influencers

In all business it’s important to have your transaction and your goals you want to be met in writing. Often times we have heard stories of brands dismay of working with influencers because they gifted items but didn’t get what they wanted in return. My often is response is the following. If you are not doing these steps as a brand

• Did you pay or just send product?
• Did you send a detailed brief?

Audrie’s Personal Tips

• Professional Imagery when working with brands is key. Not only does it elevate your brand and free up your time, it also shows that you take this opportunity to work with the brand seriously.
• Read the Collaboration Brief thoroughly and make sure you are meeting the brands specific requests for the collab. This goes for all collaborations, not just the “big” ones. If you want to work with a brand and they look you up to see if you would be a good fit, you need to have content that will prove to them that you will put in the work to elevate their brand.
• Give Yourself Time to make any changes that may come up. If you submit the deliverables the day before the collaboration is set to go live, you will be rushed if any changes need to be made. This can lead to negative first impressions and could deter a brand away from working with you again. So plan well and have your deliverables in plenty of time in case something needs to be altered.

Statistics

Numbers don’t lie and I love that Influencer Marketing Hub provided these amazing graphs and statistics to really show you the growth and importance of Influencer Marketing in our world today.

It has taken a long time, and there is still work to do, but companies are starting to realize how influential influencer marketing can be for the growth of their business! These stats are so exciting!

One of the most common points of anxiety that I hear from influencers is about Instagram following. However, I believe engagement on the platforms you take part in is much more important than the number of people. The graph below shows the average engagement rate on different social media channels, according to the number of followers.

I could go on and on about the benefits of Influencer Collaborations as I really do believe this industry is booming and growing everyday and I encourage all my clients to involve themselves in collaborations whether your a brand or an influencer! I hope you all gained a little more insight to the world of Influencer Marketing. Of course, if you are needing help with elevating your business or just want to learn more be sure to check out www.admediagroupllc.com!

You will also love previous blog posts that could be useful to your marketing approach , So You Want to Work With an Influencer , A fabulous read that I highly recommend is insight from another successful blogger and friend Cassie with Hi Sugarplum Blog. She recently takes all the questions head on and gives insight on her lates blog post You Ask, I answer| The Business of Blogging. 

As always, Capture.Brand. Engage. Let’s Do Big Things!!

All photographs are copyright and owned by Audrie Dollins. All opinions are that of her own , the statistics were resourced from Influencer Marketing Hub.