Erin Ledbetter, VP of Carusele, points out 5 unique ways brands can work with and engage influencers.

 
Capitalizing on the incredible popularity of social media, more and more brands are turning to influencer marketing as a way to reach engaged, targeted audiences who more and more are turning to social media to inform their purchase decisions.

Along with this uptick in influencer campaigns, comes the side of influencer marketing that must be avoided at all costs: inauthentic endorsements that aren’t actually influencing anyone. All they’re doing is adding to the bank of useless content that’s filling up the web.

So how can brands effectively engage influencers and realize results that lead to sales lift, share of voice increases and generate greater awareness about their brands?

There are five ways – and your brand may use one or a combination of these.

1. Influencer Media Programs

These programs oversee the creation of authentic content and then amplify this content with media precision. Influencer media programs result in high-quality content created by influential voices with targeted reach and cost efficiencies. These programs require a minimum recommended spend of $50K to properly take advantage of the ability to amplify and syndicate.

2. Influencer Marketplace Programs

The goal of these programs is to get as many influencers as possible talking about your brand. We call this “Voices Everywhere.” This approach is capable of generating massive reach for a small investment – but can result in uninspired content if you’re not careful.

If you’re just starting out on your influencer marketing journey, influencer marketplace programs can be a great way to test a large number of influencers, content angles and messaging to enable you to determine the best strategy for your influencer media program (above).

3. Influencer Content Campaigns

If you’re looking to generate content at scale, this type of influencer engagement might work for you. This approach gets you high-quality visuals and videos at a fraction of the cost of a photo or video shoot. You’ll get influential content backed by influential people. This type of content is at the heart of successful influencer marketing campaigns.

4. Influencer Syndication Campaigns

You’ve got a fabulous piece of content. You’ve tested it organically on your own social channels and it’s driving reach and engagement all by itself. How do you take advantage of this and get even more mileage from this content? By syndicating it on influencer’s channels to drive further results. It has to be good, though … and influencers must be able to see a way to incorporate it into their own brand.

5. Influencer Ambassador Programs

These campaigns might just be the holy grail of influencer marketing. You don’t necessarily want to jump into one too quickly without first testing to see whether these influencers are a good fit with your brand. While these programs can be a big commitment, they can also result in big payouts in terms of reach and engagement.

A small selection of images from an Ambassador Influencer campaign for #HallmarkAtWalgreens

An ambassador campaign we recently conducted for a household brand saw the engagement rate jump 4x as the ambassador influencers continued to produce high-quality, engaging content about the brand.

For more information on any of these types of influencer programs, check out the full article here. Still not sure which type of influencer engagement is right for your brand? Carusele can help you decide. Contact us today to learn more.