By Sourav Ray and Aparajita Biala
Influencer marketing (IM) is no longer a novelty in the marketer’s toolkit. However, there is a lack of benchmarks and the conundrum of scale and authenticity. Brands need to realise that IM is a continuum tool, unlike traditional media. It requires brands to pivot to an always on, relational approach for influencer initiative rather than a campaign burst approach. Hence the need for an “influencer programme”, which can be executed in stages.
The first or foundational stage demands a startup culture of fearless experimentation and therefore is high on creative energy. There will be challenges, the first of which is the tendency to lean on established KPIs, that is, traditional media’s “reach” and “frequency”. This obsession reflects in the “number of followers” and the “number of posts”, defeating the purpose of “influence”. Another challenge is the lack of benchmarks and best practices with respect to influencer compensation, content control and KPIs. Manual processes and operational intensity are a challenge too.
So how does one succeed? It is important to measure “influence” (sentiment, engagement, brand content versus influencer content test) rather than followers and reach. One should also experiment with influencer cohorts, content formats, attention hacks, and analyse and record learnings. It is important to build a lean, ambitious team of doers.
Stage two or consolidation stage entails setting up for scale. It is the time to set order to chaos. This stage is marked by consolidating learnings into setting SOPs through templates. Here, investments to subscribe to sophisticated IM tools pose a challenge. Moreover, inertia from teams and creators to transition a “people” business to process orientation, a tendency to templatise process as well as content output, and developing KPI models for the programme also pose difficulties.
It is important to find the right tools to select, basis audience interests and behaviour rather than only “follower/ influencer demographics”. One must templatise process, not content, and retain an influencer’s voice of authenticity. Strategic thinkers and process architects beyond doers, along with leaders with the ability to influence stakeholders are key.
Stage three includes expansion. Ramping up influencer connections is certain to amplify a brand’s share of content. The momentum created by a volume of organic and inorganic content could lead to a snowball effect.
One must be wary of applying a one-size-fits-all approach to varied influencer segments. Churning out content volume can lead to templatisation, leading to low authenticity. Effectiveness indicators can be overshadowed by efficiency. Segmenting influencers and building strategies is key to keeping motivated and engaged with the brand. One must look beyond macro and micro influencers to build volume engagement through regional influencers, and define success KPIs depending on funnel objective.
Ray is CSO; Biala is AVP, strategy planning, Cheil India