In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful growth strategy for Shopify brands and other online stores.
While collaborating with influencers can bring tremendous benefits, there are pitfalls along the way that can derail your influencer marketing campaign.
In this blog post, we’ll explore five common pitfalls and provide insights on how to prevent them, ensuring a smoother influencer marketing journey for your brand.
So get ready to avoid these mistakes and be on your way to influencer marketing success.
1. Strategic Outreach: Finding the Right Fit
Picking the right influencer can make or break your campaign. That’s why it’s crucial to look beyond just follower counts and engagement numbers. You should instead focus on finding influencers who truly connect with your brand and are genuinely excited about your product.
Think about it this way: Would you trust someone to recommend something they’re not passionate about? Probably not. That’s why passionate influencers are key. Their enthusiasm shows through in their content, making it more relatable and engaging for their audience.
Avoid influencers who are only in it for the money. Their lack of genuine interest can lead to bland content that doesn’t resonate with anyone. Plus, it might not stick around for the long haul, leaving your campaign hanging.
Building relationships with potential influencers is important. This helps you see if they’re a good fit for your brand and genuinely care about what you have to offer. By investing time and effort in building these connections, you’re laying the foundation for a successful campaign that reaches the right people and leaves a lasting impression.
2. Mid-Negotiation Clarity: Setting Expectations
Good communication is extremely important in negotiations. Right from the beginning, be clear about what you want from influencers and what you’re offering them. If things are vague, influencers might lose interest, so it’s crucial to be straightforward and respectful of their time.
To make things smooth, express your needs clearly. This not only builds trust but also makes the whole process more professional. Being open and clear in your intentions helps in creating a positive working relationship. It’s also a good idea to keep your communication with influencers efficient to show that you value their time.
Make sure to set clear expectations about the work, how much they’ll be compensated, and any other important details. This creates a strong foundation for working together. Being upfront minimizes confusion and shows that you’re committed to being fair and open. In short, good and clear communication in negotiations not only helps in getting things done but also builds solid relationships with influencers based on understanding and shared goals.
3. Product Quality and Appreciation: Sending the Right Message
Once you’ve got influencers on board, it’s important to send them really good products. If they’re not excited about what they get, the chances of a successful promotion go down. To make it even better, throw in a handwritten thank-you note. It shows you appreciate them, and you could even toss in some extra bonuses or related stuff to make their experience awesome. Doing this makes sure they’re not just promoting your stuff because they have to but because they genuinely like it.
When you focus on making a positive impression at this stage, it sets the tone for a great promotion. The influencers, feeling appreciated and valued, are more likely to really get into promoting your products. It’s not just about the promotion being effective; it’s about making sure it feels real and authentic. By taking these steps, you’re not just sending products – you’re creating a connection that turns into a genuinely enthusiastic and impactful promotion for your brand.
4. Content Creation and Editing: Setting Clear Guidelines
When you’re working on creating and editing content with influencers, being clear and upfront about what you expect is a must. Talk to them often, reminding them of your needs, so there’s no confusion. Keeping the communication lines open ensures everyone knows what’s expected, making it easier to work together towards a common goal.
If there’s room for a bit of flexibility in how the content is created, let them know. But, if you have specific things you really need, make sure to connect that with compensation. This way, it’s clear what’s up for negotiation and what needs to stick to the plan. Having this clarity helps influencers understand the boundaries while still giving them the freedom to bring in their creativity.
Setting up clear guidelines during content creation is like having a safety net. It avoids any confusion and guarantees that what the influencers create matches exactly what you have in mind for your brand. The more specific you are in your instructions, the smoother things go, and you end up with content that not only meets but goes beyond your expectations. So, this phase is not just about editing words or images; it’s about building a teamwork environment where everyone knows what to do, leading to content that truly connects with your brand.
5. Post-Content Agreement: Aligning for Success
When influencers are ready to share their content, there’s a potential snag you’ll want to avoid. The key is making sure everyone agrees on when and where things will be posted. It’s not just about influencers hitting the post button – it’s about making sure their efforts work together for the biggest impact. This means figuring out how often they’ll post, the style of their message, and if the content is timeless or tied to a specific time.
To sidestep this issue, it’s crucial to sort out these details right from the beginning. By planning out content calendars and posting schedules early in the collaboration, you prevent any confusion later on. Knowing how often influencers will post, what kind of tone they’ll use, and whether the content is timeless or time-sensitive keeps everyone on the same page. This upfront clarity creates a structure that not only makes the process smoother but also ensures that the influencers’ posting plan lines up perfectly with your bigger marketing goals.
This final step of working with influencers is not just about creating content but also about having a clear plan for when and where it gets shared. Aligning on content calendars and posting schedules creates a team vibe that boosts the impact of influencer content. When you set this alignment early on, it not only makes the workflow smoother but also guarantees that the influencers’ posting strategy is finely tuned to enhance your broader marketing goals.
Make the Most of Your Shopify Influencer Marketing with These 5 Shopify Influencer Marketing Mistakes You Need to Avoid
Influencer marketing is a flexible strategy that needs constant improvement. You’ll have to try out different influencers, look at how well they do, and adjust your approach depending on what works. If some influencers are a hit, consider working with them more. If things aren’t clicking, it’s okay to say goodbye and find others who match your brand goals better.
By doing this, you can steer clear of the mistakes outlined above and hopefully have successful campaigns and long-lasting relationships with influencers.
At Brandhopper Digital we specialize in helping Shopify stores grow through influencer marketing, content creation, and a range of other growth strategies. If you need assistance in growing your Shopify business, our team is here to help. Schedule a consultation to see if we’re the right fit for your needs.