Valued at $24 billion, the influencer marketing industry is showing no signs of slowing down as we move into 2025. With nearly half of consumers making a purchase at least once a month because of influencers, it is a powerful tool for businesses looking to grow brand visibility, build trust and reach a wider audience of potential customers.
With over 60% of marketers stating that the main goal of their influencer programme is increased brand visibility, we look at how you can source the agency that works best for your brand to collaborate with to ensure your strategy is set up for success.
Experience
When selecting an influencer marketing agency, it’s important to look into whether they have the capabilities to fit your needs and goals. Factors such as the key services on offer, similar brand experience, a network of relevant influencers and how performance is analysed and tracked are all things you should consider to ensure you’re driving the best results.
Identify the right influencers
Authenticity is key in influencer marketing. With 87% of consumers sceptical as to whether influencers even use the product they advertise, it’s important to consider how relevant they are to your brand and if they’ll resonate with your target audience as this will enhance the credibility of your campaign.
Consider working with an influencer marketing agency that has a network of influencers with varying audience sizes and niches. Micro-influencers may have a smaller following, but they deliver up to 60% more engagement and have fostered genuine relationships with their audience. This means they have a stronger understanding of their followers wants and needs, and so will be able to work with a brand to portray their product or service in an authentic and targeted way.
Establish a close and successful partnership
Building a successful and lasting relationship with an influencer requires ongoing effort. Regular communication, transparency and respect for their creative freedom will likely mean they’ll give your product or service a positive and honest review, as well as highly recommend your brand to their audience.
Nurturing this relationship can provide repeated opportunities to work together rather than just a one-off post, continuing to increase your brand’s visibility as their following grows.
Paid vs gifted
A key thing to consider when it comes to influencer marketing campaigns is paid versus gifted partnerships.
Gifting can be a cost-effective way to drive awareness of your brand and exposure for your products without having to pay an influencer fee. Given competition for gifted posts is high, it’s important to ensure you’re targeting relevant influencers who align with your brand and who are more likely to post about you on their feed.
When it comes to paid partnerships, although they can be expensive you have a lot more control over the content shared by the influencer and posting is guaranteed. It can be an effective way to target influencers with a larger following, and therefore a great opportunity to increase your brand’s visibility.
Integrate influencers with paid media
Whilst growing brand visibility through organic influencer activity is effective, this can be taken one step further when integrated with a paid social strategy.
Amplifying your influencer content through paid enables you to expand your reach by creating ads that fit seamlessly into your target audience’s feed. It also allows you to optimise your content through the funnel to drive measurable results, leading to higher customer acquisition and return on investment.
If you’re interested in discussing how our team can help your business drive value and increase your brand visibility with influencer partnerships, get in touch today.