10 Mistakes which Can Bury Your Relationships with Influencers
Opinion shapers might become your long-term investment, as lawyers or spokespeople for your brand in a certain social or professional group. Funding spent on promotion with the support of thinkers in the business will help you achieve incredible impacts. And it would be unfortunate to lose these people's favourable attitude and quit dealing with them because of a certain type of error that you have committed by lack of care. In this circumstance, it is more than a tangible challenge to build a mutually productive relationship with opinion formers.
Having written an article in The Huffington Post, the marketers themselves noted and remarked on errors made when they worked with thinkers. Based on their excellent thoughts, Xryptoauxiliary produced a whole list of all things to know about creating close contact with influential workers.
Error #1: do not offer cross-use cooperation
Opinion shapers can provide your brand with several fascinating and profitable suggestions. But they'll expect something for their help. Companies typically underestimate their work and offer their work the lowest feasible recompense.
But with the growing popularity and utility of marketing, thinking leaders are spoiled for choice. If your offer solely considers your interests and only benefits you, they will not be responsible for you.
Only 25% of micro-leaders believe that brands have a concept of the true value of a marketing quality programme.
How can I avoid this?
make before presenting a proposal, a study of opinion formators and the findings of his prior works;
Offer him/her a suitable work award following the assessment;
Ask him/her to explain about his/her expectations of working with you and offer equally beneficial collaboration if he/she can assist you achieve your objectives.
Brooke Cagle's photo on Unsplash
Mistake #2: you change your marketing plan continuously
This topic is marketers' thread-bar. Sometimes your marketing plan changes unexpectedly, thus you could lose some people's interest.
Leaders of opinion working with you should know about your marketing agenda to develop an effective content plan: pictures, blog posts, videos or comments.
If you continue to change your marketing campaign in this way, it could endanger your relationship with them in the long term.
How can I avoid this?
Influencers must be aware of your marketing programme:
supporting the introduction of a new product;
Promoting an activity;
Promoting or giving discounts for a competition;
raising awareness of the brand;
The number of conversions or traffic is increasing.
Whatever objective you set, you'd better be aware of it in advance; before you start discussions with thinkers.
Campaign Creators Photo on Unsplash
Fault #3: your creativity is underestimated
Pensioners can generate high quality content that can raise your traffic dramatically and improve the SEO performance. They know what their audience likes and dislikes, so that they more efficiently plan and develop content.
You can, of course, ask them to adjust the content to their company's demands and qualities, but you should not, of course, remove their creative potential.
Note that influential agents do not share anything that can ruin their reputation or that is uncomfortable to their audience.
Forcing them to do this will ruin their relationship.
How can I avoid this?
Examine what the influence officer is doing now and see how you can incorporate your brand into the process;
Check how other companies exploit their agents' content;
Give the agent of influence creative freedom and see what they can develop.
Error #4: absence of incentives
Influence marketing is a permanent process. As long as the thinker benefits you, you will desire to work again and again with him. However, active communication is also the key to efficient marketing.
According to a Linqia report, just 50% of marketers spend more than 25 hours on marketing influencers.
The first stage in developing relationships with your influence agent is to have enough time.
How can I avoid this?
To your mailing list add influencing agents. Notify new items, corporate events, etc. It will be even great if you can send them a personal letter;
Provide them discount coupons or free samples when new products are launched. You will feel fortunate and invested in your business.
Priscilla Du Preez photograph on Unsplash
Error #5: You ask inexperienced staff to keep up with them
It is not unusual for marketers to engage in many projects simultaneously. And they may outsource responsibilities to some young employees who have not yet enough experience to work with one or other opinion former. Without adequate respect and attention, he/she can treat the thinker.
How can I avoid this?
Tell the personnel to inform you of all parts of the discussions with the influential agent so that you are properly informed;
Contact the influence agent from time to time;
Ask your team to offer agents with clear instructions and all the assets they can use to create content.
Error #6: you establish unreasonable targets and expect fast results
Does it sound familiar? Inspired by our campaign ideas, we tend to establish unreasonable objectives and then expect rapid results. You can be impatient and start putting pressure on your thinkers because of the difficulty of assessing returns on your investment in marketing influence.
Metrics to measure the success of marketing initiatives for opinion shapers: reach, engagement, audience mood, traffic volume, number of changes, number of purchases, etc.
How can I avoid this?
Decide in advance how the profitability of a marketing influence campaign is measured. This includes how to track your agent's leads. You can: you can:
Assign a unique code to each agent;
Launch newly branded campaign hashtags;
Give a unique, trackable link to each opinion shaper.
Estée Janssens on Unsplash photograph
Error #7: delay in payment or breach of contract
Regrettably, agents prefer to write scathing assessments of certain corporations who fail to pay full bills after the agreement is through. Similar reports about working with your organisation won't help you.
How can I avoid this?
Please describe what results you expect in the contract, and which points will be adjusted if something goes in a different situation.
Error #8: you use the opinion formator material, but do not credit the author
It is a very significant error, even if it was made out of inattention, to use the contents of someone else without naming the author.
Wherever you use your agents' materials (e-mail, blog, social networks), you only have to mention their originality.
How can I avoid this?
Be sure you add a link to your website or social media profile if you publish textual publications, videos or photographs of your influence agents;
Thank you for agreeing to share your material.
Tyler Franta's photo on Unsplash
Error #9: you think that cooperation with the agent is unique
It is a significant mistake on your part not to continue working with the thinker following a contract. Sign up: because you've spent so much time finding the proper agent, take the time to build a connection with him.
How can I avoid this?
outline your long-term marketing plan and potential for growth with them;
Invite them to your company for celebrations and other activities.
Error #10: you don't trust them
Of course, all fresh opinion makers cannot be uncritically believed, but this does not imply you have to examine each of their steps. Confidence must be mutual.
You have to believe in your brand — in its influence and content.
How can I avoid this?
Maintain your promises
Don't treat biassed individuals. Allow them to demonstrate their utility.
Output
The marketing influence is increasing momentum and the aforementioned rules will help you to obtain all of the advantages from this technique. The basis of your interaction with influential agents should be honesty and respect. We feel that you can only develop win-win partnership to assist your business expand in this way.
Thank you very much for reading this article! Please tell us if you'd enjoy it and what you think about marketing influencers. You could also enjoy our other stories:
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