Seven Steps to Running an Influencer Marketing Campaign
From the brief to the selection of influencers and analysis of results, brands should follow a well-established program to execute their social media campaigns.
What steps should be taken for a successful influencer campaign? To answer this question, JDN asked three specialist agencies how they work with their clients. This is not to be confused with influencer agencies that manage the careers of content creators. Influencers will guide brands in particular in the selection of influencers and strategies to adopt them on different social networks according to the targeted goals. We have provided detailed information in the previous article to see how the influencer market works, goals that can be implemented, KPIs. This time, we present to you the seven main steps for a successful campaign.
#1 – Benchmark and brief
According to Guillaume Doki-Thono, CEO and founder of the agency Reech, benchmarking and data analysis are important before starting anything: “You need to look at how the market is and ask yourself the right questions. Who are they? Competitors, am I the biggest player or not. I if I am not, I must be careful not to communicate with others at the same time.’
When an advertiser goes through an influencer agency, teams will set up a startup to collect data. “This is a fundamental step for us. It will last from an hour to an hour and a half. We ask our customers to determine everything about their expectations, goals, what they like, prices, services, the DNA of the brand. We want to meet their needs and fulfill their expectations as much as possible. be as close as possible,” says Annaelle Assaraf, COO and co-founder of Sparkle, a creative agency that runs campaigns on TikTok.
#2 – Writing a strategy
Before starting to write a strategy and story for a campaign, brands should set clear and precise goals. They will influence the choice of targeted social networks and KPIs to be monitored during the campaign. Followed links will be useful for tracking traffic and sales, while impressions and engagements will be more important in a popular campaign. When agencies are working on a campaign, they will offer their clients two or three options for verification. “We first discuss with the brand to find out what they want to do with the influencer. Then different mechanisms can be activated: product testing, factory visits, meeting with the brand’s teams or customers, capsule collection. , selection of products that will occupy the shelves of chain stores… ”, Guillaume Doki-Thonon explains.
#3 – Selection of influencers
Once the goals and strategy are defined, it’s time to select influencers. Fanny Bonodot, chief influencer at the creative agency We are social, advises not to necessarily target the biggest content creators: “You need to define the brand’s criteria, which influencers to target and choose those who fit the idea of the campaign. , whose universe and editorial line they like”. Annaelle Assaraf explains that “a casting proposal, which must then be approved by the brand, the statistics of the influencer, but also their offers, their ages, the languages they speak, their usual content. The projection of their work and promotions. They must no longer work with a similar brand, for example.”
In the summer of 2022, the Decathlon brand Quechua chose the accompaniment of the agency Guillaume Doki for its campaign to showcase the “2 seconds easy” tent in France, Germany and the United States.-Thonon, Reech, in the choice of influencers. “Our goal was to target an open audience that knows nature and extreme sports. The French and German markets are mature in camping and the American market is a market for us to conquer. We selected influencers based on criteria such as their geographic area, the age of their audience and the quality of their editorial line”, Pénélope Sentier, Quechua’s communications manager, explains.
#4 – Casting and contract confirmation
Upstream recommended between 40 and 50 influencers in Reech Quechua. Before reaching out to these influencers, an initial vetting was done. “As we are in the exploration phase of the American market, we have retained eight influencers in three countries, mainly France and Germany,” said Pénélope Sentier. After approval, the agency contacts influencers to ensure their availability.
In the Quechua campaign, “the period was complicated because it was before summer, the influencers were not necessarily reactive. Some took two or three days to respond, others several weeks. The products had to be used in specific conditions, outdoors and outdoors. It was their had to fit into their schedules,” says Claire Decommer, lead customer success manager at Reech, responsible for the Quechua campaign. After the initial contact is made, there is a contracting phase with the content creators, which involves negotiating goals, terms of performance and their remuneration.
#5 – Filming and production
Once the influencers are selected, approved and engaged, the agency sends them a brief. Fanny Bonodot of We Are Social ensures that content is like an influencer: “For better co-creation, you need to listen, co-creator inputs are important to us. Authenticity and listening allow us to maintain a good relationship with them and produce better quality content.” Content Creator sends his proposal to the agency, who reviews the content, sometimes reworking it for text or image quality, and then sends the product to the client for review.
#6 – Setting up a media plan
Multiple influencers in a single campaign will sometimes be required to post on multiple social networks. “We create a media plan and schedule post dates 2-3 weeks out,” adds Sparkle’s Annaelle Assaraf. Claire Decommer says of the Reech-assisted Quechua campaign, “when the campaign was online from the end of June to the end of July, for example, April.” You should also look at what your competitors are posting at the same time.
#7 – Performance analysis
Annaelle Assaraf says that once the campaign is over, “it’s important to analyze the results to see what worked and what didn’t and make recommendations for the future.” Guillaume Doki-Thonon continues: “We analyze the performance based on social networks, look at the mistakes made, the tracking results and compare them to our original goals.” Quechua’s summer 2022 campaign generated 3.5 million impressions, 1.1 million views and 43,000 engagements. “It lived up to our expectations, even more,” enthuses Pénélope Sentier.
