Influencer campaigns are a great way to tell your client’s story in a real way to a target audience that already has faith in you. You can develop a partnership that benefits both parties and produces tangible outcomes when brands and influencers work together effectively.
But if a campaign goes off course, your team might find itself in crisis mode by accident. Take a closer look at some tactics you can employ to ensure the smooth operation of your influencer marketing campaigns, as well as some pointers on how to deal with problems that may arise when things don’t go as planned.
Understanding the specifics of the contract and agreeing on the goals As a PR professional, writing legal contracts is usually not part of your job description. However, you must ensure that the contract is carried out in a manner that is consistent with your PR strategy. The significance of becoming familiar with the specifics of the contract cannot be overstated. The PR group is much of the time the contact between the client and powerhouse as agreement terms are resolved, which presents a potential chance to foster smooth working associations with the client’s legitimate group and the powerhouse’s delegates.
To kickstart the collaboration, schedule a kickoff meeting with all parties after the contract is finalized. Make the most of this meeting by going over schedules and deliverables to make sure everyone is on the same page about goals and how the teams will work together.
Keep the lines of communication open. Regular communication and being open about your expectations are essential for establishing trust with the influencer and their representative. Since both parties benefit from a successful partnership, open communication is essential for a seamless collaboration.
In order to maintain compliance with the contract’s posting schedule, I recommend setting reminders for yourself. Contact the influencer a few days before a post is supposed to go live to make sure they have everything they need and are working on time with content creation.
Make it a point to build a friendly relationship with the influencer’s rep so that you can text or call each other to get clarification or to talk about ideas. You’ll appreciate being able to reach them quickly to resolve any issues that arise.
It’s possible that the influencer was scheduled to attend a live event but pulled out at the last minute. You need to find out as soon as possible that they won’t be there and talk to their representative about how to best respond to any questions they might have. A quick phone call is preferable because email is too slow to deal with a situation as it develops.
Create content together A key part of a successful influencer partnership is agreeing on content that supports both parties’ objectives.
The influencer’s authentic voice should also be reflected in the content, which can be difficult to achieve. The best strategy is to create a structure with brand guidelines and specific rules: words and messages to use or not use, guidelines for voice and tone, etc. As they communicate within that framework, encourage the influencer to be themselves, such as by sharing a personal story that connects to the client’s overall message.
Additionally, prior to posting, it is essential to review all content. You can ensure that the influencer is using trackable UT M links to measure the impact of the campaign and that the message aligns with your strategy when your team is included in the final round of review and approval.
If at all possible, prepare questions in advance for live events or interviews to prevent the influencer from being surprised. Before the event, ensure that the influencer is well-prepared by discussing how their story relates to the client’s message and, if necessary, providing inspiration or advice on the subject.
Be ready to deal with issues right away by reviewing content as soon as it goes live. Even the most meticulously planned collaborative strategy can fail, so be ready to deal with issues right away. In the event that something goes wrong, such as the influencer tagging the wrong account or adding typos to the content, you can set up notifications and monitor social feeds. You’ll be working on it right away to help solve it.
Clients may also actively monitor the influencer’s feed, so you should promptly catch any errors and notify the client to let them know you’ve dealt with them.
Keep in mind that influencers are also people who make mistakes. In any case, with shared agreement on objectives forthright, regular correspondence, strong cooperation and an arrangement for resolving any issues that emerge, the prize for your client’s image offsets the gamble. You can keep your influencer partnerships on track and use their authentic voice to reach your client’s target audience with these parameters in place.