Not hundreds but thousands, in average, per video, are they an investment or just a one-time cost?

Whether they have a niche or the content is just random, there’s a multitude of creators joining social platforms and wanting to position themselves as an ambassador for brands.

Short-form or long-form content, they’re able to garner the attention of many from different ages and demographic profiles. Just the efficient leverage a brand needs, right?

Scaling with Influencers

They’re everywhere; there’s no denying it. Switch off one social platform, and they’re on another. It’s a phenomenon you can’t escape.

Ads after ads, it feels never-ending! Sometimes you see the same faces showcasing different brands. In one video, they’re talking highly of a brand, yet dissing that same brand in the next. No wonder they aren’t held in the highest regard. 

Doesn’t matter what your opinions are of them; there’s no denying their influence. So why so much hesitation in working with them? Cost. At their lowest, a couple of hundred. However, most are in the thousands range for a short 30-second clip. Insane. We know the struggle. 

The key? See them less as a cost and more as a long-term investment. Working with influencers means you’re leveraging their current loyal audience and the branding they have established for themselves and their channel.

Think of it as a shortcut to getting word about your brand or product in front of your intended audience. What would have taken you years to achieve with traditional marketing can be achieved in a 30-second clip. Not always, but sometimes a single video can generate more sales than other marketing efforts. 

Not a cost but a bridge! They bridge the disconnect between brands and consumers. Consumers are more influenced to make a purchase when they see their favorite creator using that brand.

Take celebrity marketing as an example, as for many, Gentle Monster was seen as Jennie’s brand because of the popularity and success of her collaborations with them. Another member of Blackpink, Lisa, helped skyrocket the sales of Popmart’s Labubu just because they saw her with it.

It’s no surprise other brands are copying each other and utilizing celebrities in the same manner. It’s basically word-of-mouth marketing, modernized. 

Added Value of Influencer Marketing

Especially important if your target consumer demographic is Gen Z as they value authenticity and integrity.

This is because cancel culture is very evident among that generation. When a brand collaborates with influencers that they trust, it communicates to them what a brand does or doesn’t stand for. When a brand works with someone they don’t like or trust, it negatively affects the brand’s image and sales.

They would even go as far as boycotting the brand and never showing any support for them ever again! The pressure, we know!

Influencer marketing ROI, or influencer marketing return on investment, can be seen through the sales made from an influencer’s post, an increase in followers, or even just an increase in overall likeness and awareness of a brand.

Aspire’s blog post, “The Smart Way to Measure Influencer Marketing ROI,” breaks it down and shares the 4 goals of influencer marketing ROI. 

Measuring Influencer Marketing ROI

No sales made from an influencer’s post? This doesn’t mean the collaboration was a failure or that no value can be gained from it.

As Sprout Social pointed out in their article on this topic, there is a direct formula to calculate, but the best is to look at all the different engagement data points to get a better overall value picture.

For a newer brand, just even passive engagement equates to an increase in awareness of the brand or product. And sometimes, the true value doesn’t come until later. It takes multiple videos, lots and lots of collaborations, to even see real change.

The data lies not just in what you can see of: views, likes, shares, etc. Data also lies in setting campaign-specific UTM parameters and sales made from unique codes and links generated for the influencers. But if you’re looking for a tangible number, the formula is as follows for calculating influencer marketing ROI:

How to Leverage Influencer Marketing ROI

Looking to start, but not sure where or how?

No need to worry at all! Working with influencers can get very costly. Don’t let that fact scare you away, as the benefits outweigh the initial cost! Starting small is better than not starting at all. Depending on the niche or industry of your business and its needs, there’s always the option of working with smaller creators.

Working with smaller creators is more cost-effective and allows you the advantage of content volume. Quality content volume is key as it makes up for not being able to achieve high engagement from just one collaboration, yet.

In Launch Metric’s blog post, “Four Types of Influencers and the Brand Objectives You Can Achieve with Them,” Gina posts about the different tiers of influencers and the value each can bring to your brand. 

Food and beauty brands are perfect examples of knowing how to leverage micro-influencers. While their following may be smaller, they can still have a big impact due to the nature of how social media works.

Social media platforms such as TikTok give every video an equal opportunity to be pushed and seen.

This means that the chances of smaller creators getting visibility on their videos are equally high as those of bigger influencers. As a brand, you can help them by providing them with video references or boosting their video with ad spend.

Guide them through the use of engaging video hooks, effective CTA, and upbeat persona to ensure optimal performance. 

Not enough manpower to manage them? With the rise of AI and other automation systems, handling a large load of influencers becomes less of a hassle.

Thankfully, that’s some good use of AI. With so many to choose from, here are some to help you get started. These are 16 recommendations from Sprout Social to make managing influencers easier. 

These platforms allow you to seamlessly track performance, partake in mass outreach, and manage multiple campaigns.

They range in prices, but their usage is typically the same or very similar. Hate them or love them, influencer marketing is here to stay!

🪽 Written by Van Anh Nguyen