Step-by-Step Guide to Start Influencer Marketing Today

The allure of influencer marketing is STRONG. You take inventory of their channels: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikToc, LinkedIn, Clubhouse, Pinterest etc. (You get the picture) and think to yourself this “Could be a good fit” to partner up and launch or promote for my product or service.

You dream up the perfect scenario: if it converted 2% of their 3M followers on a $20 product I’d be a MILLIONAIRE…. That’s the allure of Influencer Marketing! 

Prerequisites for Influencer Marketing

Before you reach out to any Influencer there’s a few checks and balances to want to have in place:  

1. What is your current Customer Acquisition Cost?   
2. What is your budget for the promotion?
3. What’s the offer/ask?
4. Are KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) in place for that product or service?
5. What is your overall goal in teaming up with an Influencer? 

Here’s the reason for DigitalMarketer Lab (and specifically the Data & Analytics Certification) if you don’t know any of these numbers! The more you know your numbers the more you can make data driven decisions for your business in teaming up with influencers.

Knowing these five things will set you apart from all the companies reaching out to these Influencers, give you talking points to discover if this is the right fit for paid advertising on their channels, cut the back and forth communication, and benchmarks for you to measure performance. 

Now if you’re launching a new product or service you’re going to want to know questions 2, 3 & 5 before you reach out. 

Your First Influencer Outreach Campaign

Make a list of 10-20 influencers who you imagine serve your target audience. I say imagine because once you dive into their demographics you may be surprised to find out who their actual audience is.

NOW that you’ve gotten clear on your offer, budget, and goals in working with influencer marketing it’s time for outreach…. 

9-10 times the influencer has an email in their profile description or linktree and the easiest thing to do is email them, introduce yourself, link to your product/service, and ask if they have a media kit to share. If that’s not the case, look up their website for a “Contact Us” page, or slide into their DMs with the same formula.    

Usually there’s someone managing outreach and you’ll hear back from someone on their team within the week if not sooner. Ideally you have seen the media kit by now and all of their stats are easily available for review. 

Here are the KPI’s you want to look for: 

1. Number of downloads
2. Engagement 
3. Audience demographics
4. Reach 

This will give you the picture if you want to take the conversation further. Your biggest consideration is will this investment get me the ROI I’m looking for or is it best to put my advertising budget into direct paid ads. Now if your goal is brand awareness and presence then Influencer paid marketing is your path. They’ve cultivated a relationship with your target audience and consistency wins the visibility race.   

Contracting with Your First Influencers

A team member will jump on a quick call to get clear on the offer, ask, budget, and goals of promoting through the influencer. Pricing may have already been disclosed in the media kit or it will be disclosed on the call once you’ve both decided it’s a good fit to move forward and what content you’re looking for them to create. 

You’ll map out scope of work by each platform available for advertising and deliverables. Once agreed upon with pricing, agreements are sent, signed off, payment sent, and you’re off to the content creation races! 

The beautiful part of paid advertising with Influencers is it’s all up for creation! If you found a gem to work with they will be an extended creative arm to your business bringing ideas for content to the table in what they feel their audience will love. They do know their audience best so trust them in that process. You want them to promote your product or service as authentic as possible and that’s what truly makes it a win-win-win for all.

Valerie Viramontes

Valerie Viramontes is a purpose-driven entrepreneur, women’s and girls empowerment leader, conscious marketing expert, media strategist, and founder of V2 Solutions & Girl Hacks.

Valerie created her boutique agency specializing in product launches and sponsorships for health conscious podcasters, influencers, and wellness companies. She uses her experience to create win-win-win deals for her clients, brands, and audiences. This has put her behind launches of companies and products with sales into the millions working with brands like Spartan Races, Barbell Shurgged, The Strong Coach, Complete Human and so many more! 

In Valerie’s free time she is a catalyst to remind young women of their inherent wisdom, intuition and power, and guide them to access the confidence within to make healthy choices in their lives. Add in hiking, dancing, reading, exploring new places to eat and she’s in her happy place!