Want to get into influencer marketing? Great! The strategy has proven successful for all types of brands. Whether you want to increase brand awareness, drive sales, boost traffic, or grow your following, influencer marketing is a road to achieving your goal.
But, it’s not always easy. Like any marketing campaign, a lot of planning goes into an influencer strategy. And one of the very first things you have to decide is which network will be your campaign’s arena. Do you want to work with YouTubers? Twitter influencers? TikTok creators?
Thankfully, we’re here to walk you through what you have to consider when choosing which network is best for your influencer marketing campaign.
1. Think about your goal
First, focus on what you want to accomplish, and which network can help you do that. For goals like branding or web traffic, all networks are a good option, depending on where your target audience spends its time (see point 2 below).
But, if you’re trying to get new followers, it obviously depends on which network you’re trying to grow on. Likewise, if you’re wanting to drive sales, consider which platforms offer consumers the easiest shopping experience. Instagram, for example, lets people shop seamlessly via Instagram Shopping.
2. Identify your target audience and its online home
Next up, think about your target audience. Who are the people you hope to connect with? Consider their ages and genders, their locations and languages. What are they interested in?
Once you know who your target audience is, do some research to find out where they spend time online. For example, if you’re trying to reach teenagers, TikTok might be the best place to do that. On the other hand, Instagram’s main age demographic is 25-34, so it might be a better option for a target audience of millennials.
Also, remember that some countries don’t follow the same social media trends as the rest of the world. For example, in China, you might have a hard time running an Instagram campaign. Make sure to look up any restrictions on social media in your target area.
3. Consider your industry and the category of influencer you need
What does your brand do? Maybe you’re a fitness studio, or a hair salon. Maybe you’re an e-commerce that sells pet supplies, or a slow fashion label. This category affects what type of influencer you should work with, as well as the network where you should look for them.
For something like a beauty brand, it’s relatively easy to find influencers. You don’t really need any special training to learn how to do makeup. Some beauty influencers may be professional makeup artists, but others might be teachers, shop assistants, or even students. Even a nano influencer with a few thousand followers can make an impact on your campaign.
On the other hand, if your industry requires more credentials, things get a bit more complicated. Think of industries like business, medicine or pharmaceuticals, or technology. With categories like these, you’re better off collaborating with people who have the experience to back-up their opinions.
In these professional fields, it’s better to work with a KOL, or key opinion leader, if you want to make a maximum impact. Key opinion leaders are people who are highly respected in their fields, and who generally have professional education or experience in what they’re talking about.
Your industry affects the social network of your campaign, too. Instagram or TikTok might work for visual topics like fashion, beauty or travel. But Twitter or LinkedIn is better for technology, marketing, business, and health. And if you’re in the gaming industry, think about YouTube or Twitch.
4. Understand what type of content works best on each network
Different networks allow for different types of content, and this is something to consider alongside your goal, target audience, and industry.
What type of content will best help you connect with your target audience. Do they prefer video? Photos? Text with charts and graphs?
Based on the type of content you plan to create, check which social network is best for it. In general, the major social networks generally work best for the following:
- Instagram – photos, long and short-form video, stories, livestream
- TikTok – short-form video, livestream
- YouTube – long-form video, livestream
- Twitter – text, photos, video, links
- LinkedIn – text, photo, video, links
Review this, along with the other items in the list, to help you decide which network is best for your campaign.
5. Know the disclosure guidelines and make sure you can meet them
In many countries around the world, regulatory agencies require that influencers and brands disclose when they’re participating in a social media collaboration. For example, in the United States, the FTC regulates this.
Know which regulations apply to your collaboration. And then, make a plan for how influencers should disclose their collaborations so there’s no doubt in the eyes of their authorities. You don’t want your influencer campaign to launch, only to find that you’ve gotten yourself into some sticky legal issues!
Different networks allow you to disclose collaborations in different ways. Instagram, for example, has a “paid partnership” feature that some other networks don’t have. Make sure the network you ultimately choose allows you to disclose the collaboration appropriately.
Finally, consider putting this all down in a contract in order to avoid any issues later on. You can get a free influencer contract template, and then edit it according to the network you choose and details of the collaboration.
Conclusion
There are lots of social networks out there, and the right one for your campaign depends on your brand, its needs, and its goals. Keep these five points in mind when planning your campaign, and choose the network that best helps you connect to your target audience in an effective way.
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