Why Should You Use an Influencer Marketing Agency?

As of December 2020, around 4 billion people in the world are actively using social media with an average increase of about 10% per year. Social media launched in 1996 and currently has about 49% of the world’s population using the different platforms.

Users on social media share content on their accounts which gets them followers and an active, engaged audience. Their engaging content lets them gain much-needed attention and this reflects on the popularity they gain out of their posts.

Businesses collaborate with these people popularly called influencers to promote their products and services through their creative content. A firm that runs these campaigns for its clients is called an influencer marketing agency.

These agencies provide their services right from the planning stages to the assessment and closure using their skills and expertise. Brands can choose to undertake an influencer marketing campaign by themselves or hire an agency.

It needs to be clearly understood that agencies have skilled manpower and expertise towards these campaigns whereas, on the other hand, a business might not have the required resources to undertake these projects. If you want to run a promotion on these lines you will need to know the benefits of hiring an agency. Let us dive into the details.

It takes a lot of planning and managing amongst the other things to run this and the agencies have the know-how, the contacts with influencers, and the experience to conduct it. So firstly, you would need to understand that running a campaign will use up your time and resources which could be used otherwise to generate revenue. It is always a smarter move to pay an expert to get the job than do it on a trial and error basis.

What will an agency do?

Make a list of the influencers and start sourcing them to best suit the campaign and the brand.

Develop a campaign for your business requirements.

Brief the influencers to get them on the same page to provide authenticity to the collaboration.

Clearly liaise the brand image and campaign goals with the influencers and manage all communication.

Manage your campaign from the beginning to the end.

Manage the reporting and MI.

Provide reports from time to time.

Measure the success of the campaign and improvise when necessary.

Make your marketing team more capable by working closely with them.

Create a working relationship between your brand and the influencer.

The above were just some of the offerings that an agency would have to offer other than their basic services towards your campaign. Working with an agency you will gain extensive knowledge about influencer marketing and the way it needs to be conducted to make it successful and aim towards a better ROI.

You might be wondering what does an influencer marketing agency has that business organization or brand will not. What do they have expertise in? To understand that you will need to clearly know what they have.

What does an agency need to run an influencer marketing campaign effectively?

A large number of contacts and working relationships with the best influencers.

Industry-specific expertise in developing a plan and creating a strategy that works.

Time, skilled manpower, and tools including software, subscriptions, tie-ups,

Knowledge and experience of the process of influencer marketing campaigns.

In an effort to decide the best way is to start communicating with the agency. Understand the packages and deals to weigh them against the charges incurred. Get your queries addressed and verify their historic data to quantify the claimed successes. Research through their previously run campaigns and analyze them to check if they match your criteria.

Running a campaign by yourself

You may also decide to run the drive by yourself. Here is what you would need to contemplate to try it on your own merit.

You will need to deviate human resources from your business to another unknown and different area than their area of expertise to conduct the campaign.

It takes time to build a cordial relationship with an influencer. An agency will be a long way ahead using its existing tie-ups and working relationships.

You will need to understand the process thoroughly to be able to run the campaign on your own.

You must realize different types of influencers, platforms, and campaigns to give it a proper shape.

The pitfalls and the shortcomings will have trained an eye for BCP situations by the agency. You on the other hand will face these and then react to them other than being prepared and act.

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to market a brand, product, or service. The correct way to deal with this will be by hiring an influencer marketing agency.