Marketing leaders globally will invest around $24 billion in influencer marketing this year because of the channel’s ability to drive quality awareness and consideration. But creator impact on direct sales is tougher to demonstrate. And while part of the solution is to deploy a metrics-driven approach, brands can (and should) do more to improve direct sales inspired by influencer recommendations.
Here are three key strategies to help your brand drive more direct sales from your creator efforts.
1. Evolve who you work with. Many brands choose the best-known influencers with the largest followings as an efficient way to reach and connect with consumers. However, driving sales from creator recommendations is as much about relevant expertise as follower counts. Micro-influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers are often better for driving direct sales.
Why? Micro-influencers are often recognized experts on highly sales-relevant topics—focused subjects like organic beauty product, inclusive fashion, craft beer and meal delivery subscriptions. Almost any product can find related micro-influencers that already drive purchases in the same or related product categories.
Further, as with any media, more compact audiences usually bring far lower costs per customer reached. The same dollars you spend on big “macro” creators can foster relationships with many micro-influencers, and even help you reach niche markets and demographics.
Finally, working with micro-influencers doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing choice. You don’t need to sever productive, ongoing top creator relationships. By allocating a portion of your budget to micro-influencers based on how important sales conversions are among your goals, you can align your mix of partners to your specific needs.
2. Evolve how you partner. Traditionally, influencer marketing has been managed using the “burst” model, where brands engage for short periods to publicize specific initiatives. While creators certainly appreciate the revenue from a promotional flight or product launch, most would prefer long-term engagements with brands they believe in.
Long-term commitments bring greater revenue predictability to their lives and empower them to be authentic in their recommendations. By combining ongoing compensation with rigorous communication, you cement bonds with your influencers that pay bigger dividends.
In addition, short-term programs are a relic of arms-length media agreements, where space and audiences are sold to whoever wants them. Ongoing partnerships are better suited to the trust relationships that influencers and brands need. Marketers commit to the creator’s voice and business, ensuring their creators work even harder to deliver results.
3. Evolve how you compensate. Many brands want to change influencer compensation models from pay-per-post or flat fee to sales-based. Unfortunately, most influencers bristle at the revenue uncertainty. Flat fees and pay-per-post ensure the rent gets paid and the fridge stays full. Additionally, influencers consider themselves creators, entertainers and trusted advisors—not salespeople. Engaging with a brand that insists on sales-based compensation may strike them as a slippery slope to selling out.
The solution lies in de-risking the switch to sales-based compensation. Your payment model can evolve as you build stronger relationships with your best partners. For example, begin a relationship with post-based payment models, but also include affiliate-style links in the messages to start tracking direct sales impact. Once in place, you can then connect with your creators to show them how many sales they are naturally driving and present new opportunities to make more money by updating their primary method of compensation.
The key is to start slow. After you’ve built trust, begin with a hybrid flat fee plus a bonus-for-sales model. If you’ve respected an influencer’s creative freedom, they are more likely to trust your intent. Later, you may be able to move to 100% sales-based compensation if you’ve proven how well it will work for them (and not just for you).
Gradual changes can make a big difference
None of these suggestions requires you to make wholesale changes in your creator efforts immediately. Rather, each is an evolutionary strategy you can implement at a pace that makes sense for your business. By proactively managing and nurturing these increasingly important business relationships, you can drive the sales you need now, as well as the full-funnel impact that builds your business for the long haul.
