Influencer content provides the uniqueness, relatedness, and authenticity that today's users are looking for. Consequently, it is the best tactic to drive conversions, raise brand awareness and build loyalty. Still, content can come across as insincere when you pick disinterested creators or give too much freedom to them. It isn’t helping either if you try to bind them to too many requirements or want them to recreate your former branded ads.
The key to success is to pinpoint content creators with brand alignment and subject knowledge and guide them through the content creation process. Our article will share with you 7 tips on how to overcome some of the most common obstacles in influencer marketing and create outstanding content with influencers.
1. Ensure Authentic Content by Selecting the Right Influencers
The first step of creating captivating content starts with identifying the people who know your brand or have gained ample expertise in your industry. Why is this important? Because individuals who already use your products and identify themselves with your brand philosophy and message are more likely to be trusted by people. Their endorsements will come across as more authentic than any amount of paid ads.
As an example, say you produce pet care products, like shampoos, conditioners, brushes, and clippers, and want to grow your brand recognition. So, you decide to team up with a mega-influencer whose extensive audience promises a large reach. It doesn’t matter how famous a social media celebrity you hire as a brand ambassador for your products if they are allergic to dog hair and don’t even know which brush to use for which dog breed. Your whole campaign will be doomed.
Another reason why you shouldn’t take influencer selection lightly is that you want to reach people with your posts and videos who will buy your product or use your services. So, make sure the content creator’s audience aligns with your target customers. Thoroughly analyze what age group is engaging with their content and where they live. Try to find out whether they are male or female, single or with family, etc. The more overlap there is between your desired customers and the influencer’s audience the better.
With the right influencer on the board, the content will be authentic and engaging and will reach the intended people.
2. Specify the Social Media Platform and Content Format
Social media platforms accommodate different demographics and content types. So leveraging these unique characteristics can boost the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Let’s quickly review major platforms and what audiences and industries they cater to.
Instagram’s dominance in influencer marketing is unquestionable. The platform started as a photo-sharing app and to this day visuality remains its major trait. To keep pace with rival platforms, Instagram introduced other content formats such as Reels (short videos), Remixes, and Stories.
Major content formats: High-quality images and short videos.
Top age and gender: 45.2% of the users are between 25-34 and 54.4% of all users are female.
Industry fit: Fashion & Beauty, Lifestyle, Fitness & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, and Food & Beverage.
YouTube
Originally, YouTube was created as a platform for sharing videos. No one foresaw that it would grow into a key marketing and educational content hub. And here we are now. YouTube is the ideal channel for those who are looking for informative and detailed content.
Major content formats: Long and short videos (also known as YouTube Shorts), live streams.
Top age and gender: 34.2% of the users are between 25-34 closely followed by the 18-24 age group who make up 33.4% of the viewers. 57.2% of all users are male.
Industry fit: Tech, Gaming, Education, Fitness, Travel, Finance, and Beauty.
TikTok
It is due to TikTok that both Instagram and YouTube expanded their feature lists and content formats. TikTok is the domineering platform among the young generation with its spontaneous, fun short videos. If you want to leverage user-generated content and challenges, this is the platform for you.
Major content formats: Short videos, Duets, live streaming.
Top age and gender: The top user age group is 18-24 (38.76%) and an astonishingly 27.55% of the users are between 13-17. TikTok is excessively popular among women and girls, 62.04% of all users are female.
Industry fit: Entertainment (including music, pranks, dancing, and acting), Fashion & Beauty, Food & Beverage.
With over 2.8 billion users, Facebook has the largest active user base globally. Users generally share photos and updates on their lives and families, join interest-based groups, and sell and buy things on the Marketplace. The platform’s algorithms prioritize personal content over branded posts.
Major content formats: Image posts, videos, live streams, and events.
Top age and gender: Facebook’s largest audience is between 25-34 (31.1%) and 56.7% of all users are male.
Industry fit: Local businesses, Family-oriented brands, Retail, and Community building.
LinkedIn is a social media platform that focuses on business, community building, networking, and employee recruitment. It enables career and professional relationship development.
Major content formats: Short articles, industry insights & infographics, video content, job listings, surveys & polls.
Top age and gender: According to LinkedIn’s report 60% of its users are in the 25-34 age range and 57.2% are male.
Industry fit: Education, Finance, Business, B2B, Tech, and HR.
Twitter is a free social media platform that encourages users to post their ideas and opinions or share other’s thoughts in short texts. The platform enables real-time discussion and quick reaction to news.
Major content formats: Short text posts, images, videos, surveys & polls.
Top age and gender: The platform’s top audience falls under the 25-34 age group (38.5%), and 64.3% of Twitter users are male.
Industry fit: News, Tech, Business, Finance, and Sports.
3. Prepare an Influencer Campaign Brief
A campaign brief is a detailed document that serves as a guide for you and your team and it facilitates the creation of a content brief that you can pass over to influencers. There aren’t two completely similar briefs, because each collaboration is unique and involves different creators, topics, social media platforms, and content types. Still, there are a few elements that are necessary to include in the brief. Later these will come in handy when you and the influencers start gathering content ideas.
You should start with a short description of the product or service you want influencers to promote. This is the section where you can provide insights into your industry and main competitors if you think it helps you and your team understand the goals of your campaign.
The key part of your brief will be the campaign summary, where you can share the campaign’s name, launch, and end dates, core message, mission, and target audience details. Here, you can discuss your objectives, the key metrics you plan to measure, and your budget as well.
In the next part of the brief, define the platform where you intend to run the campaign and list some specifics about the deliverables, such as the type and format, the number of postings, visual references, etc. You may add a section about your ideal influencer.
Elaborate on the requirements related to the texts and images. Refer to your brand’s style guide to ensure consistency in the imagery and tone. You can determine the hashtags, keywords, mentions, and links the influencer must use in their content.
Finally, cover legal conditions, such as how the influencer should disclose the paid content. Whether you plan to repurpose their posts, and whether you want them to set an exclusivity period.
Pro tip: Download our influencer marketing brief and content brief template to enhance your collaborative workflow with influencers.
4. Discuss Your Campaign’s Goals with Influencers
Draw up a content brief for creators based on your influencer campaign brief. The content brief contains information about the brand and its products. It provides insights into key values, differentiators, and strengths. Apart from this, you must give a thorough overview of your campaign, its goals, and the deliverables. Outline the posting timeline, and dos and don'ts and attach the style guide as an extra help.
Sharing your brand’s core values, mission, and the campaign’s goals is critical for the influencer so that their content reflects the brand’s messaging and philosophy. By maintaining consistency of voice and aesthetics across several platforms their content will improve brand recognition.
Certain content formats drive engagement and conversions while others ensure extended reach. Discussing the goals of your collaboration helps influencer tailor their content to accomplish them. Secondly, influencers know what resonates with their audience. By knowing what objectives the campaign wants to achieve they can craft posts and videos that will engage their audiences.
5. Maintain an Open Conversation with Creators
An open dialogue ensures mutual understanding and fosters collaboration. Continuous communication enables influencers to align their posts to your brand’s ethos and your target audience. Collaborative brainstorming and regular follow-ups will lead to the creation of authentic and engaging content that will connect with users on a deeper level.
Influencers feel valued if you listen to their ideas, feedback, and concerns. Remember, they are experts too, and can add a fresh perspective and a creative spark to the content. If they see that you’re upfront with them and encourage creative freedom, they will share their ideas and suggestions with you. In the end, what matters is that both of you work toward a common goal.
6. Focus on Genuine Storytelling
It’s challenging to touch people with generic ads these days. People want a solution to their problems, to see a product in action, or to be informed how they can benefit from a service. Influencers can easily highlight the values of a product, and demonstrate how to use it in real-life circumstances. Realistic stories and experiences create an emotional link between the audience, the creator, and the brand.
Genuine storytelling distinguishes the brand from its competitors by focusing on its key strengths and special identity. People can relate to stories because they are more memorable than impersonal promotions. Furthermore, influencers’ narratives can inspire others to share their thoughts and experiences and this creates a sense of belonging.
Content types and formats that are suitable for storytelling are vlogs, testimonials, tutorials, reviews, live Q&A sessions, quizzes, and games.
7. Use AI for Content Ideation
Influencer marketing thrives on uniqueness and creative freedom, yet AI has become an unavoidable tool in text and image creation. There are several online chatbots, like Claude.ai and ChatGPT that make content creation smooth, help overcome creative blocks, or provide ideas based on specific keywords.
Brands and influencers can use chatbots to check grammar and readability. Tools can help create article drafts, social media posts, and video scripts. Hence, the result will be an error-free text that reflects professionalism.
AI is a great tool for content ideation but you shouldn’t copy the texts word-by-word. The final product should be original, tailored to your audience and campaign, and maintain the influencer’s true voice and style. You can recommend that creators use chatbots for generating ideas but they need to strike a balance between technology and creativity.
Conclusion
As you can see, preparing captivating influencer-generated content requires a thorough creator selection process, transparent communication, and the provision of creative freedom and guidance. AI can be part of the collaborative process or reduce delays due to a lack of ideas. However, content must remain innovative and showcase the creator’s personality and talent.
By following our tips, influencers’ content will allow you to stand out from the crowd and remain credible. Additionally, you’ll be able to meet your objectives and forge a good work relationship with influencers.
