Commentary

Maximizing Influencer Relationships to Create Powerful Content That Reaches, Motivates Moms

Finding the right influencers to work with your brand is only one of the challenges. Ensuring that influencers create content that has the potential to move moms to action is another. 

Hundreds of marketers gathered last week to attend Talk360, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Summit in New York City. At this annual trade association meeting, attendees discussed and learned how to better understand and engage moms via word-of-mouth marketing tools, including influencer marketing. 

We teamed up with Max Polisar of Awesomeness TV to share the following tips on engaging influencers for your brands, and making the most of those relationships and the resulting content. 

Plan: Start by outlining the parameters of your campaign. What are your objectives and your target audience? What is the call to action, the key takeaway? What type of budget do you have to support this campaign? And what is the desired timing?

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It’s ideal to outline your internal review process during this phase. Once you engage and brief the influencer, will you ask to approve a concept and then a final cut? Or will you see the content for the first time when it goes live? I have had lively discussions with many folks about how this looks for them. Obviously, if you work in a more regulated industry such as finance or pharma, this process may be lengthier than for a food brand. Past experiences with influencers also often shape this process. The key to making this work is outlining your expectations and needs up front. 

Identify and engage: Lots of time was spent at the WOMMA Summit talking about how to find influencers that might be the best match for your brand. One of Polisar’s tips was to work with people who know the talent directly, using personal relationships and avoiding tech platforms. Some other suggestions for this phase:

  • Don’t forget that influencers are human. Offer to have phone calls and in-person briefings. Be available and share appropriate information during the briefing process. Share your product plentifully if the influencer has not experienced it yet, such as for a new product. 
  • Remember, the demographics of the influencer are not necessarily the same as their audience demographic. Ask the influencer for more information about their networks and subscriber base, and don’t make assumptions. I’ve had clients who love seeing the word mom in the title of a blog or YouTube channel, and others who jump to the conclusion that they want to consider influencers who don’t have the word mom on their networks (even though they are trying to reach moms). A younger influencer may still be quite effective at reaching older moms, and vice versa. 
  • As you review possible influencers, always fall in love with more than one. If you are considering options with an agency partner, try to be as specific as possible when giving feedback. Larger influencers often have three projects on deck for everyone they can accept, or their production schedule may be full when you reach out to them. 

Create and amplify: This is the fun part! Follow the process outlined in the planning phase as the Influencers create and amplify FTC-compliant content. You chose them based on their channels and content, remember to let that shine through. Don’t over script, but work together so they create a story that makes sense for the target audience. Focus on the benefits, not the product attributes. 

Optimize: Once influencer content is live, monitor and identify the best performing content. Items on your scorecard might include likes, reactions, comments, shares and hearts, depending on the platform and your objectives. Then, “turn on the gas” and leverage paid distribution of the content. 

Measure: Continue to measure, and recap your campaign. What would you do differently? What would you repeat? (And don’t forget to ask the influencers for their input as well). 

Check out the conversation we had this week by searching #WOMMASummit on social. It was great to meet so many colleagues and bright minds from our industry. Add your comments below or tweet me at @CarolMilliron to let me know what you think!

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