Artificial intelligence has led to some major changes in the field of marketing. The Content Marketing Institute has talked about some of the biggest ways that AI is driving changes for marketers.
Influencer marketing, in particular, is evolving with advances in AI. Smart marketers can find ways to use AI to resolve some of the biggest influencer marketing mistakes they will encounter.
AI is Creating Major Changes for Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has become synonymous with brand building. In a world where ad blockers have become a natural part of the experience and the average person receives thousands of ads per day, it’s no wonder that the average consumer is looking for a more authentic experience.
It is changing even faster in the era of AI. Kam Zulawski wrote an article on The Drum on the changes that AI has created for influencer marketers.
This technology could not have come at a better time. It’s no secret that online reviews and word-of-mouth referrals are the most powerful forms of recommendations, and this level of influence is what influencer marketing affords. AI is just accelerating the process.
Influencer marketing helps build brand awareness, get you in good graces with your target market, and enrich your content strategy. But putting a great campaign together is easier said than done. Understanding some of the most common mistakes can help you avoid them in the future. Here’s what you need to know about using AI to solve influencer marketing challenges.
Going for General Influencers
AI has made it easier to find great influencers to partner with. A number of influencer search engines use machine learning algorithms to identify the most appropriate partners for given brands.
A general influencer is an influencer whose public persona is popular, but isn’t tied to any particular niche. For example, a celebrity mega influencer like Kim Kardashian would be considered general because she has the ability to exert influence in any industry—from food to fashion to health. However, niche influencers are likely to be much more aligned with your target market. As a boutique travel agency, for example, you might have much better results working with a niche travel influencer who caters specifically to your industry and has cultivated a community around the values that matter most to your business.
Not Working With an Agency
If you don’t have the right tools, time, and marketing know-how to put together a stellar campaign, it’s in your best interest to work with an influencer marketing agency. These companies know how to use AI tools to their fullest advantage.
The most obvious benefit of working with an agency is that they consist of marketing experts. They know how to strategize, use big data to build the foundation for a campaign, and measure results. But they also know how to choose influencers that will prove most beneficial to your brand. After all, finding the right influencers is one of the most important aspects of an influencer campaign. And of course, they’ll save you plenty of time, allowing you to focus on the areas of the business that you’re best at.
Taking Creative Control
AI is also invaluable for crafting new marketing creatives. This is one of the biggest reasons AI is redefining influencer marketing.
Every influencer has their own sense of style. However, many businesses have a pigeonholed vision of what they expect their campaign to feel and look like, and sometimes the company’s vision just doesn’t work with the influencer’s vision. It’s important for you to understand that when you hire an influencer it’s because you trust them to produce great results, create content that’s authentic, and to put together a post(s) that offer more than what you could do creatively in-house.
Hiring for a Single Post
When you hire an influencer for a single post, you’re not maximizing the credibility they’ve built with their audience. Legitimate influencers won’t spam their page with posts about your product or service, but they will create various pieces of content when it’s reasonable. For example, you might hire them to create two posts at different dates and include “stories” on your platform of choice. Stories are great to use in your influencer campaign because they reveal various different metrics that you might not get from standard posts.
Avoiding Micro Influencers
Great influencers tend to build their communities around very specific niches. Numerous studies have shown that influencers with smaller follower counts have higher engagement rates. Engagement refers to the interaction between the influencer and their community. For example, if an influencer posts about a new pair of shorts from your company, they are more likely to respond positively to followers who ask questions in the comments.
When followers receive genuine interactions like this, they are more likely to trust this influencer and take action. Furthermore, micro influencers are often much more budget friendly than macro influencers and are open to different creative partnerships. Low maintenance partnerships ensure smooth sailing as you work together towards a common goal.
Forgetting to Repurpose
Anytime you hire someone to create content for you, you should always be thinking of how to scale that content by repurposing it. Influencers create interesting, engaging, and original content, and you should have a clause in your contract that allows you to reuse and repurpose it to your liking. Always make it clear that you are the owner of the content that they create. You can repurpose in various ways, such as in email newsletters, paid social media ads, blog posts, and even website content.
Use AI for Exceptional Influencer Marketing Results
There are a lot of changes that you need to make if you want to get results as a marketer. You can start by using the right AI technology. AI technology can help you scale your resources and boost ROI, which is important for influencer marketing campaigns.