With the increased popularity of image-focused sites like Instagram continuing into 2019, Influencers could really be part of the next step in your digital development plan. But are you influencer ready? Influencer marketing is already estimated to be a $1.5 billion industry. Already, 84% of brands have reported that they plan to increase their influencer marketing spend in 2019. So, by now we’ve established that Influencer marketing can work, but how can you optimize that campaign before you even get in contact with an influencer?

To make it work you need to have a solid plan, making sure your assets are in line before reaching out to Influencers.

1. Set Goals

Is this going to be a way to launch a campaign? Do you want to sell X number of units from this? What product are you going to sell? These are all good questions to have fully answered before you employ an external presence to ensure you’re influencer ready. If you’re looking to sell products give an influencer a discount code, so you can see the direct sales accumulated from the campaign.

2. Consider what type of influencer fits your brand

Firstly, work out what type of persona your brand is before you couple that with an influencer. For example a finance company it may not be the best fit to work with an Instagram model. Whereas, this match could work with a jewellery or clothing brand where the influencer can create images to show these products off. Make a detailed list of who you are as a company and find an influencer ready who matches you, rather than changing yourself to match them and their audience. An influencer with a large audience is great, but the campaign will only work if that audience can relate to your product. Choose quality and relevance over quantity.

3. Where are you Selling?

Analyse where yourself as a brand is selling itself the best and what social media platforms are contributing to this. Partner up with influencers who already understand and are well-known on these social channels as well. This way you know you’ll have an interested audience that may already be familiar with your brand and be influencer ready.

4. Keep it Thematic

Try to choose a campaign theme and stick to it throughout the advertising period. For example, if you’re a furniture company ask your influencers to do a series on redecorating their house, advertising their shopping experience with you as well as the final end renovation. Allow your influencer to take their audience on a journey, actively showing off your company and this should make it fun and relatable as well. This creates a simple and concise journey for your campaign, allowing it to be marketed effectively. The person you’re looking to work with will also appreciate the fact that you are influencer ready with content themes.

5. Set a Price

Often companies approach an influencer ready with the offer of free products or discounts in exchange for advertising, but this can hurt your reputation. Influencers have often worked very hard to build up an audience. An audience that could become a very large potential customer base for you. Therefore, consider your budgets and talk to influencers about their rates. They may well adapt their content to your budget if you ask nicely enough.

Consider all of these things before rushing in to work with someone to ensure you’re influencer ready. Remember that the right fit is more important than the quantity of the audience, as targeting your product or service to the right audience is integral in ensuring the success of the project.