Influencer marketing is THE most time and cost efficient way to get your brand seen and known fast with a large target audience. Combine this with the ever growing need for brands to tell a story and be able create a personal, emotional connection with the target audience… and you have a bit of a marketing paradox.

There is quite a big risk that your brand story might get lost in the viral storm created by the latest Instagram star, but it is the best way to get to the brand out there, right? So now what?

Here are a few tips and tricks to make sure your brand story isn’t lost the viral storm:

1.         Choosing a person by follower/social reach alone is not always the best decision making criteria (the follower numbers are not always true…), rather look for a few smaller accounts, with very high engagement that really fit with your brand identity.

2.         The influencer of choice should be able to co-creatively design original content with the brand, not just use a product for a selfie. This will ensure more personal involvement, engagement and endorsement of the brand and it’s story.

3.         Do a quick intent check: Does the influencer of choice want to truly represent the brand or is it just an opportunity to boost their personal image/numbers/fame?

4.         When choosing your influencer strategy, always ask yourself  “What personal value does my target customer get from the created content other than a pretty image to look at?” i.e.  Is the content a one-off cute pic or can it be used for a future local campaigns or online activity?

6.         When choosing your favourite influencer, did you provide them with a briefing? Is your brand story clear enough for them to ensure they are telling the same story?

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Post content inspired by Linkedin articles from Cornelius McGrath: 2017 The year to tell your story and Valerie Ox: This is why most influencer marketing campaigns fail – and how a bad strategy destroys authentic storytelling