Working with contract influencers Tourism Talks | May 9, 2018 | Presented by Kyle Russell

@lindork

Influencer engagements are a powerful form of content marketing.

Influencer marketing uses trusted tastemakers and influential names to promote experiences.

influencer marketing • Engaging influential individual to provide voice of authority • Not Earned Media • Controlled message • Aimed at reaching the individual’s audience in a natural way @aniab

influencer marketing Content on your channels What it is: Engaging an influencer to create content for your website, social channels, or other owned properties Value: Voice of authority providing a testimonial and natural connection to your brand Challenges: Some authority is lost because of medium and your ownership

@seattlestravels

influencer marketing Long-form content on influencer’s channels What it is: Engaging an influencer to create content for one or more of their owned channels, such as a website or YouTube channel Value: Reach audience on the channel they are used to, feel like a part of the influencer’s content Challenges: Tracking and showing value for investment, message may be lost in shuffle, flood of sponsored content on channel may negate value for audience

@allanaramaa

influencer marketing Sponsored posts on social channels What it is: Investing in a post on the influencer’s social media channel Value: Reach audience on the channel they are used to, with high impact in a stream they are already viewing Challenges: May fall into clutter, audience may value post less than non-sponsored content

Important note: This post was created before advertising regulations were set globally; if posted today, this would show #ad or #sponsored

@aniab

influencer marketing Content partnerships using influencers What it is: Working with a branded partner and involving influencers to create or participate in content on a high-value channel Value: Reach brand and influencer’s audiences; high quality content production Challenges: Difficult to tell natural story with content

@andrewknapp @mariefranceroy @craigmcmorris @MUCH #FARANDWIDE

influencer marketing The value each type of influencer engagement brings is a level of credibility in noting your experience is worthwhile. Audiences view influencers as a friend they want to have, and someone they can relate to. When an influencer vocalizes something is worthwhile, it is similar to a trusted friend recommending that experience.

An likeable, influential individual who many can relate to impacts the tastes and consumer behaviours of their trusting audience. This has been noted in Oprah’s Favorite Things causing sales to skyrocket, and has broadened to her influence on political preferences for the masses.

@Oprah

If they like it, then I’ll probably like it too. @Oprah @thisbigadvntr

who is an influencer? Popular Definitions: • Any social media user with a substantial following • Any individual with substantial influence over a wide audience’s behaviours • Follower count is not necessarily an accurate showcase of influence

@ThePrettySecrets

who is an influencer? Common questions about influencers: • How many followers is considered an influencer? • How frequently does an influencer post? • If there’s no sponsored advertising, are they an influencer? • If they’re famous for doing nothing, are they an influencer? Are there any questions you have about when someone is considered an influencer?

who is an influencer? Influencer vs. Micro-Influencer • Micro-Influencer is relatively new idea • Micro-Influencers have 5,000-100,000 followers in total • Not a totally relevant description or term for influencer marketing Kendall Jenner - Influencer

Mike Morrison – Micro-Influencer?

who is an influencer? Celebrity vs. Influencer • Not all celebrities are influencers, and not all influencers are celebrities Sam Maggs – Influencer

Avril Lavigne – Celebrity

The value of an influencer vs. a traditional endorsement is accessibility and perceived relatability.

who is an influencer? Okay, so what is an influencer? • • • •

Connected to their audience Interacts with their audience Has a voice of authority Voice of credibility

An influencer wants to have a conversation with their audience and eliminate barriers of interaction, even if they are the cool kid in the group.

who is an influencer? How to classify an ‘influencer’ • Do they have more than what a personal network of followers would be? • Are they reaching a specific or wide audience? • Are they credible in at least one area as a tastemaker or knowledge-base? • Do they interact with their audience on a regular basis? An influencer could have a huge impact on small group.

finding influencers

@BoomerandEcho

finding influencers Influencers need to reach your audience Create a profile of your ideal influencer: • • • • • •

What type of content is your audience consuming now? Who do they trust? What type of people do they trust? If money was no option, who would I hire? What story do you want them to know? What is the profile of an influencer that would have an impact on my audience?

finding influencers Tourism Calgary’s Influencer Profiles (2016-2017) • Regional Young Adults: • • •

Couples without children Bohemians YOLO Partiers

• Regional Families: • • •

Families with teenagers Families with toddler or infants Families on a budget

• National Young Adults: • • • •

@jayemkayem

History Buffs Bohemians YOLO Partiers Adventure-lite couples

finding influencers Once you’ve defined your influencer profile, start your search • Ask your audience • Ask your partners • Search hashtags used by your target audience (e.g. who is posting to #exploreedmonton?) • Search competitors and cohorts to see who they have hired • Search “[YOUR ACTIVITY] + [TARGET MARKET] + Blogger (e.g. Food Edmonton Blogger) • Search other news outlets

@thisrenegadelove

finding influencers How we found Boomer & Echo • Searched financial publications for family savings tips Alberta • Found Boomer & Echo article on Financial Post • Byline noted Boomer & Echo blog How we found jayemkayem • Asked specific organizations in the city we wanted to promote via influencer if they knew of anyone • The HiFi Club suggested Josephine Cruz as a potential fit because of Soundcloud presence @BoomerandEcho @jayemkayem

finding influencers Researching influencers takes time • Depending on your investment and the content’s relevancy period, you could spend weeks finding the perfect influencer • Dedicate adequate time to finding the right influencer – it’s okay if you feel like you’re reaching a dead zone • It’s okay to reach out to others and ask for assistance with influencer suggestions – most are not globally known and you need to discover them somehow

keep notes With defined personas, you are going to do a lot of research and come across a bunch of influencers. Keep a library of relevant notes for future potential. • • • •

Tatum Monod Freestyle skier Banff resident Found during search for young adults • Engaged as fishing influencer @tatummonod

finding influencers Build Brand Ambassadors • Influencers are eager to work with brands more than once if there is alignment • Influencers will often reach out a second time for another engagement • Make sure the content is interesting for their audience and yours Xpat Matt 2015 – 48 Hours In Calgary

@xpatmatt

Xpat Matt 2016 – River Surfing

Remember that influencer marketing is a marketing tactic.

vetting influencers Ensure you make an unbiased decision Use a point system to determine if the influencer is a fit for your audience and that you have no personal bias Decision Factor

Description

Positive Points

Negative Points

Relatable

Is this person someone the audience could imagine being friends with?

+1

-1

Aspirational

Does this person communicate a lifestyle that someone would aspire to have?

+1

-1

Trustworthy

Is this person a trustworthy source when describing the experience of exploring Calgary?

+1

-1

Believable Story

If this person travelled to Calgary, would the audience feel it is a natural fit?

+1

-1

Good Ambassador

Does this person represent our city in a good way, or is there a risk of negative effects on our brand?

+1

-2

Relationship Outside Calgary

Does this individual have influence outside of our city?

+1

-1

vetting influencers Ensure you make an unbiased decision Here’s an example using Elan Morgan Decision Factor

Points

Relatable

+1

Aspirational

+1

Trustworthy

+1

Believable Story

+1

Good Ambassador

+1

Relationship Outside Calgary

+1

@schmutzie

vetting influencers Follower to follower ratio Influencers should not follow more than 40% of the number of followers they have.

Posting Frequency Varying by channel, influencers should post frequently enough to build a following on the channel (at least twice per week on Instagram, 25 tweets per week, once per week on Facebook).

vetting influencers Engagement is everything • • • • •

5% is minimum 10% is excellent 25% is amazing Check out individual interactions Quality over quantity

Calculate Engagement Rate: 1. Select 5 random posts 2. Divide engagements by followers 3. This number should be more than 0.05

vetting influencers This is an excellent example of personal audience interaction from an influencer

@passportsandpigtails

brokering your deal Making initial contact • Likely to find information on blog – Contact – Work with me – Advertise

@imalyssalau

• May have agency representation, but likely to introduce you to their agent, and then you will work directly with them for final piece

brokering your deal Typical workflow 1.

Digital reach out by email explaining project A. B.

2. 3.

Influencer will reply and may put you in touch with agent Ask what content fee would be A. B. C. D.

4. 5. 6.

Include time commitment needed to complete experience Explain why you want to work together

Typically they’ll have a sliding scale or rate package Say your ceiling, which will usually be the price you’ll pay Negotiations are common, but it’s usually a firm number for the organization vs. sliding negotiations It is good to be upfront about budget, but not overpay either – ask what the fee would be, then provide your budget constraints if it is above your budget

Schedule is created for influencer to enjoy experience and sent to influencer or agent for approval Arrangements confirmed for influencer Contract agreement created and sent to influencer for signing

brokering your deal Contracts are vital • •

Paid engagements require contracts Include everything expected of influencer • Content production fee A key difference between • Expenses (incl. mileage, tips, fees, etc.) • Posting for each channel (frequency, timeline) earned media and paid • Liabilities influencer content is control of • Penalties the final message vs. • Post restrictions (e.g. no inflammatory content) influencing the message – be • Early termination clauses • Content ownership and royalties sure to include who has final • Authorizations control over the message in • Promotions your agreement, even if it is • Sponsored content liabilities • Tagging being published on the • Reporting influencer’s channel • Control over message • Responsibilities (film permits, photo releases) • Ambassador clause (i.e. the right for the brand to disassociate if needed)

It is vital to have a contract for every engagement – even a paid takeover or curation – to set expectations

brokering your deal Things to keep in mind as you plan your influencer’s experience • •

• •

• • • • • • •

@RealTenille

Make sure the experience is wonderful Make sure the experience is natural • Does someone need to accompany them? • Will they like your experience? Arm your influencer with all the information they need Understand if you need to host or accompany the influencer, and if not, how they contact you if any issues arise This may or may not be their full time job These individuals are entrepreneurial and usually very excited to work with you Set clear expectations – they are service providers Follow up immediately after they experience your service or product and thank them for their participation The more information the better Understand any precedents you are setting for future earned media possibilities Remember, these people are people

audience interactions Determine how to interact with the audience • It likely isn’t appropriate for you, as the brand, to interact with an audience when they interact with the influencer • Determine who posts what, and when they post • Many influencers are flexible based on your preferences, but want you to make final decision

@Justine_Celina

audience interactions Influencer enjoys experience and posts to social in-situ

Influencer interacts with audience

Audience interacts with influencer

Brand shares and boosts posts

Influencer posts longform content to main channel

Audience reacts

Brand shares and boosts post

Brand launches ad campaign for long-term results

Audience reacts

Brand interacts with audience

Be authentic in all interactions with an influencer’s audience – don’t jump in when it doesn’t feel natural.

measuring impact Know your metrics before engaging an influencer as it will either be quality or quantity

@lindork

measuring impact Quantity metrics: •

•

•

•

Social media engagements • Number of individuals taking action • Provided by influencer for their posts Reach • Total audience exposed to post • Provided by influencer for their posts Traffic to influencer’s content • Total audience seeing long-form post on their channel • Provided by influencer for their posts Traffic to your content • Total audience seeing long-form post on your site • Found in your own analytics tool

Quality metrics: •

Social media engagement rate • Calculated by engagements divided by reach • Provided by influencer for their posts

•

Conversion • Total final actions audience seeing long-form post divided by total audience seeing post • Either found in your own analytics tool or from influencer

•

•

@lindork

Can also be calculate by you by using engagements divided by followers

Easy way to track – use URL shortener like bit.ly, which provides accurate representation of traffic without waiting from influencer (do not use this URL for other purposes)

Influencers value human and brand connections and you can complete paid and earned media engagements with the same individuals

building a relationship @digthischick

building a relationship Relationships are extremely important when working with influencers • • • • •

Influencers are likely individuals vs. marketing agencies Self-aware and know their influence Usually do not ask for incremental offers Understand the reason to pay and when to not pay Will contact you on occasion to let you know of updates • Usually no explicit ask, but in your best interest to provide some sort of surprise & delight as you build advocates

@ryanjespersen

nuances to keep in mind • The data you are used to may not be available • Be transparent that this is a paid engagement • Advertising bodies like the Ad Standards Council and FTC are monitoring influencer content in the same way as traditional advertising • #ad or #sponsored are only globally-compliant hashtags

• Flexibility is needed • You are using another channel or voice and some rigidity needs to be eliminated to fit within the channel and successfully reach the audience

10 things I’ve learned 1. Make sure the experience is what the influencer wants to have 2. Every influencer is different 3. Contract details are important for non-social, noncontent elements 4. Have a clause in case things are not executed correctly 5. Do not have a rigid schedule 6. Contracts and payments instill a sense of significance to the quality of output 7. Expect that not everything will be glowing 8. If something is not positive, create a plan for changes 9. Sometimes a project just doesn’t work out 10. Be agile to change the story if needed – things change, people are human

@wick_22

Working with contract influencers Tourism Talks | May 9, 2018 | Presented by Kyle Russell

@lindork