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It’s an indisputable fact that email reigns as the king of marketing. From facilitating brand awareness to boosting sales, email marketing remains the number one way for brands to engage with their audiences.
While it might seem logical that social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter are better suited to serve this purpose, there’s a straightforward reason that email remains the cornerstone of the marketing world: ROI. Email marketing’s average ROI in 2021 was $36 for every $1 spent.
3,600% is an astoundingly high return on investment, and with that figure in mind, it’s easy to understand why top eCommerce brands rely so heavily on their email marketing efforts.
The question then becomes, how can brands capitalize on their email marketing efforts.
But before you can start sending out fantastic email marketing campaigns, you’ll need to grow your email list. And while there are several ways to do this, influencer marketing and influencer giveaways are some of the most prominent strategies.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is still a relatively novel concept. While top companies have already begun using influencers to their advantage, many may not even know what an influencer is.
Influencers are content creators who have become minor celebrities by gaining a sizeable active following on various social media platforms. Depending on their industry, you can find influencers on more traditional social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram or more unconventional platforms like Youtube and Twitch.
Partnering with an influencer is a great way to tap into diverse audiences that your brand otherwise wouldn’t have access to, and influencer giveaways can be an excellent strategy for growing your email list when executed properly.
But before you go and start a creative partnership, we’ll teach you about the different types of influencers and some best practices for choosing your strategic partner.
Categories of Influencers
Not all influencers are created equally. Each belongs to its own niche, has a different relationship with its audience, and has a different number of followers. Therefore, choosing the right type of influencer is critical when considering a partnership and even more critical when you’re doing an influencer giveaway.
Another thing to note is that the influencer classification system is somewhat fluid. As the industry continues to grow, these classifications are subject to change.
Nano and Micro-Influencers
With audiences between 1k – 10k and 10k – 50k, respectively, Nano and Micro-influencers are the two smallest categories of influencers on the market. But don’t let the names or smaller audience numbers fool you. Influencers that fall into these groups create close-knit communities with their audiences leading to a high level of engagement and trust.
Considering the type of relationship these influencers have with their audiences, they’re typically more discerning with the sponsorships they take. Promoting a bad product or service could damage their audience’s trust in them and tank their reputation.
The audiences that nano and micro-influencers draw are typically more niche than those of larger accounts. So if you’re trying to reach a particular audience, influencers falling into these categories are your best bet. It’s also important to note that their smaller size also means that their rates are significantly lower, so you’re risking less by taking on the partnership.
Macro and Mega Influencers
If an influencer has between 500k and 1MM or more than 1MM followers, they would be considered a macro or mega-influencer. These influencers have a significantly wider reach and a more diverse audience. So if you partner with an influencer in either of these categories, you’re guaranteed to have a highly visible campaign.
But, there’s a catch.
Influencers in these categories are nearly celebrity-level individuals. But when you have such a large audience, it’s impossible to maintain a personal connection with them. While your CPI will be much lower with a macro or mega-influencer, keen audiences will be less inclined to trust their recommendations.
The cost per post for these types of influencers is also very high, so if you’re just starting your influencer marketing program, you’ll have to decide if the more expansive reach is worth the extra capital expenditure. It’s also worth noting that if you do an influencer giveaway with an individual who falls into either of these categories, there is the potential that the large number of possible entrants will deter the audience from entering.
Mid-Tier Influencer
A mid-tier influencer has between 50k and 500k followers. While they still have some growing to do, these influencers are well on their way to internet stardom. Generally, finding a mid-tier influencer is the way to go if you don’t have a niche product.
Why?
Because a mid-tier influencer will get your product in front of a vast audience without paying the exorbitant prices that macro and mega-influencers command, you can get the best of both worlds.
Things to Consider When Partnering With an Influencer
There are many benefits and advantages that can be gained by partnering with the right influencer. Conversely, a partnership can be detrimental to your bottom line and image. This is precisely why influencer marketing can be a double-edged sword. But with the right tools and knowledge, you can avoid costly mistakes and take advantage of all the benefits that influencer marketing offers.
These four key factors will determine whether your influencer partnership is a success or failure.
1. Reputation
Your brand’s reputation is everything. Your entire business relies on your customers and clients perceiving you as a trustworthy and worthwhile company. Protecting your brand’s reputation is paramount to its success. That’s why you must ensure that any influencer you plan on working with has a clean reputation.
Remember, an influencer is essentially a spokesperson for your brand, and their image is a reflection of your own. So make sure you choose an influencer that your business can be proud to partner with.
2. Audience
Influencer marketing is about more than asking popular content creators to advertise your products. You’re asking for the opportunity to add value to their audience that they otherwise wouldn’t get. If you’re not adding value, the audience will see the content as a hastily attempted cash grab—that’s not a good look for you or the influencer.
When evaluating the merits of an influencer partnership, consider the type of content they’re creating. You want the content they create for you to smoothly fit into their existing platform and content schedule. If your product doesn’t fit in, it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb. Let’s dive into two examples of audience alignment. One that you should aspire to imitate and one you shouldn’t.
✅ Jägermeister and Post Malone
A great example of this is Jägermeister’s 2021 collaboration with Post Malone. Malone, who is well known for exemplifying nightlife culture, was a perfect fit for Jägermeister. The #SavetheNight campaign fits the hip-hop artist’s existing content.
The partnership also exemplified the necessity of mutual interest in a marketing partnership. After two years of Covid 19 lockdowns, typical nightlife venues like pubs, clubs, and concert venues had taken massive hits. With vocalists and musicians unable to perform, and Jägermeister sales tanking, their interests were perfectly aligned, and the partnership was a hit.
❌ Kendall Jenner and Pepsi
In 2017, Pepsi teamed up with Kendall Jenner in an influencer marketing fiasco. The tensions between the American public and police were boiling, and Pepsi made the mistake of using the sensitive social issue in a commercial featuring Kendall. The backlash on Pepsi and Kendall was ferocious, and everyone could see it was a brazen attempt to use the issue to profit.
3. Brand History
You’ll also need to analyze any potential partner’s brand history.
Have they worked with brands similar to yours in the past? How successful have their previous partnerships been? Did the companies they worked with land themselves in hot water while the partnership was in good standing?
Has their brand changed over time? Or has their content followed a consistent message and theme throughout their time as an influencer?
These are the types of questions you need to ask before you decide to get into business with anyone who will represent your brand. Find out everything you can about their past work, and keep an eye out for potential red flags.
4. Cost
The deal’s cost is the final, and arguably most important for your company’s long-term success. While all the previous things we’ve mentioned are crucial, finding the perfect influencer means absolutely nothing if working with them will force your business into the red.
You need to find an influencer who can meet your business’s needs at a cost you can afford.
If you have the extra marketing budget, investing in the right influencer should boost your company’s sales and drive profit. Performing a cost-benefit analysis of your partner is a first step to deciding if the partnership is worth the cost.
Designing an Influencer Giveaway
After you’ve identified an influencer who will be an asset to your brand, you can get to work designing your giveaway. There are three aspects to consider:
1. What is the prize?
2. Where will you run the giveaway?
3. How do people enter?
All of these steps are relatively simple to plan out.
The Prize
The prize should be something that the influencer’s followers will be interested in. That should be easy since both your target audience and the influencer’s target audience should be the same.
The prize needs to be something that encourages the audience to enter. Most people are reluctant to give out their emails without a good deal, so choose a prize that will be valuable to them. (Keep in mind that value to the consumer doesn’t necessarily mean the cost of the prize).
It’s also worth considering several different prizes. The “first place” prize is the most valuable with two additional lower value prizes. The better their odds of winning a prize, the more likely they are to sign up.
Maybe even a consolation prize of X% off their first purchase for signing up for your email list.
Be sure to take the size of the influencer giveaway into account when choosing a prize. The larger the group of possible entrants, the more valuable the prize will need to be for them to feel like it’s worth entering.
The Platform
The best platform to run your giveaway depends on the influencer you’re working with. Things only get complicated if they have a significant presence on multiple social media platforms.
You might only need a simple landing page with an email submission form for a smaller influencer whose primary engagement comes from Instagram.
But you’re probably better off creating a well-thought-out and intricate landing page for a larger account with a multi-platform presence.
How to Enter
The path to entry can make or break your influencer giveaway. Drive too little value and it won’t be worth it for your company. Create too many barriers to entry and the audience won’t bother entering.
The absolute must for entering is subscribing to your email list. Without that, the whole giveaway is pointless.
Some companies run into trouble by requiring the audience to sign up for SMS marketing lists. Getting a consumer to give out their phone number is like pulling teeth. It’s much more personal than their email, and most don’t like to give it out unless they can gain substantial value.
That probably means giving extra entries for signing up for SMS lists for a giveaway. If an email subscription is worth one entry, maybe an SMS subscription is worth three entries. Of course, the level of value necessary to drive that subscription is entirely dependent on your audience. So it’s up to you to find out what that is. There’s no magic number here.
Other ways of entry, such as following your company on social media, are viable options for gaining additional entries that will ideally drive more engagement with your brand.
Start Maximizing Your Email Marketing Efforts Today
Email marketing continues its reign as the king of digital marketing. It’s a surefire way to drive sales when done correctly, and it’s an essential part of any business strategy.
If you’re ready to make the most out of your email marketing, Connect with us today to learn how Fidelitas can reshape the way you do email marketing.
Whether you’re brand new to email marketing, or want to drive sign-ups with influencer giveaways, Fidelitas is ready to help.
