Influencer Marketing Checklist: 5 Items Not to Forget

When kicking off an Influencer campaign, there are a lot of moving checklist to-dos throughout all phases of the campaign. To create exceptional branded content, it takes more than just content and an influencer – it requires high attention to details.

Influencer marketing campaigns require several stages of planning, including campaign setup and production. There are many parts of this process that are easy to remember, however there are some parts that will make or break your campaign. Here are 5 items not to forget on your influencer marketing checklist, for your next campaign that will help you save time and money:

FTC Compliance: Make sure branded content meets FTC compliance guidelines. For those who may be unaware, FTC Compliance simply requires influencers to disclose that they are being paid to promote a brand. The point of FTC compliance is to be completely transparent and require influencers to disclose their connection to the brand. For many posts, this can simply mean writing or saying #ad or #sponsored within the first few lines of their caption or introduction. Here’s a link to the FTC guidelines for further review.

Contracts: Contracts need to be executed so that the influencer and brand are on the same page. Contracts serve as a way to maintain transparency and ensure all parties are on the same page. They can also help eliminate any miscommunication, if any issues arise. Contracts will outline terms of payment, exclusivity, usage rights, reporting requirements, revisions, and more. Make sure all parties sign on the dotted line before moving forward.

Influencer Fraud: When launching a brand campaign, you must ensure the influencer has a verified audience and does not have any fraud indicators. This is especially important because 11% of branded content engagement on sponsored posts comes from fake accounts. In 2017, Influencer fraud cost the industry nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. Taking some time during the campaign vetting process to ensure the selected influencer partners have valid followers and engagement is crucial and a step not to be missed. The IMC (Influencer Marketing Council) has put together a few guidelines to help with this initiative.

Be Realistic About Creative: Does your creative execution make sense? For brands who want to make an impact, there must be an honest conversation around creative. What may work for one brand may not work for your own brand, product, or service. Influencers may also need hand-holding, which is great since it allows both the influencer and brand to understand one another’s end vision.

Reporting: You must think about reporting from the onset of the campaign. Reporting is the single way to tie campaign efforts and the end result all together. By being transparent around what objectives and metrics you want to report on in the beginning, you can help outline success for the agency and influencer. Campaign reporting will also help clearly explain if the campaign was a success or not, and what the ROI is.

If you’re interested in launching a brand campaign, please reach out to our team. We can create a custom checklist and plan for your brand. Oh, and we are ready to help!