Influencer marketing – Don’t ignore the power of bloggers

Micky Weis

15 years of experience in online marketing. Former CMO at, among others, Firtal Web A/S. Blogger about marketing and the things I’ve experienced along the way. Follow me on LinkedIn for daily updates.

Kopieret

I’m back at the writing desk

First off, thank you to everyone who voted for me and helped me win the award for Blogger of the Year in the Marketing category. I’m genuinely grateful.

In this post, I want to dive into a topic that’s been on my mind lately:

Influencer marketing

I also helped build Sarah Posin’s blog from the ground up, and I’ve worked with many bloggers in various companies over the past several years.

You simply can’t ignore influencer marketing—it’s grown explosively since 2013.

Set aside 15 minutes and learn how you can use bloggers in your marketing strategy.

Are you a blogger? There’s a full section with tips just for you!

For companies

Research the bloggers

The biggest challenge for most companies is not doing thorough research on the bloggers.

The blogging world is massive, and many try their luck in hopes of striking gold. Unfortunately, some bloggers take shortcuts and buy their followers—which is a big no-go.

Spend 5–10 minutes checking if the blogger you’re considering has real followers:

• How many likes does each post get?
• Are there real comments? If followers are bought, there often won’t be any authentic comments.
• How many posts does the blogger have?
• Does the profile look professional?

Passion or money?

Find bloggers you can turn into ambassadors instead of just going for those with the most followers. The worst are bloggers who are only in it for the money.

Yes, it’s a business on both sides, but if they promote your brand one week and your competitor’s the next, what’s the value to you?

Tip: Pay more and work with fewer, more serious bloggers and influencers instead of relying on 50 disloyal ones who only care in the moment you sign a deal.

The trend is growing

The biggest mistake – focusing on direct sales

I once wrote a post on web analytics. Sadly, only 1 out of 100 online stores in Denmark uses data analysis correctly in their marketing.

You can’t rely solely on the direct sales generated by a blog. You need to understand how many repeat purchases you can generate from the customers a blogger brings you—that’s the true value.

Customer lifetime value

What is a blogger really worth?

Example:
Sarah used an international affiliate network to promote products for a German webshop. In one year, she generated over €40,000 in revenue for them. We reached out to the shop, and they had no idea who she was or how much she contributed. Their data setup was poor, so they didn’t see the value in partnering.

We then switched the affiliate links to a Danish webshop with proper data tracking. They contacted Sarah immediately after seeing her numbers skyrocket overnight.

Sarah’s sales for the German webshop

She generated many transactions before we stopped in September 2016.
The far-right column shows transactions; the one before that shows clicks.

Check your own data

If you don’t have your own data in order, you shouldn’t work with bloggers. The first step is being ahead of your own numbers.

You can easily track a blogger’s data in Google Analytics.

Whether you use an affiliate network or work directly with bloggers, you can track everything they generate.

Affiliate networks are intermediaries that manage payments and campaigns, making it easier for companies and bloggers alike.

Alternatively, use Google’s URL builder to create tracking links the blogger can embed in their post, so you can measure results directly.

Example from Mickyweis.com:

By using “Facebook” as the Source, I can track it in Google Analytics. You can define your own sources like “Bloggers,” and then define Content and Campaign names accordingly.

Blogger tracking example

• Source: Bloggers
• Medium: Affiliate
• Name: Summer sale
• Content: BloggerName

Build a relationship and say thank you

Most people forget the idea of creating ambassadors.

Imagine Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly switching to Adidas—how valuable would he be to Nike then? It’s about creating long-term ambassadors and not forgetting about your bloggers.

We’ve often worked with many companies through Sarah’s blog. Unfortunately, it’s usually the blogger (in this case, Sarah) who has to follow up with the brand. If they’re not responsive, she might as well work with someone else.

Example from Sarah’s Hunkemöller campaign

If you build a relationship early, you might discover the bloggers before they blow up—and that’s more fun than buying the top ones.

• Stay aware of the bloggers you work with—for their sake and yours.
• Keep a few great ambassadors you can build strong relationships with.
• Track who performs well and reward them—even a thank you goes a long way.

Acknowledge their time

It takes serious time to edit a video, take quality photos, buy products, write posts, or share content at the right moment. Many still believe blogging is just fun and games—but it’s far from the truth.

It’s a full-time job, so respect that it’s more than just a Facebook post.

It can take me an entire day to edit a video or sort photos. I expect professionalism in return. I feel appreciated when my work is respected.
— Sarah Posin, professional blogger for 2 years

Also, reflect: how good are your company’s social channels compared to a blogger’s?

Don’t use a middleman

What I find completely pointless is using expensive intermediaries who have no relationship with your brand or the bloggers.

I get that handling influencer marketing internally can be costly. But it’s necessary if you want your brand to appear consistent across influencer channels.

By “middleman” I don’t mean affiliate networks but PR agencies who simply send stuff to bloggers without a personal touch.

The future of influencer marketing

I spoke with Zeth from Woomio about where influencer marketing is headed.

Woomio is a data tool for marketers to 1) identify relevant influencers and 2) track collaborations. Creators can sign up for free to showcase their influence. Investors include Christian Stadil and Ditlev Bredahl.

Let’s define “influencer”: anyone with a solid follower base on any media has social influence.

Eksempler

• Mathilde Gøhler – Instagram
• Lakserytteren – Snapchat
• Pewdiepie – Youtube
• Sarahposin – Blogger

They are all personalities acting as influencers for specific audiences. The larger their following, the higher their media value.

Brands want to reach their audience through these influencers, so influencer marketing needs a common data standard and more transparency.

Why?

Agencies and brands exist in many forms. They all represent potential customers to influencer networks and independents.

When they look for Influencers, they look for Brand fit (defined by the target audience, as in age group of followers, location of followers and gender of followers).

Example of brand collaboration in the A-League
Daniel Wellington’s close collaboration with Kendall Jenner

They want:

• Brand fit (defined by follower age, location, and gender)
• Insights into followers’ interests and what kind of messages they engage with
• Knowledge about past collaborations with competitors

This is the standard Woomio is building. We believe influencer marketing will become a standalone marketing channel like TV, radio, print, or Google Ads.

In five years, marketers will use Woomio to:

• Discover influencers
• Predict campaign outcomes
• Measure and optimize results

Advanced: build an ecosystem for bloggers

There are brilliant ways to accelerate influencer marketing.

Login system

Offer influencers early access to products via a login system. One major challenge for new brands is building buzz.

Create demand early, then launch = instant hype.

Cases

Hvisk

A jewelry brand that allows influencers to create their own styles and collages as “Hvisk Stylists.” They earn points to shop, including items from other popular brands.

Hvisk sells more of their own products because everyone wants in. They also have a Facebook group with 2,000+ members sharing tips and building a universe together.

Dropbox

As seen above, Daniel Wellington created a model where they give their influencers a discount code to share with their followers.

This allows Daniel Wellington not only to track how much each influencer sells within their system, but also to compensate them based on the sales they generate.

Dropbox didn’t use influencers directly, but they still applied the same core idea—letting people earn rewards by inviting their friends.

The Dropbox example

Invite your friends and get extra storage—who says no?

Access to material

Following the idea of creating a login system, it also makes sense to provide influencers with access to material for their blogs.

There’s nothing more frustrating than missing a logo, font, or other visual assets.

Make sure there’s easy and straightforward access to the best and most up-to-date material from your company—so influencers choose your brand.

Facebook group

Having a Facebook group is a powerful tool for staying in touch with your ambassadors. Talk to them, make them feel like part of the company, because they are.

Trust me: the more valued they feel, the more they will do for your company and product.

You can also run monthly competitions, announce an influencer of the month, and much more.

Are you a blogger? Here are some tips!

You don’t get anything handed to you at the start

Be careful not to be too greedy in the beginning—starting a blog is like starting a business—you need to be humble and work hard. Then the great offers will come.

I’m often on the other side of the table as a marketing manager, and even completely new bloggers expect substantial compensation for their work—before they’ve built something that actually has monetary value for a company.

So before you send that email, ask yourself: what is your blog actually worth to a business?

See it as personal development

Running a blog improves your ability to:

• Communicate with others
• Write professional emails in different languages
• Use IT, which is essential in every industry
• Understand business fundamentals

Get a grip on your own data

From the beginning, I taught Sarah everything I know about data, and she’s still learning. She knows exactly what she generates in revenue for which companies and how to set up tracking to see which posts are performing.

Things you can use data for:

• Where is your traffic coming from?
• Which posts perform best?
• Which posts generate income?

Be consistent

Sarah and I didn’t contact companies until five months in—once we had data to show them.

If you just started, wait until you can prove your value. Don’t expect big money from the beginning—be humble.

Most bloggers quit after just 2–3 months because it’s hard to get started—like any entrepreneurial journey.

Think of your readers, not your bank account

As marketing director at Firtal Web A/S and consultant for a wide range of brands, I speak weekly with 20–30 bloggers who want to collaborate.

Don’t make the biggest mistake—being too greedy. This applies to big bloggers too. Have respect for the fact that companies also need to earn money, and many still don’t know how much a blogger is truly worth.

It’s your job to help them understand.

Also consider what the company can offer you beyond money. Can they help you build your personal brand and grow even bigger?

What can you earn?

Earnings vary widely among influencers.

Of course, it depends on how many followers you have—but it also depends on the country you’re in, the language you use, and the industry you’re operating in.

If you start your blog with the sole purpose of making money, you’re likely to fail.

When I worked with SlikhaarTV, it became a huge success for them to sell their own products to their audience—not just act as influencers for other brands, but for their own.

It also took them six years to get there.

Similarly, a mediocre blogger in Sweden earns far more than one in Denmark because the influencer market is more advanced in our neighboring country.

An example from the US

Discussion

Do you use influencers or bloggers in your marketing?

Are you good at it? Or what could you do better?

Share your experience and let’s learn together.