By now you already know, influencer marketing is one of the most popular forms of digital marketing. As one of the fastest growing industries, more and more agencies are coming up, wanting to get in on the action. If you’re running an agency, how do you stand out from the rest and become the top influencer marketing agency?
In today’s article, we’ll talk about the characteristics that differentiates a top influencer marketing agency from the average Joe.
1. Have a deep understanding of influencer marketing strategies
A top influencer marketing agency will know what kind of marketing strategy to implement to attain a brand’s marketing goals. They will educate and offer brands with a variety of strategies and best practices, and manage their expectations of what is realistically achievable. This means that a top agency will know when to employ macro or micro influencers, for example. They will also know how to develop targeted ads and use sponsored content to amplify their client’s voice across different platforms.
2. Have the results to prove it
It goes without saying, that the top influencer marketing agency would need to have high-performing results. They are the brains behind trending videos, photos and content. People have heard of them as well as their clients. They meet and exceed goals. And most importantly, they are able to track and produce measurable ROI success.
3. A pioneer of influencer marketing trends
The top influencer marketing agency doesn’t just understand marketing strategies and trends – they are the trendsetters. They are thought leaders in the industry and one step ahead of the game. From their wealth of experience, past performance data and market research, they are able to predict emerging trends. Such as how users may change their way of using social media, new technologies, and best practices to navigate the ever-changing scene.
4. A good relationship with influencers
An influencer marketing agency would not be one without, well, influencers! But what differentiates a top agency from the rest is that it is a brand that influencers want to work with. They have long-standing professional relationships that convert to ROI and successful marketing campaigns. A top influencer marketing agency will also have a variety of different influencers within their network.
5. Creative differentiation
Successful influencer marketing agencies will be able to align a brand’s marketing message with influencer characters/components through creative differentiation. Every brand has their own goals, be it to gain brand awareness, or to motivate past customers to make a repeat purchase. Moreover, every influencer has their own unique persona and style. A top-performing influencer marketing agency will have the ability to brainstorm different creative campaigns, and pair the right influencer(s) to best amplify their client’s message.
6. Familiarity with social media platforms
While many agencies specialise in one social media platform, the best agencies are well versed with different channels. They are capable of developing a variety of campaigns to span them. A top influencer marketing agency is dynamic and multi-faceted, as they know how to implement cross-channel marketing to maximise impact and get their client’s message across.
7. Transparent with budgets
Apart from creative abilities, a great influencer marketing agency is also professional and upfront about budgets. Influencer marketing is still a space with much ambiguity when it comes to influencer rates and pricing, but a professional agency is able to clarify costs upfront. Clients should not have to come up with additional cost throughout or at the end of the marketing campaign. A top influencer marketing agency is able to budget and allocate ad costs effectively in order to meet or exceed campaign goals. They are also able to provide advice and guide clients through any monetary considerations.
8. Offer seamless campaign management
Top influencer marketing agencies are able to efficiently and seamlessly manage campaigns across its different stages. From brainstorming ideas, planning, employing the right influencers and executing the campaign, there is usually an account manager that oversees these processes. Through the executions of many different types of campaigns, these agencies have streamlined the complex process to be time and cost-effective for themselves, their influencers and their clients.
