Top 5 Ecommerce Influencer Marketing Strategies

Influencer marketing is becoming more popular as more brands are looking to set themselves apart from the competition. Its market size has increased eight times during the last five years. With billions of dollars in play, it’s safe to say that influencer marketing is an effective advertising method.

If you’re considering collaboration with an influencer to improve your eCommerce sales, you’re on the right path. However, you’ll need to create a strategy that will get you the results you need. Keep reading to discover a couple of valuable ideas that follow with examples from other brands.

You’ll need to figure out several steps if you want to create an effective influencer marketing strategy. The goal is to put in the work repeatedly and continue expanding the network of influencers you work with.

With that approach, you grow your brand awareness naturally, leveraging the trust influencers build with their audiences. Here are the steps for creating a foolproof strategy.

1. Begin the search

The journey starts with a thorough influencer search. Luckily, you can deploy the best influencers search tools to shorten the process. However, it’s important to set rules according to which you’ll make your picks.

Now, the most important thing to consider is the location of the influencer and the size of their audience. You’ll find the following categories:

• Nano-influencers — These range from 1000 to 10,000 followers.
• Micro-influencers — These range from 10,000 to 50,000 followers.
• Medium-sized influencers — These range from 50,000 to 500,000 followers.
• Macro-influencers — These range from 500,000 to 1 million followers.
• Mega-influencers — All influencers above 1 million followers fall into this category.

Why is this relevant? As you might guess, the bigger the audience, the higher the price. That doesn’t mean that the results will be better too. A bigger follower count means that an influencer has multiple target audiences in their following. So you will end up paying advertising to target audiences who are not interested in your product.

Another factor to consider is that smaller influencers have a higher degree of trust from their community of followers. You can explore their posts and see whether their audience fits your needs. Instead of working with a single macro influencer, you might get better results by working with several smaller ones.

Consider taking that nano and micro-influencer strategy as these creators are looking for partners they can grow with. They’re usually more flexible, cheaper and want to prove themselves to you. Building a long-term collaboration is going to be easier with them.

2. Set your goals

You need concrete goals to measure the success of the eCommerce strategies you’re using. In this case, before you start working with an influencer, set your expectations first Answer the following questions:

• Do you want more sales?
• Are you looking for a way to grow brand awareness?
• Do you need more visits to your site?

You’ll know which metrics to follow once you begin working with an influencer when you answer these questions.

For example, if you want better brand awareness, watch your follower count grow on social media. Create a strategy with calls to action to follow your brand. You’ll maximize the results of every post the influencer makes about your eCommerce store.

If you want more sales, you’ll have to create a different strategy and monitor your sales figures. You don’t have to opt for a single goal. Working simultaneously on several of them will bring the best results. If you hire a e-commerce assistant, you’ll be able to more easily carry out your goals. Still, don’t forget to measure your metrics with every type of post that influencers make about your brand.

3. Determine the collaboration type

Before reaching out to influencers, make a compensation plan that you think they’ll find beneficial. You can propose:

• Direct payment per post or a story.
• Discount promo codes and payments based on conversions.
• Affiliate marketing, meaning that percentage of sales goes into the influencer’s pocket.
• Long-term collaboration that includes a number of weekly posts for financial compensation.
• Gifts in merchandise for sponsored content

Creating several compensation models helps you approach influencers with more flexibility. Once you send them a proposal, they can opt for one of the models quickly. That way, you save negotiation time and the collaboration can start faster.

4. Reach out to influencers and start building relationships

Once you have your strategic plan set, it’s time to reach out to the influencer you want to work with. The best advice regarding first contact is to keep it short and straightforward. Reach out to them via email. You can find it on their official social media, as they’re also looking for people to work with.

Introduce yourself and your brand, explain how your mutual collaboration would work great for both sides, and ask the influencer whether they are interested in collaboration.

Repeat this process regularly and keep growing your network. The goal is to start working with a large number of influencers. To streamline the process, using CRM software might help. It’ll allow you to keep all the relevant contact information about each influencer.

As mentioned in the first part, influencer location is an important element to consider. If you’re shipping globally, get in touch with influencers in other markets. You can use their local popularity to get to new audiences.

5. Analyze and repeat

Implement different tracking methods to see which influencer performs best for your brand. You can achieve that through unique affiliate links and promo codes. That way, you’ll know how many new customers every influencer brings.

Keep track of all your metrics and keep growing your collaboration network. Repeat the process and watch your brand grow alongside your influential partners.

To Sum It Up