When considering an influencer marketing strategy, brands might think they can manage the relationships and execution themselves to save money. It seems simple: find an influencer, ask them to talk about the brand, share some talking points and materials, celebrate when they post, and send them money.
Not so fast.
Brand decision-makers might not realize all of the pieces that go into these relationships. At Fort Lauderdale and Aspen-based public relations agency Durée & Company, we believe that fostering the right relationships with the best influencers takes time and research. Here are seven reasons why brands should consider hiring an agency to run their custom influencer marketing strategy.
- Have Existing Relationships
An established influencer marketing agency or full-service public relations agency already has a network of influencers they’ve worked with before. The agency will likely have a few vetted contacts in mind for a brand’s campaign. The agency also knows which influencers are best for certain niches, who has followers that would respond well to specific messaging, and how to manage influencer personalities.
- Handle Contract Management
Working with influencers requires a level of professionalism that brands might not anticipate. Agencies managing influencer campaigns likely have contract templates created for these partnerships.
Influencer marketing contracts include confidentiality elements, deadlines, payment details, deliverables, exclusivity, legal requirements, the content the influencer will publish and format(s), who owns the content (usage rights), how ROI will be measured, and campaign duration. It can appear simple to create a boilerplate contract for an influencer, but a company executive might not know the legal language that’s required for this industry. The outside agency ensures the right language is in the contract, proper execution, and how to handle contract breaches.
- Write the Content
When a brand hires a full-service PR and marketing agency, they’ll know the copy and content are ‘on brand.’ Some influencer relationships will request copy suggestions and script writing as part of the contract. Others allow the influencer to create a video that feels less scripted and more authentic. An agency that’s handling the influencer marketing strategy can write copy for some influencers and make sure the influencers are incorporating quotes, taglines, hashtags, and brand messaging into each piece of content.
- Ensure Influencers Follow Through
A crucial part of influencer strategy is ensuring the hired talent completes all contract details. It could be ensuring that an influencer posts a predetermined number of times while visiting the brand’s hotel and uses the proper hashtags for each post. It could be checking on the links in an affiliate partnership to make sure URLs have proper tagging elements. Another important step is making sure that the influencer will add the brand as a collaborator to the content for even more engagement.
The agency can double-check that a brand influencer is wearing the brand in specific videos and mentioning the company. These tasks might seem simple, but managing them effectively isn’t the best use of the brand managers’ time.
- Capitalize on Trends
Brand teams have numerous responsibilities, and staying on top of every social media platform’s trends is a daunting, time-consuming task. This is where a third-party agency that’s deeply embedded in social trends pays off. (In fact, this is a great way to boost a brand’s organic reach on social media.)
They can work with one of the brand’s influencers to create timely content for the brand that attracts new audiences. Publishing content that addresses cultural moments helps the brand stay relevant while entertaining and informing audiences.
- Track Analytics
Wondering about the hidden costs that might not be factored into a marketing budget? Influencer analysis tools. At Durée & Company, we use industry-leading analysis tools to help companies find the right influencers. These tools allow users to search for influencers used by competitors, within certain topics, and identify local influencers. They also offer monitoring, reporting, and payment systems. An established influencer management agency knows how to work with talent to achieve the goals set in the proposal and contract.
At the end of an influencer marketing campaign, Durée & Company ensures that clients receive a comprehensive recap detailing the campaign’s successes. This includes analyzing key performance metrics, such as engagement rates and impressions. We also provide insights on what worked well and areas for improvement. By compiling this data, we help our clients understand the impact of their investment and strategize for future campaigns. Celebrating successes and learning from each campaign allows us to continually refine our approach, ensuring ongoing growth and success for our clients.
- Manage Influencer Relationships
Influencers are modern-day celebrities to their audiences, media, and the public. Just as a publicist would handle Tom Hanks and Kim Kardashian differently, each influencer needs an individual approach. Brand executives who are in back-to-back meetings with investors, human resources, and R&D don’t want to have the stress of handling certain influencers with kid gloves. Having an outside agency work with the talent as a day-to-day contact will be much easier on the executive team.
Durée & Company works with influencers to facilitate product launches, media dines, and much more. We’ve worked with a variety of micro- and macro-influencers that are specifically chosen for their audiences and personalities who can help shape the perception of a brand. Our full-service agency does the heavy lifting to navigate paid influencer opportunities, from negotiating the best terms for your brand to writing influencer copy and editing content to analyzing ROI for each relationship, among other things. Contact us today to get started on your very own influencer campaign.
About Durée & Company, Inc.
Founded in 1999, Durée & Company is a full-service, well-respected and highly creative public relations and marketing agency serving a diverse client base of local, national and international consumer brands, landmark industries, business leaders and philanthropists from its offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Aspen, Colorado. Practice areas include nonprofit, hospitality, business, lifestyle, health and wellness, legal, real estate, yacht and marine as well as cannabis, psychedelics, and other emerging industries. Durée & Company is a member of some of the nation’s most elite professional organizations including PR Boutiques International™ (PRBI), The Cannabis Marketing Association and is a corporate partner of Cannabis LAB. To learn more, call 954-723-9350; go to dureeandcompany.com; cannabismarketingpr.com; or psychedelicpr.com. Join the social conversation and follow Durée & Company on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and LinkedIn at @DureeCoPR.
