Introduction
Did you know that giants like Amazon, Google, YouTube spend millions of dollars on influencer marketing?
When giants are spending money to build awareness, then it would make sense to learn from them, and invest in influencer marketing, because it will be the next big thing for your brand.
However, without the right negotiation techniques this could be a very expensive affair for your brand. Let’s dive deeper!
Also Check – Choosing the Right Partner: Tips for Selecting an Influencer Marketing Agency
Why is negotiation necessary?
The economy and social media is growing, and so the influencer marketing industry is on the upward curve. In fact marketers have started to set aside an influencer marketing budget for better finance management.
However many brands are yet unsure of the best way to approach and negotiate with influencers.
Thus it is very essential for these influencer contracts to be right and transparent. The main objective of influencer negotiation is to create a beneficial, valuable, transparent, and long-lasting partnership between you and the influencer.
How much do influencers cost?
There is actually no “price list” of influencers. Influencer marketing is constantly changing, with prices fluctuating based on market trends.
The influencers’ follower counts ( larger a creator’s audience, larger they may charge for partnerships), engagement rates, perceived value and the brand they endorse.
Thus one-size- fits- all strategy doesn’t work in this niche. Transparency, empathy, and strategic negotiation are the need of the hour. But with the right approach and clear communication, it can be a win-win situation for both.
Hence before appointing them, you have to complete your homework. The more clearly you can define your expectations and know your goals, you will be able to choose the right influencers to work with and negotiate an agreement that aligns with your objectives. Easy, practical and transparent negotiation creates a good relationship for future endeavors.
Benefits of influencer marketing
Increased Brand Awareness
Influencers have the expertise and knowledge to introduce your brand to a broader audience, increase visibility and create awareness. They also offer opportunities for link-building. More links lead to better search rankings.
Higher Engagement Rates
Content shared by influencers is always a game changer. It effortlessly garners more engagement—likes, comments, and shares, leading to more reach. It helps to acquire organic traffic and reach the consumers that were completely out of reach.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Another benefit of hiring influencers is that it can be affordable and yield a better ROI than traditional advertising.
Credibility and Trust
The audience or the viewers trust influencers’ opinions and endorsements as actual recommendations, which works like one to one communication.
Before you start the negotiation, ensure you have an understanding of the different compensations you may have to offer. Depending upon the deal sometimes one may and sometimes all the three.
Product seeding
The most cost-effective compensation method -offering the influencers products or samples in exchange for content is known as product seeding. Enabling them to try the product and learn about your company before promoting it is also a great way to build brand love.
Commission
Many brand-influencer’s prefer a contract on a profit-sharing basis. It is also known as the affiliate model. You have to pay commissions to your influencers to lower upfront costs and generate conversions.
Flat Fee
Depending upon the endorsement some marketers prefer Flat Fee structure for the influencers. The marketer pays a fixed amount for a service regardless how much is used or how long it takes to complete. It’s also known as a fixed fee or linear rate.
How many types of Influencers are there?
- Mega influencers: They have over 1,000,000 followers and include celebrities
- Macro influencers: They have 100,000–1,000,000 followers and include social media stars, TV personalities, vloggers, and podcasters
- Mid-tier influencers: They have 50,000–500,000 followers
- Micro influencers: They have 10,000–100,000 followers and are often experts in a specific topic or niche
- Nano influencers: They have 1,000–10,000 followers and are the closest to everyday Instagram users
Now time to dive into the best strategies for a rewarding negotiation with the influencers.
Few Tips To Negotiate Well With The Influencer
The motive of this article is not to underpay the influencers. It’s just how they should be dealt while hiring them. For sure the influencer marketing strategy is a creative work which requires hard efforts and they should be fairly paid, however, these could be best practices that can be followed to create a win-win situation.
1. Understand your goal
Before any negotiation, you yourself should be clear with your goals for the project. Without this you won’t be able to know what is negotiable and what is not.
Basically an influencer works on – brand awareness, reaching new audiences, improving brand advocacy, generating sales, and lead generation. And you have to inform the influencer what you really want to show on social media and which area they have to improvise your brand.
Also Check – How to Become a Social Media Influencer
2. Understand the influencer
Everyone has their individual goals and objectives and so do the Influencers. Before negotiating with them, it’s more essential to know their goals and work culture. Also try to know what kind of partnerships they have done in the past and get their customer review too.
This analysis will help you choose and negotiate which can be beneficial with both parties’ objectives.
3. Be firm with your budget
Before negotiation, set your budget and try not to exceed the limit. This will help you to deal with the influencer. The budget depends on the size and value of your company.
It depends on how much you can pay and how much profit the influencer will help to gain. And If you come to a point that the negotiation isn’t working, don’t hesitate to politely end the negotiation.
4. Effective communication lines
Influencers create content that speaks to their audience to generate higher engagement than traditional advertising. Engagement rate is essential as it measures the level of interaction to boost awareness.
That is why it becomes necessary to create effective communication regarding content ideas and brand strategies between the influencer and the marketer.
The influencers may also have queries, ideas and they may raise concern regarding the endorsement. The marketers should always be in touch with the influencers so that the partnership is on track and does not slow down because of lack of communication.
5. Check Influencer Marketing Services Platforms
To know the authenticity of an influencer you can search on various tools like BuzzSumo, Traackr, and HypeAuditor to know more about the influencers. You can know about their niche, reach, reviews and engagement.
6. Adjust the campaign
If in case your goals and the influencers work strategies don’t fit into the budget and yet you want to hire the same influencer, adjust the campaign requirements. The influencers may bring some changes, like a shorter partnership or fewer posts and still reach your campaign goals.
7. Additional perks
Keep in mind for additional perks and incentives you can offer your influencer to make the deal more appealing. Sometimes the brand product or a small gift can make the partnership more effective and complete.
Some of the gifts may be
- Travel expenses occurred for the campaign
- VIP access to the influencer and sometimes for the family too for company events
- Gifting products and merchandise
- First access to new product launch of the brand
8. Offer long-term collaboration instead of discounts
Instead of negotiating for discounts with the influencers, offer them long-term collaboration or for example increase the post from one to three. It will be beneficial for both.
- The marketer need not search for another influencer and share his strategies
- The influencers will easily create different assets for the same brand and consistent partnerships with one brand looks more authentic on their feed.
Now when your through how to deal with the influencer, let’s know about one of the best influencer agency BuzzFame
When it comes to thinking of an influencer marketing agency that connects brands with social media – Buzz Fame can be the right name.
It helps brands and influencers to come together to create amazing and authentic content to drive engagement. They plan strategies to help brands reach their target audience and drive sales.
When the goal is popularity and visibility, BuzzFame can be a game changer. The agency will support your brand also in setting up KPIs and tracking the results of the influencer marketing campaign. They have worked with many brands and made them popular too, like – Wink, VeCura, Nippo, Digital Scholar, VCM, Naturals, 1st Step, Oliva, and Levista Coffee.
A good marketer always searches for the best for itself and its company and BuzzFame can be the best decision for you as a marketer. So go ahead and get popular on social media through BuzzFame.
Key Takeaways
In the social media advertising world, Influencer is a popular buzzword for brand engagement. And the most daunting part of hiring them is the rate negotiation.
Understanding how to make the influencer marketing partnership work is critical. You need to plan strategies that will ensure both your brand and the influencer benefit from the collaboration.
But with the right tools, clear communication, and a beneficial strategy at your disposal, it will be easy to seal the deal.
Negotiation Is not wrong when the benefit is mutual. Just give your full attention, pay heed to each other’s ideas and most importantly be confident.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who can use influencer marketing as part of their strategy?
Every business can benefit from influencer marketing – from the fashion industry to food and beverage, Retail business and Health & Wellness centers too.
2. What is a micro-influencer?
A micro-influencer has a follower base range between 10,000 and 100,000 followers, but they usually have a better engagement with the audience and can drive more traffic to the website and boost more sales.
3. How to find good influencers?
Not all influencers are not as effective as you may require. Basically choose the one that shares the same interest with your business, it will help them to connect well.
4. Will it be helpful for a long term collaboration with an influencer?
Yes, long-term is always a better option. It will organically increase traffic to your website, improve your SEO and you will have term connections with your consumers which will help you in reaching company goals.
5. How do I know my influencers are authentic?
Check their followers and then the ratio of likes and followers; if you found it less than 1% don’t choose the influencer. Consumer reviews may also matter but not 100%.
