#everything-marketing

Performance-based, but need to be looking at the right metrics. Sometimes immediate revenue from a post isn't the right thing to look at.

I used a combination of directly attributed revenue as well as lift studies to understand the impact of influencer spend on other channels, like brand search, paid social efficacy, organic conversions, etc but that approach requires a good amount of spend.

If lower levels of spend, then it might be a bit more "art" than "science"

Thanks @Jai Dolwani great points that’s totally where my head is at as well!

I wonder if the focus on performance though hinders the ability to eventually secure those big partnerships with celebrities/macros that can level up a brand

I think a clarity on your immediate goals would be a big determinant in which org you put this under but I would also put it under performance. Are you using influencers for more of TOF awareness or are you also hoping they’d drive sales for you?

For Hexclad, their partnership with Gordon Ramsey has added a lot to their Brand equity. And I am sure it is one of the top drivers of their sales. That’s a rare case where a celebrity partnership levels up your brand AND boosts your sales

If you run of lot of influencer content as ads or do whitelisting, that would also add to the case you should put it under performance to create more collaberation between those teams

Totally had hexclad in mind with this question.

Very true. Influencer definitely seems to fit under performance in 2023 esp at 8 figures.

I wonder if once at a large scale it makes sense to actually build a separate team under brand focused on larger partnerships and brand goals.

I won’t be surprised if Hexclad now has a separate team that just manages celebrity partnerships, and which sits under their Brand team

I don’t think it matters in the beginning though. You can always move people around the org once there is evidence of something working that you want to double down on.

We have a dedicated influencer manager who also handles organic social.

A good influencer program is mostly about relationships. Understanding what works for one-off quid pro quo arrangements, what works with ongoing ambassadors and brand partners, etc.

The outputs of our influencer program then tend to fall either in brand or performance, depending.

So we now have a critical mass of Youtube reviews across dozens of micro and major influencers that now generate huge returns in terms of awareness and sales. We also have on-going "ephemeral" content on Instagram and Tik Tok that helps us gauge the fit of a creators audience and the quality of their content. From there we license the best stuff and turn it into performance creative.

In terms of responsibilities, the head of marketing works with the social/influencer manager to determine & manage budgets/negotiations. When new UGC comes in, the media buyer (myself) works with the social department to review the content and earmark it for licensing/re-purposing.

Definitely in performance marketing, but agreed with Kent. It is way easier to train someone who understands organic social how to do performance marketing than the other way around. You just have to create a framework for them.

I agree with @Kent Wilson and ultimately it depends on the goal of the influencer program and what metrics you're measuring. For this, there isn't a one size fits all.

Simple:

If you are confident in your tracking & you have specific rev based/acquisition goals then performance.

If you’re not confident in your tracking and do not have very specific rev/acquisition goals, then brand.

Every influencer initiative is different, many brands will have campaigns under each category.