HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR INFLUENCER MARKETING STRATEGY?

From Kanye West's instrumental impact to the Adidas Boost success to the re-birth of Puma with Rihanna's collaboration, the right influencer marketing strategy can be extremely powerful.

Yet, with the explosion of celebrity endorsement deals, the rise of social media stars and the climbing costs of such partnerships, the landscape has never been more complex to define the right plan. Follow these 2 principles to help maximize your influencer strategy:

1. Establish an authentic connection with your influencers.

Insure that who you collaborate with has a genuine and authentic connection with your product, brand values and aspirations. This connection will not only allow you to keep building your brand (vs just getting noticed) but enable you to broaden and deepen your connection with your target audience. It should also help avoid your spokesperson to endorse your product one day and be caught using a competitor the next.

If the connection is not obvious, then you will need to build a plan to create it. When Nike partnered with Kevin Hart, the relationship went from promoting a training shoe to creating a multi-year plan to fuel a running and training movement, resulting in Kevin participating in multiple commercials, dozens of events, countless social media posts and completing a full marathon.

2. Celebrities are just the tip of your influencer strategy.

Partnering with a celebrity should complement a well thought out grass root influencer plan, focusing on the right and most influential consumers who already are or could become super users of your products. They will give you repeat exposure and support over time.

Ask yourself:

Have we established a clear digital and social strategy for our super users & strongest brand advocates? Who would be the most influential personalities to energize and grow our social footprint and community? Do we have a clear plan to position and leverage our celebrity to maximize the partnership over time?