Get Under the Influence: Launch a Social Media Influencer Campaign & Build Brand Awareness

[ good morning or good afternoon if you're joining us from the east coast thank you once again for making the time to join us for yet another one of our webinars we're really excited about this one because it is very popular it is all about influencer marketing today we're going to actually be covering how to get under the influence launch a social media influencer campaign and build brand awareness we're also going to be talking about building trust quickly with crucial partnerships in our agenda for today the value that cannabis instagram influencers can bring to your brand how to connect with worthwhile influencers and negotiate a deal what it takes to create a successful influencer campaign that drives new customers to your brand and why tracking the effectiveness of your influencer campaign can help you make better deals in the future my name is eduardo silva i am going to be a host for today's webinar and i have 18 years of marketing and sales experience i'm really excited to be part of the cannabis industry and help our fellow partners get the most out of their marketing experience foot traffic is a digital advertising agency that has been around for over five years laser focused in the cannabis space at any given point we may be helping over 400 dispensary stores and delivery services across all of north america and we're really excited to be partnered with some of the bigger brands as well as some of the smaller ones that are making headways in this industry let's take a quick moment to just prepare ourselves for today's webinar as always take those cell phones and put them facing down on your desk if you could and or mute them for just this brief period of time that we're going to be covering the content today that way you can make sure that you get the most out of these next 25 minutes or so also if you're joining us from the zoom interface get familiar with where the q a button is located we do have live panelists here who are going to be addressing questions but we do have some time in the end of our webinar as well four questions and be sure to stick around we do have a special offer for those attending and we're going to be sharing that at the end of the webinar and as always if you are joining us on live stream you can always reach out to us with any question in real time by going to foot traffic dot me forward slash call once again that's foot traffic dot me forward slash call so let's get right into it it may seem like influencer marketing is out of reach for a younger crowd or just too difficult to get started with but it's actually easier than you might think to get started according to a pew research center 7 out of 10 americans are on social media with 40 of adults on instagram that means your target market is likely on instagram so we know who's using the platform the question that people tend to ask about influencer marketing is whether it's actually worthwhile does it work does it actually get people to make a purchase or follow the brands that influencers market unsurprisingly it does and the reason it works may surprise you basically influencer marketing works because the influencers are more like friends and family to their followers they aren't seen as advertisers they're taste makers whose own opinions endorsement and purchasing decisions spark that crucial aspirational urge to their audience their followers have chosen to add them to their feed and enjoy consuming their content even when it's sponsored when you work with an influencer some of the trust and credibility they've built up with their audience is transferred to your brand if they are off authentic then your brand may be also seen as authentic as long as you find a worthwhile resp representative you can build instant cachet with your brand that said there's no single formula or formulas for the effectiveness of influencer marketing it's a of an amorphous field and a lot of things i've mentioned are intangible but marketing industry estimates generally and they quote 16 times more engagement on social media when influencer marketing is used in dollars and cents that's approximately five dollars and 78 cents and earn media value for every one dollar spent once you're ready to capitalize on the benefits of influencer marketing you might think that the first hurdle you may actually face is connecting with an influencer to get campaign underway let's clear this misconception up front before we get started you can't just dm someone and ask them to wrap your brand and then send them money i mean technically you could but you wouldn't necessarily be getting any sort of effective strategy or measurable result from that before starting any type of campaign you first need to be clear on your goals what is it that you want to achieve with influencer marketing otherwise you risk the chance of blowing your marketing dollars on a campaign with no purpose basically you're just paying for some pretty pictures so what kind of goals should you be thinking about after all you can't technically sell cannabis products on instagram that will get your account shut down for sure and any influencer who knows their stuff isn't going to take that risk maybe your goal is to build brand awareness if you're new to the area this could be helpful for increasing your reach with your social account getting people to sign up for your loyalty program or newsletter or even just getting people to talk about your dispensary if your goal is still sales however you're going to need to get a little creative for example you can have your influencer share an sms opt-in code or a link to your newsletter sign up those individuals who are in the influencers code can then receive a trackable coupon code via email or text or link to your menu because all of this would happen off of social media you wouldn't be necessarily selling cannabis on instagram and as long as you use revenue attribution you will be able to monitor which sales are actually a direct result of the influencer campaign which brings me to an important component of your goal as you're developing it think about how you will measure it consider what are a successful campaign actually look like will your followers exceed a certain numbers will you get a certain amount of email or sms signups this could be tough to do with first campaigns because there's no real reference points for success with influencer marketing it's still a new beast and we've uh learning a lot more about it all the time that doesn't mean that you shouldn't make projections though those numbers will give you something to aim for and give you something to negotiate with when it comes to time to talk those potential influencers for your brand this can be readjusted as you get more information as well do keep this in the back of your mind because the amount you will want to invest in the influencer marketing should be tied to what it can actually achieve for you if it seems that you aren't going to get a return on your investment that you would actually like it may be wise to seek out other forms of digital marketing with guaranteed returns that's something that we can certainly help you with and you can always schedule a call with us once again at foot traffic dot me forward slash call to talk more about those other options okay you know your goals now it's time to find influencers now i've primarily focused on instagram so far and we'll continue to do so but i want you to be clear that there are influencers on other platforms that you can work with you can hire podcast influencers or youtube influencers or even facebook influencers basically you're going to want to research for for each one of those platforms and where they are you can start by searching industry related words or hashtags on your chosen platform to see who shows up consistently and has the sizable following a good relationship with their followers and the respect of their aligned community there are influencer research engines out there that you can use as well as locate ideal candidates as well as agencies that represent influencers once you know what you want to accomplish you can actually use that as a filter for sorting through influencers for example if you want to increase your local followers then an influencer in your area will be key otherwise you may be getting followers but they may not actually be able to shop at your dispensary hey followers are great but customers are much much better right you'll also want to find someone who's followers are your target audience they should be able to easily relate to your audience if you only have a certain amount of budget then you may need to steer clear of celebrity influencers in that case a good place to look for influencers is within your own followers who is already passionate about your brand can be a great online spokesperson for it at this point don't forget to follow any potential candidates that way you can actually see what they're up to as you continue to put a plan together so you know who's out there and your goal now it's time to dig a little deeper on strategy for example do you want to hire one influencer the proverbial putting your eggs in one basket or do you want to hire several small influencers how much of your marketing budget are you willing to invest in this practice also consider the types of posts you want to partner on you've seen what the influencers in your areas are doing did any of them actually create different campaigns that appeal to you do they give you insight into how you want to approach your influencer campaign for example are you looking for one post or a series do you want to have the influencer visit your dispensary or host an event think outside a box here you don't just have to have them post a selfie inside of your dispensary or with your products you can interview them for your social accounts you can have them interview you or one of your bud tenders if they're known in the industry maybe you want them to sample some of your products and share their thoughts while mentioning where they got such a great bud as your strategy begins to emerge you will want to take another look at your list of potential influencers are there certain influencers whose style may work best with your strategy this should help you narrow down on your list great so you have a few influencers in mind it's time to reach out to them right well not quite before reaching out to them it's time to take an even closer look you should probably create a spreadsheet now if you haven't already done so and include the influencer's name a link to their profiles and you can then populate the other columns with the following information how many followers do they have and who are those followers click on their profiles and make sure that any influencer you're considering has real followers who are likely to be part of your target audience how many other followers interact with the influencer take a look at the comments on any potential influencers post are people leaving genuine comments and interacting with the influencer does he or she actually answer the followers comments you want to see the same level of interaction after all this is what social media is supposed to be about you can create a scale here to actually help you compare across influencers something as simple as low medium or high interaction rate as you're checking over potential hire accounts see what kind of content she or he or she generates are they mostly still images a mix of videos or stills carousels reels stories check their communication style is it in line with your brand voice how often are they posting we know that instagram's algorithm favors people who post consistently if you are looking at influencers who are only posting occasionally you may want to scratch them off your list are they following the platform's regulations for sponsored content you don't want to work with someone that is going to get your brand in trouble make sure anyone you're considering working with is following the rules sponsored for sponsored posts otherwise you will risk losing the trust of the people who you are actually trying to reach now jump off instagram or whatever platform you're planning on using and hit google search potential influencers names to see what kind of press they have been actually getting and what types of activities they may be associated with remember this person is going to be tied to your brand you want to make sure that the association is a positive one for you not a hindrance there are influencers who have gotten themselves into trouble for not being culturally sensitive or for doing some really tone-deaf things out there these are not the types of influencers you want to be associated with so don't skip this step now it's finally time to reach out you've been able to get a general idea of the potential partners styles and their accounts but it's time to get some more data write up a short message with who you are what you're hoping to achieve and how you think the influencer may be able to help you you should also ask to see their portfolio so you can better understand how they've worked with other brands in the past and the types of metrics they actually provided those brands most influencers have information in their profile regarding how to actually be contacted for opportunities for some you may need to contact a manager or an agency others may be actually contacted directly send your message out and await a response there's no guarantee that your first choice will be available or even contact you back make sure to reach out a few different potential partners so that you can continue to have options and work so you can work with multiple you have plenty of opportunities to further narrow down your list as you begin to engage with these potential partners before moving to the next step take a step back and think about how your potential influencers had treated you so far were they really responsive to your request did they provide you with the information you asked for were they thorough and knowledgeable do they show excitement about a potential partnership it's really important that they're interested in providing you with quality content that is brand appropriate for both of you the media that results from your partnership is going to be on their account and it's going to be tied to your brand through hashtags and tags if they aren't that into you it may be better to find a different influencer after all part of influencer marketing is about building trust and brand awareness if your chosen influencer doesn't care about your brand then that's going to be really hard to do so they may not actually give their best content and you will end up paying for substandard work let's talk about what you need to do in order to negotiate with an influencer there should all be included in your contract so that everything is very clear and there's no confusion first up what kind of media will the influencer be responsible for creating is there anything you want included like a particular cta or branding element are there tags or hashtags you want them to use do you want to be able to review posts before they go live if you want to make sure everything is on brand this is probably a good idea and not a step you want to skip you can give your chosen influencer some creative license while still providing guidelines to ensure you are protecting your brand you also want to make sure that you have access to the stats relating to your post be clear on which stats you want like impressions comments shares etc as well as when you want them if you are embarking on a multi-post campaign you may want to indicate that you want regular reposts this will help you change things up as necessary if you find that something isn't working of course there's the issue of payment to hammer out you will need to decide whether you would be paying an influence based on the posts or media they created or on the views followers or conversions you receive depending on the influencers you're working with this may not be negotiable they may have a set of ways of doing business already so just check in to see you and make sure that you understand exactly what you're paying for and what you will be receiving in return if you do want to have payment based on things like views ensure that those views directly tie in with your goal if you're working with a cannabis influencer you may want to negotiate for a period of exclusivity so that they don't re represent another dispensary brand for a given period amount of time after your campaign now if the influencer you chose to work with it has experience they may have a standard contract that they would like to use you may still want to have your legal team give it a look at least once over to make sure everything is successful acceptable and up just enough alternatively you can prepare your own contract that has already been vetted out by your legal team in terms of costs that's going to be very different because this is relatively a new field and there's no real organization that covers everything if you're working with someone that has perhaps 10 to 100 000 followers then a sponsored post may cost you up to one thousand to ten thousand dollars as i mentioned during the contract phase you'll want to secure the rights to any data that pertains to your sponsored content your influencers should provide you with these numbers at specified intervals so you can assess the effectiveness of your campaign if the goal of your campaign includes off platform actions like sms opt-ins or coupon use then you will also want system in place to monitor those so for sms for example you will want to use a unique opt-in code that allows you to track how many new people are actually opting in compare these metrics with your goals did you actually get the new followers you're hoping for an increase in engagement on your own post increase transactions on the day of the post most likely you won't be able to run a traditional roi analysis to tie sales to your campaign you will need to focus on the other measurable aspects of your goal or set new goals before the campaigns are started did you hit those numbers was there anything you could have done to improve upon them if you opted to run multiple campaigns and spread your budget around you may be wondering whether you should run simultaneous campaigns ultimately this is entirely up to you however it may be a good idea to run one campaign first so that you can see the type of response you get and go through a whole process then you can use what you've learned to make subsequent campaigns even better otherwise you may find that there was something that was overlooked and it has affected all of your future campaigns that said after measuring the effectiveness effectiveness of your campaign if you are interested in doing more influencer marketing then you will want to do a post motor mortem on your campaign to identify what could have been improved upon you've already done a lot of the let work and hopefully you'll be able to use some of the information you've gathered for future campaigns plus with the added knowledge you've gained from running one campaign you can streamline your due diligence process for easier pinpointing of the types of influencers you may want to work with the best kind of content for your brand and the right types of goals and strategies that are most effective for the platform you're using your budget as well as your dispensary so before jumping into our q a i want you to do a quick countdown of the five of the top tips so that they're fresh in your mind after the webinar first tip was set a clear measurable goal for your campaign and keep it in mind throughout the process two invest in researching potential influences don't skip due diligence you don't want to partner with a influencer that may hurt your brand three ensure that the influencer you work with is also excited to work with you and is able to give you metrics so you need to track the effectiveness of your campaign four double and triple check that everything you want is covered in the contract and that is very clear for both parties make sure to include any language regarding regulations that they need to follow to keep your brand out of hot water and number five do a recap of your campaign to see whether he helped you reach your goals and what can be improved upon for your next campaigns perfect so we've covered all of this content let's open up for some questions now from our audience great first question here um if i only have two thousand dollars a month to invest in marketing should i hire an influencer or do something else we get this question all the time the return on investment from influencer marketing is really hard to determine as we discussed in this webinar if you only have a couple thousand dollars to invest in marketing then i think perhaps it is better to focus on channels that will provide you measurable results and here at foot traffic we run campaigns for as little as one thousand dollars a month for a one store dispensary and we can help drive tens of thousands of dollars in sales from that now that's actually going to be more valuable than you know perhaps doing followers on social media and in the end of the day perhaps even focusing on a local seo campaign even if a small budget could really be important for you longer term uh to actually reach the local audience that makes more sense for your dispensary and it could actually make you appear for simple searches on like google for say for somebody who's searching for like dispensaries near me again that's going to lead to actual measurable results which is going to be crucial for a small marketing budget and i'd love to discuss more offline as well if you want to learn more about that you can always reach out to us at foot traffic dot me for slash call and you will get a call schedule with me directly and we can discuss it in more detail great question are there any other questions from our audience today well i want to take a moment to just thank you so much for joining us today and i hope you have a clear understanding of what it takes to launch an influencer campaign and whether it is the right marketing instrument for your brand also for sticking around with us you've qualified for a free yeti tumbler and let's get that shipping information uh from you so let's get it uh a schedule uh call here going so we can get the the address on file and send that out uh simply uh navigate to foot traffic dot me first call and we'll get you squared away thank you so much for your time once again have a great ]