Part 4 in our 2018 Influencer Marketing Strategy & Planning Playbook series.
Few things crush influencer marketing campaign dreams faster than internal politics, mismatched expectations and (unwelcome) surprises around cost or other resources. Whether you’re brand ‘side’ or ‘agency side’, clarity around roles, responsibilities, and resources from the beginning of any new campaign or program is critical to success.
Influencer marketing is no exception. Not only must you be aligned internally (depending on who owns your influencer marketing strategy within your organization), including but not limited to: brand strategy & planning, digital, social media, PR but usually at least another of the following teams: mobile, e-commerce, IT, or loyalty (incentives/points). That’s not even considering agency or technology partners – as well as the influencers themselves.
So it’s no wonder why leading consumer brands like Mattel and Coca-Cola are investing in cross-departmental influencer marketing centers of excellence. While recommended, internal alignment and effective resource planning for your influencer marketing strategy doesn’t have to be this huge initiative to start. In fact, taking a few moments before, during or even post-campaign to determine and document roles, responsibilities and resources can save you hours and wasted budget spent on idea validation, chasing down approvals, and forecasting, among other #things.
And as we explained in our 2018 Influencer Marketing & Relations Trends Report, influencers, by definition, have such rich knowledge, that not including them at the point of research, ideation, strategy and planning, is a significant missed opportunity. As brands and modern business leaders alike struggle for resources, as well as to remain influential and trustworthy themselves, not inviting the influencers who are influencing your target audiences into the campaign planning process will result in lost insights and feedback that can make your campaign extraordinary.
Do you have everything you need in place and in play for influencer marketing success? Stop what you’re doing, shut down all your other tabs and complete our Influencer Marketing Internal Alignment and Resource Planning Checklist below (also available for download here).
Influencer Marketing Internal Alignment & Resource Planning Checklist:
Using your influencer-augmented customer journey map and any current or existing influencer marketing campaign briefs, complete the following:
Influencer Marketing Program Name: _____________________________________
Influencer Marketing Program Goal(s): ____________________________________
Influencer Marketing Campaign Dates: ________________________________________
- Flight 1:________________________________
- Flight 2:________________________________
Internal Campaign Manager(s): _______________________________
Mavrck Customer Success Manager: ___________________________
Influencer Marketing Program Budget: __________________________________
Campaign Budget for Influencer Relations and Incentives Estimate : ___________________
Influencer Marketing Campaign Team:
○ Project Coordinator:__________________
○ CX Design / Customer Journey Lead: _____________________
○ Influencer Marketing Lead: _____________________
The CX Lead and Influencer Marketing Lead will be responsible for thinking about ways to engage influencers during research, research & idea validation, creation, or co-creation, of ideas & content, distribution of content, and measurement.
Are you only working with influencers that you have worked with in the past? Yes | No
○ If Yes (no new influencers): Skip to the Activation Resource Requirements
○ If No: Go to the Identification Resource Requirements
Influencer Identification Resource Requirements:
Add Names of Employees, Agency and/or Technology Partners that will help with:
○ Influencer Identification: _____________________
○ Influencer Validation: _______________________
○ Influencer Vetting: _________________________
○ Influencer Relationship Management: _______________
Influencer Activation Resource Requirements:
Add Names of Employees, Agency and/or Technology Partners that will help with:
○ Example: Campaign Research _Mavrck to survey influencers__
■ Influencer Incentives: ____ $100 gift card _____
■ Advocate, Loyalist Rewards: ___________________
○ Campaign Big Idea Generation: ____________________
■ Influencer Incentives: ______________________________
○ Campaign Big Idea Validation: ________________
■ Influencer Incentives: _________________________
■ Advocate, Loyalist Incentives: ____________________
○ Content Creation: ________________
■ Influencer Incentives: ______________________________
○ Content Amplification: ________________
■ Influencer Incentives: ______________________________
■ Advocate, Referrer, Loyalty Incentives: ___________________
○ Content Submission (i.e. product reviews): ____________________
■ Influencer Incentives: ______________________________
■ Advocate, Referrer, Loyalty Incentives: ___________________
○ Content Approvals: ___________________
○ Cross-Pollination: ______________
■ Influencer Incentives: ______________________________
○ Measurement: _______________
○ Influencer Management Platform: ___________________
○ CRM: ______________
○ Ongoing Relationship Management: _____________
■ Influencer Incentives: _______________________________
■ Advocate, Referrer, Loyalty Incentives: ____________________
Influencer Marketing Program Roadmap – Deliverables & Milestones:
Use your influencer-augmented journey map and integrated campaign brief to note the influencer-related check-ins and deliverable milestones alongside other key campaign milestones.
■ Example: Identification: ___A list of 10 influencers due March 3_____
■ (If necessary) Validation & Vetting: ________________
■ (If necessary) Relationship Building : ________________
■ Campaign Research ____________________
■ Campaign Big Idea Generation: ____________
■ Campaign Big Idea Validation: ____________
■ Content Creation: ________________
■ Content Approvals: ___________________
■ Legal Approvals: _________________
■ Incentive Fulfillment: ___________________
■ Amplification & Cross-Pollination: _________________
■ Measurement: ____________________
■ CRM: ________________________
■ Other: ________________________