An influencer marketing agency will be your trusted partner in cooperation with opinion leaders. Here are 5 tips on how to find the most suitable agency for your brand.

As social media is gaining strength in different industries, influencer marketing is becoming one of the top strategies for various brands. No matter what niche you’re working in and what you’re offering, opinion leaders can significantly influence brand awareness, engagement, and sales performance. Rolling out their influencer campaigns, companies often choose to partner with influencer marketing agencies that are experts in the field.

Influencer sponsorships have been around for nearly two decades now, and there’s a bunch of companies that provide services for this type of marketing. Different types of agencies, both specialized and general, not to mention various marketplaces and software, are forming the landscape of influencer marketing these days.

According to research shared by Statista, the number of influencer agencies and platforms almost doubled from 2018 to 2020.

With such an extensive range of offerings, it’s quite a challenge to find a reliable agency you can trust to execute your influencer campaign.

What are the criteria for a reputable agency? What should marketers pay attention to when looking for a reliable influencer marketing partner?

Here are Cloutboost’s top 5 tips on how to choose an influencer marketing agency.

Top 5 criteria to choose an influencer marketing agency

Industry Sector Expertise

Start with examining the agency’s case studies that are relevant to your brand. For instance, if you operate in the food industry, find out whether the agency you are planning to work with has experience in this field.

The approach to building an influencer marketing strategy for say, sports nutrition and B2B software is totally different. That’s why many agencies focus on a specific niche — lifestyle, travel, software, gaming, etc.

Social Platform Specialization

Focus on a specific social channel is another advantage worth considering. A professional influencer marketing agency will usually mention its specialization at the outset, so you can find out whether its expertise coincides with the needs of your brand. Then it will provide examples of successful projects leveraging those specific platforms.

For example, a gaming influencer agency would specialize in YouTube gamers as well as Twitch and Facebook Gaming streamers. As for the travel influencers, for instance, their platforms of residence traditionally are YouTube and Instagram.

So if your business targets a demographic group with specific interests, the agency should have the expertise in relevant social platforms.  

Geographic Location

Looking to target a specific region? Are you trying to bring an Asian game to the North American market? Choose an agency with local expertise in the target market. A USA-based influencer marketing agency will definitely have more insight into the US market.

From language peculiarities and regulatory compliance specifics to the mindset of your potential buyers, an agency from your target country or region will have the upper hand over foreigners.

Additionally, the key benefit a local agency offers is its established relationships with top influencers from a particular country where your business interest lies.

Does The Agency Offer Real Value?

Another question that should arise when you choose a partner for influencer marketing is the result you want to get. Do you want to build brand awareness? Do you need to increase website traffic and conversion? Or are you seeking to boost your in-store sales?

If the company representative doesn’t ask you about the goal of a campaign, this should definitely set off alarm bells since your influencer marketing strategy should be built specifically to achieve those goals.

Find out about the services the influencer marketing agency provides. Will they handle the negotiation process, documentation, and legal details? What is their measurement strategy? Do they adjust and optimize the campaign along the way?

Signing a contract or two with influencers isn’t even half of the role an experienced agency should cover.

At a minimum, these are the services an experienced influencer agency should provide:

• Developing the campaign strategy and action plan
• Finding the relevant influencers
• Negotiating the most profitable terms of work with each influencer
• Taking care of legal details: preparation and signing the influencer agreements with each creator, dealing with authorship rights, FTC compliance, etc.
• Briefing content creators and handling all communication
• Controlling the fulfillment of all agreements
• Measuring the success of a campaign and providing a detailed report
• Advise you on influencer content repurposing and arrange the content usage rights for your brand.

Every small detail can significantly impact your campaign’s outcomes, so it’s better to partner with an influencer agency that will take care of the entire process.

Creative Approach

No one knows your brand better than you do, and surely you know your customer profile and demographics better than an agency that’s only just getting acquainted with your product. Talk to the agency and see whether they understand the ‘DNA’ and core values of your brand.

Have they grasped the essence? Can they provide a tailored, creative approach that will help you reach your goals? Or does their offer look like a generic one-fits-all plan with random influencers?

Experienced influencer marketing agencies know what questions to ask and what information to gather to be able to craft a campaign plan that will be suitable specifically for your product.

To Wrap It Up

An influencer marketing agency should be able to partner up with a brand’s product team at every step of the way. The selection of influencers, type of content, even the precise wording of messages can have a differential impact on the audience.

A practical tip to finding a perfect influencer agency is to look for recommendations. A recommendation is a great way of getting to know the high performing agencies in your niche. When searching for the best gaming influencer agency, try asking peer marketers for contacts. Influencers you have already worked with can also be a great source of knowledge — you can ask influencers to share a few names of leading agencies in their niche.

There is no one-fits-all solution for various companies or even for separate products of the same brand. Make sure that an influencer marketing agency you’re partnering with has case studies and a solid reputation in the market and among relevant influencers.  

In case you’re interested in targeting gamers or promoting gaming-related products, Cloutboost can help you out. With many years of experience in influencer marketing, we have some compelling success stories to share. Contact us to find out more.