Leggett: How do you deal with problems that come on the fly? Is there always a contingency plan?
Delgado: For the Western Union® ‘s #LiveMoreShareMore, a global mobile-first campaign with influencers from 20+ countries and a 16.6% engagement rate, we had a 24-pages deck with all possible questions and scenarios that might arise once the campaign starts. The Client, influencers and agency had access to it, 24/7, as part of our social influencer management, so everyone would be on the same page at all times.
The best way to deal with an unexpected problem, during a campaign, is to keep all teams informed about what happened and when (a broken link, a negative comment left under a post, a video taking too long to load, etc.) so it can be used to avoid the same problem happening again in the future.
The good thing about working with digital influencers is that they are fast to adapt/amend the content in real-time. No other media format is flexible in the 21st century.
Leggett: What advice would you give to a company thinking about introducing an influencer campaign into their marketing mix?
Delgado: Start today. Influencer marketing isn’t a seasonal tool to make use of, time to time, on Facebook or Instagram, just because other brands are doing it at certain times of the year. It is a valuable ongoing marketing tool that can be shaped around a campaign, any day, regardless of a region or budget.
Having a variety of minds on board of your campaign, and helping a brand with content creation and reach, will undoubtedly help to make a message much more appealing – it adds the human side that a traditional ad lacks, and you are tapping into social graphs avid for content.
Even if you start small, to test the waters of influencer marketing, start today.