Influencer-led campaigns are quickly becoming one of the most coveted forms of marketing for brands says Pooja Sookur, Digital Account Manager at Integrated Marketing Agency whynot!.

But when it comes to building credibility, a strong marketing agency search and selection process will help clients secure the right team for the job.

Reaching consumers during the decision making process rather than after it is what makes this kind of marketing really valuable. Not just to drive sales but also to build strong and lasting brand awareness.

Brian Solis, in his book “What’s The Future Of Business?” introduces the ZMOT concept in relation to technology. ‘Zero Moment Of Truth’ he says it “is that moment when you grab your laptop, mobile phone, or some other wired device and start learning about a product or service (or potential boyfriend) you’re thinking about trying or buying.” With a goal to get a head start at this point of the purchase cycle, many brands choose to pre-build credibility by asking people from the community to test, review and recommend products to their peers. Not surprising, since 70% consumers trust brand recommendations from family and friends, whereas only 10% trust advertising.

Who are the influencers?

Influencers are difficult people to define. A limited definition; they are people who have a measurable impact on the online communities they are a part of. Because of a steady output of reliable information from their end, people in the community trust them. The level of influence however, is more important. Do they influence people to just ‘follow’ the brand? Or do they actually influence people to take action? Make a purchase? Speak up and amplify the campaign’s impact?

For the purpose of this piece, let’s assume they are the latter and have the ability to generate an action out of someone else. For anyone who has reached this point of impact, it is a position they will not want to sully or damage. With that in mind, the parameters for brands shift from finding the right message to communicate, to finding the right people to communicate it and more importantly, the right marketing agency to convince them to come on board. Following that is the challenge of building a rewarding relationship with influencers without rewards. Using reward systems (coupons, freebies) the possibility of skewed results cannot be ignored. An organic exchange of product for feedback is the ideal situation. And to get to a point where you can expect that from influencers, you will have to find a marketing agency who has been cultivating these relationships already.

Do they have a little black book?

Without a strong list of contacts to start with, getting the crème de la crème will be close to impossible. A good place to start is to see what kind of relationships they build with you. Because that will reflect what kind of a relationship they will have with influencers and how likely they are to convince them to participate in the campaign.

Do they wow?

The starting point of many influencer marketing campaigns will be a powerful interaction with the influencers. In fact, it should be. This is the part that determines what will be said about your product online. Is the marketing agency good at creating engaging experiences? Are they as good offline as they are online? If influencers don’t experience the product in an ideal setting, especially one that the marketing agency can have control over, they won’t communicate it in the best light to their communities.

What do they do when it all goes wrong?

There is always an element that you can’t anticipate with influencer marketing. Because you can’t (and don’t want to) dictate what influencers say, there will always be unexpected feedback, negative comments and criticism. The marketing agency will have to deal with these situations tactfully and swiftly if they want to curb any negative wildfires.

Are they creative?

Not just in a traditional sense. That is of course an absolute prerequisite. But also to combat unique issues that come with influencer marketing. For instance, every influencer will have different expectations from the brand in order to participate. Will the marketing agency be able to manage these expectations? Measuring success can also be a tricky thing with these campaigns because monetary investments aren’t always black and white. The marketing agency should be unconventional, creative and think out-of-the-box to be successful.

Do they care?

Lastly and most importantly, do they genuinely care about the brand? Is their goal to add value to the brand? Do their methods align with the brand’s ethics? Do they inspire trust? Are the looking at creating a factory process to bring influencers on board or are they building meaningful relationships with each of them?