6 Best Practices for Influencer Marketing for Franchises

Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways your franchise business can reach and connect with its target audience

Influencers can help you appeal to new audiences, increase brand awareness, and boost your franchise’s image and reputation.  

Right now, 60% of marketers agree that influencer-generated content performs better and drives more engagement compared to branded posts.  

If you’re looking to boost your franchise business, this digital marketing agency in Miami recommends partnering with the right influencers.  

Influencer marketing is the newest trend in the marketing world and it’s something you want to embrace in your marketing mix. It might just be what you need to gain traction online, skyrocket your sales, and expand your business.  

But where do you find and connect with the right influencers? How do you know if it’s a platform that will work for your franchise?

Why is Influencer Marketing Effective?

Influencer marketing works because people see influencers as experts in their niche. Their recommendations are rooted in their expert knowledge of a certain topic. So, when they show products to their audience or recommend a service, their audience trusts their opinion far more than any other form of advertising.  

Here are some statistics to prove it:

• More than half of customers rely on influencer recommendations when making purchase decisions.  
• According to Digital Marketing Institute, 60% of consumers would consider buying an influencer-promoted product in-store, of which 40% have purchased a product after seeing an influencer use or promote it on social.  

• Research shows that for every $1 brand spends on influencers, they can have an average ROI of $5.78.  
• According to Statista, influencer marketing is on the rise, growing from a value of $6.5 billion in 2019 to $13.8 billion in three years. And, it’s expected to grow even more in the incoming years.  

5 Things to Consider Before Investing in influencer Marketing

• Who is your target audience? Your ideal customers will determine which influencers and social media channels are relevant to your campaigns. For example, mobile games will want to work with influencers using YouTube and Twitch to target younger audiences.

• Which areas do you want to target? Identify which marketing regions you want to pursue so you can determine which influencers will work best for your campaigns.  

• Who is the ideal influencer to work with? To find the best influencer to franchise your business, review hashtags related to your franchise business and search blog posts to find relevant content. Find out popular specialists who cover topics related to your franchise business or influencers who are enthusiasts of your products or services.  

• Will your chosen influencer’s audience resonate well with your brand? You want to determine if your influencer's audience is people who would be interested in what you have to offer.  

• What's your budget? Some influencers ask for flat-fee compensation, while others ask for commission or CPC (cost-per-click) basis.  Depending on your budget and goals, find out what best works for your franchise business.  

3 Ways to Find Social Media Influencers for Franchises

Finding the right social media influencers to promote your franchise business is the first crucial step in successful influencer marketing. If you tap into the wrong influencer, you could send the wrong message and lose customers!  

As the leading digital marketing agency in Miami, we will share with you tips on how to source influencers:

• Create an influencer database and sort them by location, gender, age, and the specific keywords you’re searching for.  
• Use Instagram to search for influencers to work with. You can do this by location or hashtags.  
• Google influencers using the keywords you want to target and search for them to see their work and the content they put out.  

6 Best Practices for Influencer Marketing

Once you have a list of potential influencers you’d like to work with, reach out to them to inquire about their rates, inform them about their role, and provide guidelines. But before that, here are some best practices to keep in mind to help you make the most out of influencer marketing:

1. Micro-influencers Are a Great Option

If your franchise business can't afford to work with celebrities and mega-influencers, micro-influencers are a great option.  

Although micro-influencers only have around 3,000 to 100,000 followers, they have a fan base that is more deeply invested in their niche and have an engagement rate of up to 60% higher compared to celebrities and mega influencers.  

As the leading digital marketing agency in Miami, we know that it’s not always the number of followers an influencer has that matters, you also want to focus on their engagement level. This ensures that when an influencer recommends your franchise business or promotes it on social, you're going to generate results.  

There's also another type of influencer called the "nano-influencer". They have around a few hundred to a couple of thousand followers. If you're looking for someone that has deep roots in a certain community, then they're the best option for you. For example, if your franchise business is selling food items, then offer them a gift card they can use to try your food and post about it on Instagram or YouTube.  

2. Focus on Authenticity

Despite being sponsored, you still want the content to feel authentic.  

People hate sales endorsements. So encourage an influencer to use their genuine voice to tell a story about you and your products or services. This is what’s going to get their audience to listen.  

A study by Econsultancy revealed that 61% of consumers prefer influencers who create authentic, engaging content. Find influencers who will show the value of your offerings by showing how they use it in real life and how others can experience its benefits too.  

3. Work with Multiple Influencers at Once

It takes an average of 8 touches to get a consumer to convert. By working with multiple influencers at once, you can put your franchise business at the top of your target customers’ minds and convince them to give your products a try.  

Hiring multiple influencers for the same campaign will boost your reach and engagement. It's also a great way to show multiple audiences different perspectives of your products and services.  

4. Work with Influencer Who are Experts in Your Franchise’ Niche

Is your franchise business related to beauty and lifestyle? Health and wellness? Whatever niche your business belongs to, make sure you choose influencers who are known for their expertise in this field.

Their authority on the subject will make it easier for people to believe their recommendations. For example, a beauty vlogger is a great choice to promote your aesthetics clinic.  

5. Set Goals for Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Before choosing an influencer to work with, set goals for your influencer marketing campaign first.  

Is your goal to boost brand awareness? Change the way people think about your franchise brand. To increase sales in a new location?  

Determine what your goals are and choose an influencer that will help you achieve them. For example, if you want to gain new customers in a new location, go for a known influencer in that community who hasn't posted or talked about your franchise business before.  

6. Create Guidelines and Inform The Influence on Your Campaign

As a digital marketing agency that has worked with numerous influencers, believe us when we tell you that it’s best to establish your expectations beforehand and communicate this with the influencer. Let them know by creating a document detailing the following information:

• Background information about your franchise brand -- specifically about what you do, what you’re selling, and why you’re selling
• Goals and focus of your influencer marketing campaign
• Key messages that you’d like the influencer to communicate through their captions and visuals

• The content types or deliverables you’d like them to publish and dates of release for each piece of content
• How you will measure the campaign’s success
• Required hashtags, links, discount codes, and calls to action
• A list of things to avoid, such as culturally insensitive comments, working with competitors for a certain period, misspellings, and the like
• Guidelines on logo placement, if necessary

7. Keep Communicating with an Influencer

After you’ve sent them the brief, make sure to keep the lines of communication open. You want the influencer to have a great experience with your brand. Allow them to ask questions and provide feedback.  

Be open to what they have to say and try to come to an agreement that both of you can benefit from.  

8. Measure ROI

You wouldn’t know if a campaign is a success unless you measure the results. Don’t forget to determine the metrics or KPIs you’ll be using to track your influencer ROI.  

Before, measuring influencer ROI was limited to the reach and engagement a post generated. Today, there is influencer marketing software you can use to track ROI easily.  

Different ways to measure ROI include:

• Impressions
• Views
• Reach  

• Engagement
• Conversions
• Sales generated
• Total brand website visits or traffic generated through influencer links.  

Looking for The Best Digital Marketing Agency in Miami?

Take the guesswork out of finding the right influencers for your franchise business and creating effective campaigns that generate results by working with the best digital marketing agency in Miami!  

At Digital Resource, our digital marketing experts and social media specialists will work with you to create a custom strategy that will help you achieve both your marketing and business goals! Contact us today to get started!

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