Your Go-To Guide For Working With Power Influencers

Everything you need to know about working with power influencers

Power influencers, also known as top-tier influencers, are often more complicated to partner with because they are in high demand, they have large commercial deals that might be conflicting and working with them involves management teams and lots of stakeholders. Not to mention, they are significantly more expensive than micro influencers and macro influencers. In saying that, working with power influencers does drive results,

particularly if reach and general awareness are the core of your influencer marketing strategy and goal.

A power influencer might be a social media star, a reality TV personality, a celebrity, a sportsman, an actor or actress, a model, an international photographer or an everyday citizen who has risen to digital fame. Essentially, a power influencer is anyone with 300,000 followers or more and is someone who consumers, particularly those within a targeted demographic, look up to and admire.

As a result of their celebrity status, you need to work with power influencers in the right way to ensure success, otherwise you may experience headache after headache and will watch your investment go down the drain. So, how do you work with power influencers? Here is your go-to guide…

Clear communication and organization

Power influencers are in high demand and have very busy schedules when it comes to work and their different priorities. So, you need to put in more effort, be more diligent, and ensure your communication is clear and concise from the get go. Know what you want to achieve from the collaboration and pitch ideas on how you might work together to make it really easy for the influencer to jump on board.

Talent managers will likely be your primary point of contact as they usually manage the commercial projects of power influencer, so it is unlikely to speak directly with the influencer in the initial stages. Approach talent managers just as you would an influencer - always in a professional tone and with all of the information they need to get back to you in a timely manner.

In addition to clear communication, you should also have all of your ducks in a row before reaching out to a power influencer. This will make it easier for everyone involved. Always have a draft brief and agreement in place and drafts ready to go to so the influencer and their management team can review in order to make a decision on moving forward. When you’re in the final stages of locking everything in, make sure the brief and agreement is finalized and signed by all parties (this is to protect everyone involved). In this stage you also need to understand exactly what you will get from the influencer, and how and where the content can be used outside of the campaign (for example, can you share on Instagram in 3 months time and can you use it commercially on your website?).

Having clear communication and being organized will ultimately make the process of working with a power influencer easier and more straightforward for everyone involved.

Expectations

It is critical to set expectations for everyone involved to ensure your campaign stays on track. Map out what each member is responsible for, what you expect from the partnership and what they can expect in return. Make this part of your formal briefing process to ensure everything is raised and confirmed up front so there are no problems down the track.

Keep in mind that power influencers are typically leveraged for brand awareness and reach rather than driving sales - so make sure the expectations of what you want to achieve are realistic. Sure, power influencers can drive sales, however, because of the high investment and nature of power influencers, the ROI might not be as clear as working with micro influencers, for example. In saying that, if you want to become a household name and generate hype and awareness, this is the strategy for you.

Set expectations with the influencer and their management, and also your internal team to ensure that everyone knows what to expect from the collaboration for a execution point of view, and also reporting.

Flexibility

It’s also important to be open and flexible during the planning stage, and keep in mind that you are probably not the only brand, and the only project, that the influencer is working on. When you are setting expectations and due dates, be flexible and work in with the influencer’s schedule to give them enough time to create and publish content. If you’ve proposed one due date and they have a prior commitment, give them additional options and be flexible where you can - it will go a long way in building a positive working relationship between the influencer, their team and your brand.

Budget

Before reaching out to a power influencer,think about your budget and ensure it is definitely something you can afford. Power influencers are expensive because they reach a large audience and have a well-known personal brand, and they also typically work with teams to produce content - from photographers and videographers to hair and makeup artists and stylists. So, you can see why they can be quite expensive to work with.

Be upfront with yourself and the influencer about your budget. If it’s not the right time, wait until it is. If the quote is over the budget you had in mind, negotiate and change the deliverables, or reconsider. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, especially when testing a power influencer strategy for the first time.

Creative Freedom

All influencers are professional content creators, so brands need to trust them and give them creative freedom to create engaging content that their audience loves. Influencers know what their audience responds best to, so make sure influencers have the freedom to create content that is on brand for them, and aligns with their usual content aesthetic.

We still absolutely recommend that you[ brief influencers](Everything you need to know about working with power influencers

Power influencers, also known as top-tier influencers, are often more complicated to partner with because they are in high demand, they have large commercial deals that might be conflicting and working with them involves management teams and lots of stakeholders. Not to mention, they are significantly more expensive than micro influencers and macro influencers. In saying that, working with power influencers does drive results, particularly if reach and general awareness are the core of your influencer marketing strategy and goal.

A power influencer might be a social media star, a reality TV personality, a celebrity, a sportsman, an actor or actress, a model, an international photographer or an everyday citizen who has risen to digital fame. Essentially, a power influencer is anyone with 300,000 followers or more and is someone who consumers, particularly those within a targeted demographic, look up to and admire.

As a result of their celebrity status, you need to work with power influencers in the right way to ensure success, otherwise you may experience headache after headache and will watch your investment go down the drain. So, how do you work with power influencers? Here is your go-to guide…

Clear communication and organization

Power influencers are in high demand and have very busy schedules when it comes to work and their different priorities. So, you need to put in more effort, be more diligent, and ensure your communication is clear and concise from the get go. Know what you want to achieve from the collaboration and pitch ideas on how you might work together to make it really easy for the influencer to jump on board.

Talent managers will likely be your primary point of contact as they usually manage the commercial projects of power influencer, so it is unlikely to speak directly with the influencer in the initial stages. Approach talent managers just as you would an influencer - always in a professional tone and with all of the information they need to get back to you in a timely manner.

In addition to clear communication, you should also have all of your ducks in a row before reaching out to a power influencer. This will make it easier for everyone involved. Always have a draft brief and agreement in place and drafts ready to go to so the influencer and their management team can review in order to make a decision on moving forward. When you’re in the final stages of locking everything in, make sure the brief and agreement is finalized and signed by all parties (this is to protect everyone involved). In this stage you also need to understand exactly what you will get from the influencer, and how and where the content can be used outside of the campaign (for example, can you share on Instagram in 3 months time and can you use it commercially on your website?).

Having clear communication and being organized will ultimately make the process of working with a power influencer easier and more straightforward for everyone involved.

Expectations

It is critical to set expectations for everyone involved to ensure your campaign stays on track. Map out what each member is responsible for, what you expect from the partnership and what they can expect in return. Make this part of your formal briefing process to ensure everything is raised and confirmed up front so there are no problems down the track.

Keep in mind that power influencers are typically leveraged for brand awareness and reach rather than driving sales - so make sure the expectations of what you want to achieve are realistic. Sure, power influencers can drive sales, however, because of the high investment and nature of power influencers, the ROI might not be as clear as working with micro influencers, for example. In saying that, if you want to become a household name and generate hype and awareness, this is the strategy for you.

Set expectations with the influencer and their management, and also your internal team to ensure that everyone knows what to expect from the collaboration for a execution point of view, and also reporting.

Flexibility

It’s also important to be open and flexible during the planning stage, and keep in mind that you are probably not the only brand, and the only project, that the influencer is working on. When you are setting expectations and due dates, be flexible and work in with the influencer’s schedule to give them enough time to create and publish content. If you’ve proposed one due date and they have a prior commitment, give them additional options and be flexible where you can - it will go a long way in building a positive working relationship between the influencer, their team and your brand.

Budget

Before reaching out to a power influencer,think about your budget and ensure it is definitely something you can afford. Power influencers are expensive because they reach a large audience and have a well-known personal brand, and they also typically work with teams to produce content - from photographers and videographers to hair and makeup artists and stylists. So, you can see why they can be quite expensive to work with.

Be upfront with yourself and the influencer about your budget. If it’s not the right time, wait until it is. If the quote is over the budget you had in mind, negotiate and change the deliverables, or reconsider. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, especially when testing a power influencer strategy for the first time.

Creative Freedom

All influencers are professional content creators, so brands need to trust them and give them creative freedom to create engaging content that their audience loves. Influencers know what their audience responds best to, so make sure influencers have the freedom to create content that is on brand for them, and aligns with their usual content aesthetic.

We still absolutely recommend that you brief influencers and ensure their content aligns with your brand, but if you restrict the influencer’s creativity too much, it can impact your campaign in a negative way. If the audience feels like the content is not authentic, and does not align with the influencers usual content style, then they are unlikely to engage with it.

Thing about the bigger picture

Power influencers are a little bit different in terms of micro and macro influencers because they tend to engage in long-term partnerships and ongoing campaigns rather than a one-off Instagram post. If you’re only after a single Instagram post, power influencers might not be the right fit. However, if you have the budget to build a long term relationship and work with the influencer for a period of time and as the face of your brand, then this is a great strategy and you’ll find power influencers are more interested in this kind of collaboration.

Think about whether you can work with the influencer in a creative way - can they co-design a product or a collection? Could they be a public ambassador for your campaign? Can they host an event on behalf of your brand? Power influencers receive opportunities every day, so the more creative your proposal is, the more likely they are to accept your offer and chat further.

Make sure it is the right influencer

If you have the budget to include a power influencer in your influencer marketing strategy, then make sure it is the right influencer. Look at all of the influencer’s datapoint and metrics as a whole, including their engagement rate, average engagements on content, their content aesthetic, follower growth and audience analysis to ensure that you are working with a credible, authentic influencer who actually reaches your target audience. As influencer fraud is a hot topic right now, it’s important to ensure that the influencers you work with have a legitimate following of real people who are within your target audience. You can use the Scrunch audience analysis to understand more about the followers of Instagram influencers including their location, gender, age range and interests.

So, if you want to start working with power influencers or want to hone your strategy to get the best results, put these tips into practice. If you want to take your campaign to the next level, you can start scrunching here./blog/nail-your-campaign-brief.html) and ensure their content aligns with your brand, but if you restrict the influencer’s creativity too much, it can impact your campaign in a negative way. If the audience feels like the content is not authentic, and does not align with the influencers usual content style, then they are unlikely to engage with it.

Thing about the bigger picture

Power influencers are a little bit different in terms of micro and macro influencers because they tend to engage in long-term partnerships and ongoing campaigns rather than a one-off Instagram post. If you’re only after a single Instagram post, power influencers might not be the right fit. However, if you have the budget to build a long term relationship and work with the influencer for a period of time and as the face of your brand, then this is a great strategy and you’ll find power influencers are more interested in this kind of collaboration.

Think about whether you can work with the influencer in a creative way - can they co-design a product or a collection? Could they be a public ambassador for your campaign? Can they host an event on behalf of your brand? Power influencers receive opportunities every day, so the more creative your proposal is, the more likely they are to accept your offer and chat further.

Make sure it is the right influencer

If you have the budget to include a power influencer in your influencer marketing strategy, then make sure it is the right influencer. Look at all of the influencer’s datapoint and metrics as a whole, including their engagement rate, average engagements on content, their content aesthetic, follower growth and audience analysis to ensure that you are working with a credible, authentic influencer who actually reaches your target audience. As influencer fraud is a hot topic right now, it’s important to ensure that the influencers you work with have a legitimate following of real people who are within your target audience. You can use the Scrunch audience analysis to understand more about the followers of Instagram influencers including their location, gender, age range and interests.

So, if you want to start working with power influencers or want to hone your strategy to get the best results, put these tips into practice. If you want to take your campaign to the next level, you can start scrunching here.