In our Definitive Guide to Influencer Marketing, we explain that firms can take one of three main paths when they engage in influencer marketing:
They can carry out the whole campaign organically – doing all of the work, including influencer selection and management, themselves They can carry out most of the campaign themselves but use a platform, predominantly for influencer selection, although some do include influencer management and analytics capabilities. They can use an influencer marketing agency, to help them through most of the influencer marketing process.
In simple terms, organic influencer selection is (usually) the cheapest type of influencer marketing, although there may be hidden costs, certainly if you are inexperienced with influencer marketing. It will undoubtedly be the most time-consuming method, however, and there is always an opportunity cost for time used in any business. One problem with organic influencer selection is that there is no guarantee that influencers will want to work with you. You could put a great deal of time and effort into cultivating a relationship, only to find the influencer snubs and ignores you. Using a platform costs more than doing everything manually, but it often makes life easier, because you will find it more clear-cut to find suitable influencers. As with organic influencer marketing, there is no guarantee that the influencers you discover on a platform have any interest in collaborating with you. This is particularly so for platforms which use an algorithm to find influencers, as many of these people have never expressed any explicit desire to participate in influencer marketing. Another problem that some brands face is where they employ different types of agencies for their marketing, for example, they may use separate creative, digital, PR, and media buying agencies. This can become a problem with influencer marketing if more than one of these agencies chooses to with influencers on your behalf. They may even compete with each other to attract the attention of the best influencers. So, what are the main benefits of using an influencer marketing agency?
5 Benefits of Using an Influencer Marketing Agency:
1. Saves Time and Money Searching for Influencers
Influencer marketing can take up a considerable amount of time for an unwary business. This is particularly so for firms who try the organic approach and have to woo influencers and encourage them to collaborate. If a business wants to take a hands-on role with content creation, this can eat up further company resources, considerably so if a firm lacks dedicated copywriters, photographers, designers, and other specialists. When a business uses an influencer marketing agency, it can lead to a considerable reduction in the workload of your in-house marketing team. The agency also takes over the communication with influencers - that can save a considerable amount of time. Some firms use so much staff time in building relationships using an organic approach, that the real cost is more than what they would have paid an agency. This is particularly so when influencers choose not to work with the brand, effectively wasting or that relationship building effort.
2. You Work With Influencer Marketing Experts
To many businesses, influencer marketing is something new. Even if they have used it in the past, it most likely only makes up a small part of a busy manager’s workday. They may have little real idea about how to find suitable influencers and how to build and operate relationships with influencers. Influencer marketing agencies, however, are specialists in this field. They spend their entire day doing activities relating to it. Most people in influencer marketing agencies are experienced and understand how influencer marketing works. Some may even be influencers themselves. They know what makes influencer marketing successful in most niches, more so than most people in the sector itself do. They know the latest trends in influencer marketing and understand what makes an effective campaign. Influencer agencies know all of the signs of influencer fraud and can easily spot “influencers” who can only claim that title because of fake followers and dodgy behavior. Many have worked multiple campaigns with different types of influencers and have an excellent idea of which influencers have audiences that bet match any particular brand’s target market. Take the time to investigate any influencer marketing agency with which you may be contemplating working. Each will have their specialties, in terms of location, social networks they use, or the kinds of niches they prefer to work in. We have looked at some of the influencer marketing agencies with social network specialties in the following articles:
8 Instagram Influencer Marketing Agencies You Should Know Top 10 Influencer Marketing Agencies for Snapchat 9 of the Leading Musical.ly Focused Influencer Marketing Agencies 11 Leading Twitch Influencer Marketing Agencies You Should Get To Know
We have looked at some of the influencer agencies by location in the following articles:
8 Influencer Marketing Agencies in the UK You Should Know 10 Incredible Influencer Marketing Agencies Down Under 7 Leading Latin American Based Influencer Marketing Agencies 5 Influencer Marketing Agencies Based in South Africa You Should Check Out
Also, we have written one article focusing on agencies in a specific niche – eSports:
8 Leading eSports Agencies for Influencer Marketing Managers to Know
3. Leads to Continuity in Marketing Campaigns
Using a single influencer marketing agency to coordinate your influencer campaigns leads to a more consistent consumer experience. Influencer agencies generally have built up a roster of preferred influencers. They know who is likely to work best with your brand’s audience. Using a specialist influencer agency helps avoid any unnecessary duplication that may occur if your other types of agencies try to cherry pick influencers for different parts of your campaigns. You avoid competing with yourself for a quality influencer.
4. Built Around Personal Relationships
While many agencies do use technology to help them find influencers and develop their campaigns, they are generally less impersonal that influencer platforms. For the influencer agencies to succeed, they have to know both their client requirements and their influencer capabilities. Most agencies take a relatively hands-on approach, where they build up personal relationships with everybody involved in the campaigns. Sometimes they create content, as well, and this brings a need for designers and copywriters to produce precisely the right material for the situation. One of the benefits of building up a long-term relationship with an influencer marketing agency is that it becomes easier for the agency to work with influencers to present your brand story. Your influencer agency will develop a deep understanding of your brand goals and the messages you want the influencers to deliver. Influencer agencies build sound relationships with quality influencers. They have a strong understanding of them, and can fully comprehend how these people gained the status of “influencer.” This means that most agencies should be able to match a business and its products with suitable influencers, based on factors such as niche, experience, style, and whether influencers will fit in with your company culture.
5. Can Result in High-Quality Evergreen Content
As with any marketing agencies, influencer marketing agencies include talented creatives. They can help influencers create eye-catching content, often at a higher standard than most businesses can produce internally. The image brands portray in their marketing reflects on everybody involved, and this includes the agency. So clearly, an agency wants its creatives to produce the most eye-catching graphics, compelling text, and attention-grabbing video content possible. Influencer agencies will already know the types of content that particular influencers produce. They will know which influencers need more agency creative input, and which influencers perform best when left to their own creations. Much of the high-quality brand content that influencer agencies and the influencers themselves create for your campaign will be able to be repurposed for marketing purposes in the future, making it true evergreen content.
