3 Ways to Create an "Always-On" Influencer Campaign

Developing an “always-on” influencer campaign is important in maintaining influencer relationships and turning influencers from observers of your brand to brand advocates. There are many ways you can develop an “always-on” campaign, but here are three that stand out to me.

Invite influencers to participate in a recurring opportunity. For example, a brand may be planning to make several appearances at trades shows and events throughout the year. Let’s say the brand will be making appearances in 5 major cities. Instead of enlisting a different set of influencers for each city, the brand should consider recruiting one group of influencers that will travel to all of the cities with the brand. Although it may seem more cost effective to recruit locally, the pay off in using one group of influencers will be in their loyalty and affinity to the brand. They will not only feel more appreciated by the brand, but this creates multiple opportunities for the influencer to share the brand with their audience. As a result, their followers will assume that the influencer is a genuine fan of this brand which increases the chances of conversion.

Start an ambassadorship program. Brands can structure their ambassadorship programs as an "always-on" campaign by setting a consistent rotation and schedule for the program. For example, a brand's program can run every three months and ambassadors are expected to execute at least 2 pieces of content per month per the brand's guidelines. A new set of influencers may be selected each cycle, but the deliverables and expectations remain the same. Ambassadorship programs are all about indoctrinating an influencer into the fabric of a brand. These programs are more intentional as they are long term can include some additional benefits to the influencer like mentorship or community connection. Ambassadorship programs can be repeated again and again and become an easy lift for a brand.

Engage with influencers’ content, even when they are not currently in an active campaign. This is essentially an "always-on" activity your team should consistently be participating in. The strategy is not only a great way to see if influencers are working with competitors, but also to keep track of how certain types of content is performing on their platforms. Engaging with influencers will help the brand determine whether they would like to continue working with an influencer and also increases the chances that the influencer will want to continue working with the brand. Building this type of relationship often leads to the influencer organically sharing the brand with their audience, simply because they enjoy being a part of their community. 

“Always-on” campaigns are an effective strategy for brands because they focus on building and maintaining relationships with influencers instead of "one-and-done" partnerships that audiences and even the influencer often forget. To build and maintain brand loyalty, influencer marketing teams should invite influencers to be a part of recurring opportunities, engage with their content outside of campaigns, and start ambassadorship programs that are cyclical.