Brands should think of a TEAM when building out a roster of Social Media Content Creators

On average, consumers spend close to twenty-two minutes a day on Instagram. With that number to increase not only on Instagram but on other forms of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat, it’s imperative for brands to become more digitally savvy. Pertaining to specific campaigns, brands should look at the building of their roster of social media influencers in the same way a sports coach builds to build out a team.

 Determine the right mix of talent

Due to the total lack of ‘barriers to entry’, there are millions of social media influencers in the world. It could be extremely difficult for brands to navigate and determine whom to collaborate with. Social media content creators are people. They possess unique personalities, come from various backgrounds, and have different levels of past experience. Selected influencers should complement each other, possess similar characteristics and target clear demographics. Look at their past work; consider their professionalism, their ability to collaborate, if they provide deliverables on time, etc.

There are three approaches that I advise most companies on taking:

Team of Micro influencers

Best for bootstrapping companies since the average cost per influencer is much lower compared to the market rate. Working with smaller influencers allows a brand to be much more nimble as content creators can be easily transitioned in and out of the campaign. Smaller influencers are also more willing to work and collaborate on the brand’s overall message and will have a much more intimate following compared to larger influencers. This approach would be best for companies that are just starting, work on a smaller budget (i.e.. fashion start-ups) and only use influencers on a campaign basis.

Anchor Influencer flanked by micro influencers

Best for clients working with campaign budgets in the 20k+ range. Flanking a well-known influencer (>1m followers) with the support of smaller influencers (10k-50k followers) will allow brands to maintain the momentum generated short-term (1-2 months) from an initial marketing blitz. Best for large brands that would have a product launch or event and look at influencers on a campaign basis. 

Mix of Talent on an ongoing basis

Think of this as a team of influencers that a brand can tap into on an ongoing long term basis (6 months to 1 year) that would provide content for new product launches, discuss upcoming events or provide general brand awareness. Typically, collaborations would occur 1-3 times a quarter depending on the need of the brand and availability of the influencer. A roster of influencers built like this will enable a brand to create authentic synergy with the influencer and their audience.

So which approach is the best? All three have their pros and cons. A team of micro-influencers gives brands the most flexibility and is usually more cost effective. An anchor influencer surrounded by micro influencers is a great option as it allows brands to maintain the momentum generated by a content creator’s large reach with smaller influencer’s reach into specific pockets of demographics. However, in my opinion, the best case scenario would be for a brand to utilize option three and work with a team of influencers (10+) on an ongoing basis. This will allow a brand to evolve the relationship with the contact creator, create better content, and create a natural following within an influencer’s community of followers.

Words of advice when building out a social media influencer team

No Head Cases

• This is a personal rule of thumb. No matter how talented an influencer is, I highly recommend not working with those that are high maintenance, refuse to openly collaborate, and have unnecessary barriers of communications. When building a team, a talent should never be above the overall marketing goals of the campaign.