By: Sara Urquhart; Photos by Brooke Dennis and Justin Hackworth for Alt Summit
Working with social media influencers can be a powerful way for brands to meet their goals, but only if brands first communicate those goals to the blogger they’re working with.
If your company has stated goals for the year, or larger goals that work into a five-year plan, share those that relate to your realm of responsibility with the bloggers you’re working with. Be clear about those goals, and the specific ideas you might have about how to achieve them—through Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, or consumer engagement. These measurements will help you and the social media influencer you’re working with assess success.
It might be tempting to state “increased sales” as your goal, but that’s beyond broad to the point of being ineffective. Virtually every marketing effort is designed to increase sales. Break down the ways in which that sales goal can be accomplished, and shape your goals and purpose from there.
While specific goals are valuable, generic goals may also work. A specific goal would be to increase Facebook likes or Twitter followers, and a generic goal could be something as vague as “exposure” or “chatter” on social channels. This sort of broad goal can be accomplished in many different ways that utilize the flexibility and creativity of the blogger with whom you’re working, and can still result in positive outcomes for your brand.
When I’m working with a brand representative and we’ve established clear goals, I always ask, “What does this need to look like for you to feel successful at the end of the day?” Because even if she’s been clear about her goals, I’ve found that she almost always has some specific idea in mind that would make it an undeniable win. Once I know what that is, it becomes my focus. I’ll do everything I can to help her accomplish this ideal of success.
