October 24, 2018
How to Cultivate Successful Beauty Influencer Partnerships without Breaking the Bank
Earlier this summer, there was a small stir when the CEO of Makeup Geek said that her brand had stopped trying to work with influencers because their fees were so high and she couldn’t afford to pay them. That’s not hyperbole when you consider that some influencers charge tens of thousands of dollars for a single post or review.
Beauty influencers were some of the first ones who started making significant income from brands to post videos, do reviews, tutorials, etc, and the Vox article does make it seem like that bubble is about to burst. Fortunately, other product verticals haven’t been as inflated in this way, so it is still mostly isolated to beauty and fashion bloggers. Additionally, smaller, micro influencers can’t command those same high fees and can still provide solid content. But, it does take two to tango, with the beauty brands/advertisers contributing to the problem by driving up the cost, since they are willing to pay influencers with big audiences the big bucks to get in front of their followers, and in turn these influencers feel that they are justified in driving up the fees for collaborations even further.
However, don’t fret! You can still cultivate strong partnerships with influencers without breaking the bank because there are concrete and proven steps that brands can take to avoid paying the exorbitantly high prices that are asked by some beauty influencers. Our resident influencer expert, Kristine Kirschke, breaks them down below:
Stick to your Budget
Don’t pay high fees to work with large and well-known influencers. Instead, choose to find and work with micro influencers with a smaller following where there is more organic engagement from their readers. There is always another up-and-coming influencer who is looking for a meaningful brand partnership!
Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate
Try and negotiate hybrid arrangements, with a lower flat fee and a higher commission payout on conversions. This ensures you are paying out more only when you see results.
Stay Authentic
Make sure to allow influencers to create content that will resonate with their audience. The content has to be authentic and can’t seem like they are being bought by the brand to publish something
Incentives go a Long Way
Make sure to incentivize the influencer’s audience with a great offer so their followers want to take action once they are on your brand’s site
Think Beyond Sales and Leads
When deciding what to pay an influencer, consider all that they can potentially bring to the table outside of just sales and leads, and what budget you have available for these types of results. They can include:
- Creating original, evergreen content you can re-purpose for your own marketing efforts (even photography)
- Feeding your sales funnel by influencing future leads and sales
- Views and traffic to your brand’s site
- Increasing social channel following
- Creating awareness and engagement for a brand through comments, likes, shares, etc.
- Generating signs-ups (email capture) and downloads for re-marketing/drip campaigns
- Executing giveaways and contests
Interested in learning more about engaging with influencers strategically to grow your brand? Reach out to Kristine.Kirschke@partnercentric.com.