A mistake that’s often made when carrying out influencer marketing campaigns is to make it a separate strategy. But this is where you go wrong. This new marketing lever should be directly integrated in your annual marketing plan for optimal results!
Annual marketing plans are an essential tool for companies. They guide their strategy throughout the year. It’s a long-term plan that provides the team with a global view of everything that’ll be done over the next 12 months to achieve clearly defined objectives.
At the same time, this work also helps identify opportunities for the company. Indeed, to create it, a market analysis is carried out to see what the competitors are doing, how they’re doing it and to analyse the latest trends to adopt. In other words, the goal is to detect new trends, identify challenges, set objectives and then establish an action plan.
While the need to have an annual marketing plan is obvious for many companies, not all of them have made the leap, especially when it comes to all things digital. According to a study by Smart Insights, 49% of companies do not have a clearly defined digital strategy. Yet today, identifying the levers to achieve online objectives has become essential. For many companies, the Web is becoming a source of revenue that allows them to grow their business.
Media levers to include in your annual marketing plan
To develop a business, there are many media channels to include in your annual marketing plan. From SEO and online and print advertising to social media and emailing, teams have many opportunities and resources to develop their strategy. Their aim may vary depending on the choice made. For example, when turning to SEO, the primary aim is of course to improve our search engine optimisation. Attending trade fairs and exhibitions allows you to have direct contact with your prospects and to meet people. Emailing will play a key role in strengthening the link with your customers and relaying key information to them. Launching on social networks can help a company reach a younger audience or sell more of a product.
Content marketing has an essential place in this annual plan. According to data revealed by Semrush in 2021, 84% of companies surveyed have a content marketing strategy. This is surely a good thing. But only 11% consider this work to be great. They do not explain why they’re not entirely happy. Perhaps because it is poorly implemented… If you’re feeling the same way, don’t worry. We have the solution.
Indeed, there is a lever that can be used again and again that can give new direction to your annual marketing plan: influencer marketing. The aim of this strategy is to use social media content creators to achieve a given objective. Over the years, these goals have broadened thanks to both the growing popularity of influencers, and the development of different tools on the platforms. You can now work on your brand image, reputation, sales, social media presence and attract a younger audience. An inspiring list of goals … but the real question is how to best use this tool and whether it really works.
Influencer marketing as part of an annual marketing plan
To see how influencer marketing has already been tried and tested, look no further than Reech, who often survey marketers on it. In 2021, 86% of them said that this lever is effective. 74% of them have already carried out at least one campaign in the last 12 months of the survey. And on average, they give a rating of 7.1/10 based on its relevance and their relationships with influencers.
Influencer marketing campaigns can be used throughout the year and add to the media channels already in place. Of course, influencer campaigns don’t work in isolation. They’re included in your annual plan to meet a specific objective. To prove this, let’s take the example of H&M.
Today, the fast-fashion brand is very active on social networks. The team continues to produce poster campaigns and advertisements and communicate via media channels. The only difference? A new tool has been added to this strategy: influencer marketing. They began by working with 25–50 content creators each month. While it certainly helped to get the word out there, it still didn’t quite grab the attention of their audience. Seeing this they instead decided to turn to brand ambassadorships and hired around 20 influencers for year-long partnerships. An effective way for the brand to really get to know their creators and instil in them the qualities they were after.
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A clear sign of their belief in influencer marketing, they recently decided to source influencer talent internally. A diverse mix of 15 employees across H&M stores were selected to showcase the brands values. The company shares photos of each ‘Insider’ on their official website along with details of their favourite pieces. Given that marketers are increasingly turning to micro-influencers, it’s easy to see why they opted for this strategy.
The main reasons to include influencer marketing in your marketing plan
As you’ll have gathered, influencer marketing is now a media lever like any other. It is becoming increasingly attractive for companies wishing to revitalize their communication and to reach their objectives in a different way. Influencer marketing can sit alongside any lever if the campaign is well thought out. It can be used to help your SEO on social networks, support sales thanks to the tools developed by social apps, and convey a specific message.
Influencer marketing, like other levers, should be seriously considered for your next annual marketing plan. Well, what do you think?
Sources:
Reech, Smart Insights Agenic, Bizjournals
