How to Infuse Scalability in Your Social Media Influencer Marketing Strategy

Influencer marketing has become a ubiquitous part of the marketing mix for big brands and small businesses. According to Statista, global spending on influencer strategy increased significantly from 2016 to 2023. The market size, which was $1.7 billion in 2016, reached a massive $21.1 billion in 2023. The number is projected to touch $24 billion in 2024.

Considering these figures, it is clear that missing out on the trend can spell doom for your business. Without a niche-leading content creator endorsing your brand, you lose more than your competitive advantage. 

You may also fall short of establishing authenticity and building relationships with your target audience. Additionally, you may end up skipping key audience-engagement channels such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

However, simply having an influencer strategy in place does not guarantee success, as you cannot take a set-and-forget approach to it. For example, a recent report by Influencer Marketing Hub stated that 44% of marketers struggle to find the right content creators for their campaigns. Likewise, incentive models, campaign frequencies, platform choices, and algorithm changes can dramatically sway campaign outcomes. 

Challenges abound for marketers, and a scalable mindset is the only way to overcome them. In this guide, we will share a few effective tactics to scale your influencer marketing strategy.

Simplify Influencer Discovery with the Right Tools

The success of an influencer campaign hinges on the right collaboration. Businesses must put careful thought into the discovery process. You need to collaborate with creators speaking to similar target markets as they can help you realize your marketing goals. 

At the same time, remember that a collaboration that works today may not be relevant in the future. This may happen due to a shift in the influencer’s or your brand’s target audience. Similarly, your values may not align with those of a creator down the line. 

In addition, your budget may change, making way for a creator who costs more or forcing you to scale down. Shopify cites a survey showing that the average cost of a sponsored Instagram post is $1,300. Nano-influencers may charge only $10-$100, while mega-creators can rake up to $10,000+ per post.

Knowing that you need to switch to different content creators is only a start. The real struggle is to find the right ones. This can be challenging, despite the seemingly endless pool of content creators out there. Finding the right one is actually like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Fortunately, platforms like Popular Pays by Lightricks can simplify the discovery process. Here you can search and filter hundreds of thousands of creators according to niche, social channel, audience size, engagement rate and other key factors. The platform also recently rolled out an AI-powered tool that quickly checks influencers’ posting histories for brand safety issues, ensuring that the talent you work with aligns with your brand values and positioning. Plus, you can track, measure, and analyze the ROI of campaigns. 

Automating these steps is the core of effective campaign scaling. It reduces the workload of marketers and makes them more agile when adapting their campaigns.

Turn Customers into Influencers

According to The Drum, 45% of European Gen Z-ers prefer fashion brands they’ve seen an influencer wear. This highlights the significance of a robust influencer marketing plan. However, you can take it to the next level by turning your customers into influencers to gain the UGC advantage.

What’s more, HubSpot reports that 87% of businesses say that user-generated content drives sales lift, while 92% believe it increases brand awareness. After all, potential buyers find word-of-mouth shared by existing buyers more authentic and relatable than celeb endorsements. Moreover, UGC costs a fraction of the traditional collaborations. 

If you want to scale your influencer marketing plan, consider tools like Videowise to automate UGC content. With this tool, you can find relevant UGC on social media, connect with creators to seek usage rights and get the plan into action. The best part is that automation makes these steps effortless. 

Repurpose Influencer-Generated Content

Besides leveraging UGC, repurposing influencer-generated content (IGC) is another smart move to scale your influencer marketing strategy. With this approach, you reuse the content you have already paid for without spending more on new posts.

Reposting your IGC on your brand’s social channels can turn it into a social media powerhouse. You can attract new followers by adding a compelling caption and linking back to the original content. Similarly, repurposing it to create memorable ads is a good idea. A little creativity will personalize your brand, building a closer connection with your audience.

Other ideas to repurpose your existing IGC are blog posts, email campaigns, website creatives, and case studies. It is just about how creative you can get with repurposing what you have. 

For example, Glossier regularly reposts influencer-generated content on their own Instagram page. The page already has 3 million followers, and the following is consistently growing. 

When you reuse IGC, remember to seek permission from the influencer. They may want something in return, whether it’s a free product or additional fees. Don’t skimp on this investment, as it can be worthwhile when it comes to campaign scalability for better ROI. 

Maximize ROI With Performance-Based Incentives

Statistics show that the ROI of influencer marketing campaigns is more than impressive, with every $1 spent generating $5.78. Adding performance-based incentives to the mix can take the ROI numbers even higher. Essentially, this means paying collaborators based on performance metrics like clicks, leads, conversions, or sales.

Daniel Wellington, a luxury watch brand, sold 1 million watches worth $228 million in just three years using this strategy. These numbers are impressive, as the brand started small. A well-planned influencer marketing strategy played a key role. 

The brand connects with influencers and offers free products through a performance-based ambassador program. Influencers are assigned unique discount codes they can share with their own followers. They earn a commission when someone purchases a product using their discount code. 

Create Templates from Top-Performance Content

Running a successful influencer marketing strategy is also about replicating things that work. Creating templates from top-performing content can help you do this. Tools like HootSuite can help you see all your social campaigns in one place and visualize their performance. 

For example, you can see the best-performing content formats and the right time to post for maximum engagement. Similarly, your campaigns may be performing better on specific channels such as Instagram or TikTok rather than YouTube. You may even master a script that makes your audience click or convert. 

While this may seem more about optimizing your current campaigns, there is more to it. You also get a view of what is not working, enabling you to address these areas and scale your campaign for the better. 

You can even tailor metrics to your business needs and goals to fine-tune your influencer marketing plan.

Key Takeaways

Whether you are happy with your influencer marketing strategy or plan to scale it, remember that it is about building authentic engagement with your audience. More partnerships are not something you should aspire for when scaling. 

Think quality, not numbers, when it comes to scalability. Go the extra mile to discover the right partners, foster strong collaboration and communication, and focus on improvements. Also, onboard content creators who are really close to your audience and repurpose what you have. 

A result-oriented influencer marketing strategy is about constantly getting better at what works and addressing what doesn’t. Stay agile to be ahead of your competitors.