Influencer marketing has become an increasingly important part of the marketing mix for businesses looking to reach new target audiences and build brand authentically. By collaborating with influencers who have a strong and engaged following, you can create content that resonates with your target audience and drives results. But how do you get started with influencer marketing, and what should you keep in mind to succeed? Here is our ultimate guide to influencer marketing in 2025.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is about collaborating with people who have built a following and credibility within a specific area or niche. These people, known as influencers, have the ability to influence their followers' attitudes and purchasing behavior through the content they share on their platforms.
Inflencers can have anywhere from a few thousand to several million followers, and they can be found on various platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and blogs. What characterizes a good influencer is that they have a clear voice, an engaged audience, and the ability to create content that resonates with their followers.
Benefits of influencer marketing
Influencer marketing offers a range of benefits for businesses looking to reach new target audiences and build brand:
- Increased credibility: Recommendations from influencers are often perceived as more authentic and credible than traditional advertising, as they come from a person the followers trust.
- Targeted marketing: By choosing influencers that fit your target audience, you can reach potential customers in a targeted and effective way.
- Creative and engaging content: Influencers are experts at creating content that engages and inspires their followers. By collaborating with them, you can access unique and creative content.
- Cost-effective: Compared to many other marketing channels, influencer marketing can be very cost-effective, especially if you collaborate with micro- and nano-influencers.
Different types of influencers
Influencers can be divided into different categories based on the size of their following:
- Nano-influencers: 1,000 - 10,000 followers
- Micro-influencers: 10,000 - 50,000 followers
- Macro-influencers: 50,000 - 1 million followers
- Mega-influencers: Over 1 million followers
For most businesses, it will be most appropriate to collaborate with nano- and micro-influencers. These often have a more niche and engaged following, and collaborations are usually more cost-effective than with larger influencers.
How to get started with influencer marketing
Are you ready to include influencer marketing in your marketing mix? Here are the steps you should follow:
1. Define goals and target audience
Before you start looking for influencers to collaborate with, it's important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Is your goal to increase sales, create engagement around the brand, or reach a new target audience? By defining clear goals, it becomes easier to measure the effect of your influencer collaborations.
It's also crucial to have good insight into your target audience. Who are they, what are they interested in, and which influencers do they follow? The more insight you have into the target audience, the easier it becomes to find influencers who can help you reach them.
2. Find the right influencers
When you know who you want to reach and what you want to achieve, it's time to find influencers that fit your brand. Here are some factors you should consider:
- Relevance: Choose influencers who create content that is relevant to your brand and target audience. An influencer who focuses on fitness and nutrition would, for example, be a good choice for a sports equipment manufacturer.
- Engagement: An influencer with high engagement, i.e., many likes, comments, and shares, will often have a greater impact than one with many followers but low engagement.
- Authenticity: Collaborate with influencers who have an authentic and credible voice, and who fit with your brand. Followers will see through it if the collaboration seems forced or unnatural.
- Previous collaborations: Check which collaborations the influencer has done previously, and whether they have had a positive effect. Avoid influencers who constantly promote products, as this can weaken their credibility.
3. Choose the right collaboration format
There are many different ways to collaborate with influencers. Some common collaboration formats include:
- Sponsored content: The influencer creates a post or video where they promote your product or service, and clearly mark it as advertising.
- Discount codes: The influencer shares a unique discount code with their followers, and often gets a percentage of the sales generated through the code.
- Competitions: The influencer holds a competition where followers can win products from your brand, in exchange for following your account or tagging friends.
- Takeover: The influencer takes over your brand's account for a day, and shares content with your followers.
Think about which collaboration format best suits your goals and target audience, and remember to set aside enough time and resources to follow up on the collaboration.
4. Create a briefing
To ensure that the influencer collaboration is successful, it's important to create a good briefing. This should contain information about the brand, target audience, goal of the collaboration, and any guidelines for the content.
At the same time, it's important to give the influencer enough creative freedom to create content that feels authentic and in line with their personal style. The balance between controlling the message and letting the influencer be themselves can be challenging, but is crucial for a successful collaboration.
5. Measure and optimize
To know if your influencer collaborations are actually working, it's important to measure their effect. Set some KPIs based on your goals, such as sales, website traffic, or engagement, and closely monitor the development.
If something isn't working as it should, don't be afraid to adjust the strategy along the way. Maybe you discover that a different type of influencer or collaboration format would have been better suited for your brand? By continuously measuring and optimizing, you can ensure that your influencer marketing efforts yield the best possible results.
Common pitfalls
Influencer marketing is not without its challenges, and it's easy to misstep if you're not prepared. Here are some common pitfalls you should avoid:
- Choosing the wrong influencer: Don't be blinded by high follower numbers. An influencer with a large but irrelevant audience will likely not yield good results. The match between influencer and brand is the most important thing.
- Giving too much creative control: Although the influencer should have the freedom to be themselves, it's important that the content is in line with the brand's values and guidelines. Make sure to have a good dialogue throughout the process.
- Forgetting to mark the content as advertising: According to the Consumer Authority's guidelines, all sponsored content must be clearly marked. Don't forget to inform the influencer about this, so that you avoid breaking the law.
- Expecting results overnight: Influencer marketing is about long-term brand building, not short-term sales. Don't get discouraged if you don't see immediate results, but work purposefully and consistently over time.
How Innovena can help you
Are you ready to include influencer marketing in your marketing mix, but unsure of where to start? At Innovena, we have extensive experience helping businesses succeed with influencer marketing. We can, among other things:
- Help you find the right influencers: Based on your goals and target audience, we find influencers who fit perfectly with your brand.
- Create a campaign and communication plan: We create a tailored plan for your influencer efforts, with clear goals, messages, and activities.
- Ensure that you get the most out of the collaboration: Through close follow-up, we ensure that the collaboration goes as planned, and that you get the most out of your investment.
- Book and follow up with influencers: We handle all dialogue with the influencers, from booking to follow-up and reporting.
- Provide insight into results and optimize: We measure the effect of your influencer collaborations, and provide concrete recommendations on how you can optimize your efforts going forward.
Want to learn more about how influencer marketing can help your business grow? Contact us today for a non-binding chat!
Conclusion
Influencer marketing is here to stay, and will only become more important in the years to come. By collaborating with the right influencers, you can reach your target audience in an authentic and effective way, and build a strong brand over time.
To succeed with influencer marketing, it's important to have a clear strategy, carefully choose influencers, and set aside enough time and resources to follow up on the collaborations. It can also be wise to seek help from experts who can guide you through the process.
At Innovena, we have helped a number of businesses succeed with influencer marketing, and we are ready to help you too. Contact us today, and let's have a chat about how we can help your specific business reach new target audiences and grow through influencer marketing.