How to structure influencer marketing to achieve ROAS 7+

Influencer marketing needs to be strategic

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Believe it or not, we've got a sneaking suspicion that all of us here have danced with influencer or UGC (User Generated Content) marketing at one point or another. And, between us, here in Slovenia, we're pretty savvy about this marketing channel. Not to toot our own horn, but... toot toot! 🎺

However, there's this quirky little observation we've made. It seems our approach to this channel is, how do you say, a bit... instinctual? Like choosing your meal based on the plate's color rather than the food on it ('This influencer vibes with me' vs. 'Not so much with this one'). And, dare we say, there's a bit of a data drought in decision-making. As a result, companies we chat with, including our dear clients, often pick influencers based more on personal whims than on the solid ground of data.

Now, following your heart is sweet when you're just flirting with influencer marketing. But when it's time to buckle down and transform those flirty flings into a reliable source of traffic and sales, that's when you need to put your thinking cap on and get strategic.

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Start with goals.

At Bighead Lab, influencer marketing has evolved from a "let's-try-this-and-see-what-happens" affair to a cornerstone of our sales growth strategy. Yes, we've had to innovate a way to bring some rhyme and reason to the wild west of 'test' collaborations. And because we're all about spreading the gospel of our learnings (keeping secrets isn't our style), we're here to spill the beans on our blueprint for nailing influencer partnerships.

So, how do you choose an influencer who not only ticks all the boxes with your brand but also rings the cash register in terms of results? It's not rocket science, but it does require a sprinkle of strategy, a pinch of planning, and, of course, a dollop of data. Here’s how we at Bighead Lab do the dance:

1. Define the goal of the collaboration. Like, what do you actually want to achieve? Fame? Fortune? World domination? Let's start there. 🌟
   
   
2. Pin down the metrics for success. Because if you can't measure it, did it even happen?
   
   
3. Pick influencers who gel with your brand. Like matching your socks, it just feels right when it all comes together.
   
   
4. Dive deep into the influencer's stats. We're talking more than just a cursory glance; really get into the nitty-gritty. Ask for the latest on their reach, clicks, and follower demographics. It's like doing your homework but way cooler because it's about influencers.

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Our secret sauce (shh, don’t tell anyone 🤫)

🧑🚀 For Sales Goals

‍Review of statistics: the number of followers and the number of story views or reach - from these two data points, calculate the story view rate (for example, a good or above-average rate is about 20% or more), calculate the CTR (Click-Through Rate) from the clicks and number of story views (a good CTR is about 4% or more), also review the demographics of the followers, which should match as closely as possible with potential customers by age, gender, and location, and check the engagement rate as well (a good rate is about 3% or more).

🧑🚀 For Brand Awareness

‍Look for influencers with a knack for storytelling and high engagement. These are the folks who share a big chunk of their lives with their followers, creating a strong trust bond. Metrics to watch include click-through rates (CTR), redemption of promo codes, and overall sales. A good story view rate and a matching demographic profile are your best friends here.

Check statistics: the number of followers (the higher, the better) and the number of story views or reach - from these two data points, calculate the story view rate (a good rate is about 20%), also review the demographics of the followers to see if they match, especially in terms of location, with the people you want to reach.

🧑🚀 For Engagement

‍Target influencers known for their high interaction rates. A healthy engagement rate (likes, comments, new followers) is a clear indicator of success.

Check statistics: Engagement rate (a good rate is about 3% or more), if an influencer has hidden engagement on their posts, it could be a bad sign.

🧑🚀 For Content Acquisition

‍If your main goal is to gather fresh content, seek out creators who excel in producing high-quality visual content. This can be a treasure trove for your future marketing efforts.

Review of statistics: depending on what your primary goal is - if it's any of the three mentioned above, check there. If the goal is solely content acquisition, you generally don't need to look at the statistics.

*You can calculate the engagement rate by taking the last 10 posts and calculating the average engagement (add up the number of likes and comments and divide by the number of posts), then divide this number by the number of followers, and finally multiply by 100 OR use the Keywords Everywhere Chrome extension to do it for you.

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The results

So, you're probably wondering what specifically you can gain from using a strategy like this?By embracing these strategies, we've managed to 👇

• We reduced the time investment for the concluded collaborations by approx. 3 times. This is especially welcome when expanding your sales to new markets and especially useful when you discover a winner of a collaboration and can repeat them more quickly.
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• Some pretty cool ROAS numbers (in some places even ROASe 7-9 per individual collaboration) on INFL marketing
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•  We ensured regular cooperation with influencers and focused on building a long-term relationship.

Which is also the main highlight of this post: by focusing on building long-term relationships with influencers, we ensure a steady stream of collaboration and content.

So, how about it? Are we ready to dive deeper into the world of influencer marketing with a bit more structure and a lot more data? Let's make influencer marketing not just a part of our strategy, but a highlight. 💪

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What is user generated content?

UGC (User generated content) refers to content, including images and video material, generated by content creators or satisfied customers. This content proved highly effective in ad campaigns because it is authentic, highly consumable, and feels native on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You can read a full case study about how we grew one of our clients from basically 0 to 150k/month by leveraging Influencer marketing and UGC creatives.

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About Bighead

Bighead is a growth-obsessed performance marketing agency dedicated to help eCommerce and SaaS companies reach their full potential through media buying, email marketing, analytics and CRO design, while working as an agile extension of their team.

After years of working together in e-commerces and SaaS industry we connected into a team of experts that wanted to do something new in digital marketing. 

After working with over 200 companies, we have discovered that a significant portion of marketing budgets are wasted. That's why we've decided to take a fresh approach, using data-driven insights to craft our advertising narrative, and make our client budgets as profitable as possible.

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Why clients trust us?

✅ We collaborated with over 200 businesses.

✅ We generated ~70M of revenue for our clients so far.

✅ We manage ~5M+ in ad spend annually.

✅ We developed and executed new-market-entry strategies for over 50 clients.

✅ We’re advertising in 150+ countries

Ready to kick off your growth journey? Let’s talk on info@bigheadlab.com