Influencers and content creators are now a regular part of the marketing mix, from global brands to local businesses. Done well, influencer marketing builds trust, advocacy and sales in a way traditional advertising rarely does. Done badly, it wastes budget and can hurt the brand. Here’s how to get it right.
Start with the right questions
Before choosing anyone, answer these with your team or your digital marketing agency:
- What is the goal of this campaign: awareness, consideration, sales or community?
- What problem does it solve, or what value does it bring, for our audience?
- Will the content feel useful and genuine to the people who see it?
- Could it be seen as insensitive or opportunistic in the current context?
Find the right fit
Pick creators who share your brand’s tone and values, reach your target audience on the right platforms and fit your budget. A big follower count is not a strategy: a micro-influencer with a loyal, relevant community often outperforms a celebrity.
Vet carefully
Use influencer tools, but also review each profile by hand. Check engagement, sudden follower spikes, audience location, comment quality and the share of fake followers. Look through their history for offensive content and competing partnerships.
Create together
The best campaigns come from real collaboration. Give the creator a clear brief and room to speak in their own voice; their audience will notice if the content feels scripted.
Be transparent
Paid partnerships must be clearly identified as advertising, in line with Portuguese advertising rules and each platform’s own tools. Transparency protects both the brand and the creator.
Measure what matters
Define KPIs before the campaign starts. Track reach, engagement and clicks, but also sentiment and the comments people leave. Without a measurement plan, there is no way to know whether the investment paid off.
Influencer marketing works best as part of a wider social media management strategy, from content and community management to paid social. That’s how we approach it at EDC.
Based on guidance from Edelman. EDC is Edelman’s affiliate partner in Portugal.
