Public Relations has evolved in meaning throughout the years for many reasons – one of them being Influencer Marketing, which has incredibly impacted the way we communicate with the public. Third-party credibility is no longer reserved for journalistic opinion. Influencers are growing in trustworthiness and reliability – and brands should consider these strategic partnerships as part of their marketing mix.

When partnering with influencers, here are three areas you want to be mindful of.

CONTENT
Content is king – and this is never truer than when it is leveraged correctly. Influencers have built their audience with the content that they share so they really do know what is the best content to post on their own pages – they know what style of post and copy really resonates with their audience. As a brand, it’s important to make sure you provide them key messages but allow them the ability to implement their own creative flair and speak to their audiences via a voice that is authentic (and ultimately, more impactful).

INNOVATION
The “Product for Post” approach is one of the most traditional influencer partnerships – however at Prism, we’re committed to stepping outside the box of tradition and into innovation. Innovation can take different paths – either as the campaign itself, the content, the copy, or even the call to actions.

Ultimately, the innovation should be tied into the main key messages that you want to share.

A great example of this is a recent Influencer Campaign we launched to generate buzz around the Samsung Galaxy Buds, consisting of a Karaoke Challenge on Instagram (#ElGalaxyKaraoke), through which many influencers participated (and had their followers participate too)!

We created a video filter that showed key phrases from popular songs for the influencers to sing. Not only did they show off their singing voices, but they also raised organic product awareness. Each participant challenged others, ultimately reaching a greater audience with each new post!

What were the results?
– During the first 5 days, the filter was captured (copied/saved) over 4k times

There are many benefits to innovative partnerships – but one of the most important ones is creating an opportunity for organic engagement.

BRAND ALIGNMENT
An influencer partnership can help build trust in the brand, showcase reliability and ultimately have a third-party testimonial that is sought after by the exact audience you are trying to reach.
Aligning a partner with the brand is not as simple as looking at the influencer’s page – it starts with vetting the influencer. What do they post about? How do they interact with their audience? What do they stand for? What associations have they had with previous brands? Are they currently in partnerships with any competing brands? How have they evolved throughout the years? And, how reliable are they as partners?

Brand alignment is essential. Not only will this secure that the brand is properly represented, but also allows you to invest in an area that does have the potential of translating into a conversion.