Top 10 Influencer Marketing Campaign Mistakes You Should Never Make

Everyone seems to be talking about influencer marketing these days, and it’s easy to see why. If you're looking for a way to market on social media, a successful influencer marketing campaign could be just what you need. 

So, what is an influencer marketing campaign? 

It’s a way to promote products on social media using endorsements and mentions from influencers. These are people with loyal followers on social media platforms who see them as experts in their field—or, sometimes, their friends.

This strategy works because social media influencers have earned a lot of trust from their followers. When they recommend your brand, it acts as social proof for potential customers, making them more likely to trust and buy from you. 

This approach is great for building genuine connections with new and existing customers. Plus, with an average return of $6.50 for every $1 spent, what's not to love?

The 10 worst influencer marketing campaign mistakes and how to avoid them

While diving straight into planning an influencer campaign is tempting, skipping the planning phase can hurt your results. The best way to do this is to carefully research and plan your strategy and marketing tactics—you'll thank yourself when the sales start rolling in.

To help you get started, here are the top 10 influencer marketing mistakes to avoid:

1. Choosing influencers based solely on their follower count

Many brands prioritize influencers with the highest follower count, assuming that bigger numbers automatically mean greater impact. Instead, what you can do is: 

• Focus on influencers whose audience aligns with your target market.
• Check their previous social media posts and assess if their niche fits your brand perfectly.
• Look at their social media engagement rates and audience demographics to ensure they connect well with your potential customers. 

2. Overlooking the importance of influencer-brand alignment

Partnering with influencers who don’t genuinely resonate with your brand's values can lead to inauthentic promotions. You can avoid this and choose the best influencers by:

• Sending product samples to potential influencers before finalizing the partnership. 
• Assessing their enthusiasm and genuine interest in your product. If they’re not genuinely excited, it’s better to find someone who is. 

3. Neglecting to measure campaign performance accurately

If you’re not tracking how your influencer marketing campaign is performing, you won’t know if it’s hitting the mark. This will result in wasted ad spend and missed opportunities for improvement. 

How do you fix this? 

• Use influencer marketing tools and metrics to measure campaign performance, such as engagement rates, click-through rates, and conversions. 
• Regularly analyze these metrics to understand what’s working and what needs adjustment.

4. Limiting creative freedom of influencers

Did you know that being too controlling over how content creators and influencers present your brand can limit their creativity and result in less engaging content? So, what can you do to make sure your influencer collaborations are effective and can hit your campaign goals?

• Allow influencers the creative freedom to present your product in a way that resonates with their style and audience. 
• Provide guidelines, but let them craft content that feels authentic to their personal brand.

5. Over-reliance on one-off campaigns instead of long-term relationships

Running single campaigns without building long-term relationships can lead to lower brand loyalty and less effective promotions. Instead: 

• Develop ongoing partnerships with influencers to build deeper connections with their audience.
• Creating long-term relationships leads to more authentic endorsements and sustained brand visibility.

6. Not gamifying your influencer programs

Another point that you cannot miss is failing to incorporate gamification. This can lead to less engagement and enthusiasm from influencers.

Here are two ways you can easily gamify your influencer programs:

• Create incentives and contests for influencers to boost their engagement with your brand.
• Allow your affiliates to unlock higher reward tiers as they hit certain performance milestones.

In Social Snowball, you can easily create and manage multiple programs for your influencers and customer affiliates.

7. Using traditional coupon codes (that leak)

Using generic coupon codes can cause them to leak and lead to misuse. Instead, try this:

• Use Safelinks. These are a great alternative to coupon codes. They work just like regular affiliate links and can be shared anywhere. Here's how they look -

• When someone clicks on a Safelink, they get a unique, single-use coupon code as soon as they arrive at your store. So, even if one ends up on a coupon site, it won’t affect the promotion.

8. Not turning your new customers into affiliates

Did you know that missing the opportunity to leverage new customers as brand advocates can limit your marketing reach?

• Encourage new customers to join your affiliate program. 
• Provide them with incentives to share their positive experiences and promote your products to their networks.

In Social Snowball, you can toggle this setting “on” to automatically convert every customer into an affiliate. Once they purchase, they will receive their unique code on the thank you page.

9. Not automating product seeding

When you work with influencers, you’ll need to send them your product. This process is known as “product seeding.” However, manual product seeding can be time-consuming and prone to errors.

• By using automated tools like Social Snowball to streamline product seeding processes.
• By automating product seeding, you ensure timely delivery and tracking of products sent to influencers, freeing up your team to focus on other tasks.

10. Overreliance on manual, bulky payouts and wire transfers

Just as manual product seeding is time-consuming, handling payments manually can be inefficient and lead to delays. So, you can implement:

• Automated payment solutions for influencer compensation. This speeds up the payment process and reduces administrative burden, ensuring timely and accurate payments.
• Try Social Snowball's "Pay in Bulk" feature to pay all your influencers with just two clicks.

Understanding and leveraging different types of influencers

Influencer marketing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Different types of influencers can bring varied benefits to your campaigns. For instance, Instagram and YouTube influencers can get different results. 

Understanding these differences helps in selecting the right influencers to achieve your specific marketing goals.

The role of micro-influencers in leveraging niche audiences

Small creators often build personal connections with their followers, leading to more trust and influence over purchasing decisions. Many micro-influencers, with follower counts between 10,000 to 100,000, focus on specific niches, reaching highly targeted audiences. 

They are known for their creativity and unique style, fostering engagement in their posts. However, while their authenticity shines through, the smaller size of their audiences can limit the reach of your campaigns. So, they might not be the best fit if you’re aiming for a huge influencer marketing strategy.

The impact of celebrity influencers on brand awareness

With millions of followers, celebrity influencers can give your brand massive exposure, offering incredible growth opportunities and boosting your social media visibility. These influencers are experts at creating top-notch content due to their extensive experience. 

However, partnering with them is expensive, and there's a risk if they don't connect with your target audience. It’s better to weigh the costs and benefits carefully before proceeding.

Best influencer marketing examples to take inspiration from

Here are a few great examples of influencer marketing campaigns that brands have used to achieve amazing results: 

Obvi

Obvi, a wellness brand specializing in collagen supplements, initially relied heavily on influencer marketing. However, as the brand expanded, managing influencers manually became unsustainable. The team struggled with tracking sales and commissions accurately, leading to overpayments and undervalued contributions.

Solution: With Social Snowball, Obvi was able to:

• Set up a program where influencers or creators could sign up as affiliates.
• Integrate emails within their ESP.
• Migrate existing affiliates for a seamless transition.

They no longer needed to track manually on Google Sheets, all data was regularly updated on Social Snowball's platform.

Result: Obvi acquired new customers at a 357% lower CAC than paid ads.

Sok-It

Sok-it, a small business offering solutions for disposable cup messes, faced challenges with its monthly influencer program. They manually sent products to 25-30 influencers in exchange for posts, but the success rate was low, with many influencers not posting or posting poorly.

Solution: Sok-It chose Social Snowball to address its influencer marketing challenges. It allowed them to:

• Create affiliate programs
• Track codes
• Easily payout influencers

Result: Sok-It grew influencer revenue by 477% at a 76% lower cost to acquire than paid ads.

Iron Neck

Iron Neck, a fitness brand known for its neck training equipment, faced high costs with Facebook ads and turned to influencers. However, managing influencers manually was inefficient and required multiple team members.

Solution: Looking for a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution, the Iron Neck team chose Social Snowball to manage their affiliate and influencer programs. They introduced a tiered incentive structure for influencers:

• Tier 1: 10% commission and 10% referral discount
• Tier 2: 15% commission and 10% referral discount

Result: The affiliate commission increased as influencers drove more value. By implementing Social Snowball, Iron Neck streamlined its influencer programs, generating 14% of GMC with a 60% lower CAC than Meta Ads.

Measuring the success of influencer marketing campaigns

To make the most of your influencer marketing efforts, measuring your campaign’s success precisely is essential. This not only helps you understand what’s working but also guides you in fine-tuning your strategy for even better results.

Essential metrics for gauging campaign performance

By tracking key metrics, you can understand the impact of your campaigns, identify high-performing influencers, and make informed decisions for future strategies.

Here are three essential metrics you can monitor:

• Total revenue earned: Track the overall revenue from your campaigns to gauge the financial impact. Comparing this revenue to your campaign costs helps determine ROI and assess profitability.
• Top performing affiliates/influencers: Identify which influencers drive the most sales or engagement. This insight allows you to focus on building stronger relationships with your most effective partners.
• Revenue overview in a custom period: Monitor revenue over specific periods, like monthly or during special events. This helps identify trends and patterns, providing insights into the seasonality and effectiveness of your campaigns.

Tools and technologies for tracking success

Using the right tools is important for effectively tracking essential metrics. Social Snowball’s user-friendly dashboard allows you to monitor your influencer marketing campaigns. 

Here’s how it helps:

• Program overview: Get a clear snapshot of how each influencer program is performing.
• Breakdown by revenue or orders: View detailed metrics with customizable filters, including revenue and order counts.
• Custom time frames: Track metrics over any period, from monthly performance to special events.
• Top performing affiliates: Identify your most effective affiliates and influencers to strengthen these key relationships.

The future of influencer marketing

Now, you might wonder: Is it still worth investing in influencer marketing? According to Statista, as of 2023, the global influencer marketing market had skyrocketed to 21.1 billion U.S. dollars, more than tripling since 2019.

And, as the creator economy grows and changes, influencer marketing will become even more important in shaping the relationships between brands and consumers, especially in the next five years.

Emerging trends in influencer marketing

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the influencer marketing industry is expected to reach an estimated $24 billion by the end of 2024. With this growth in mind, here are some of the top influencer marketing trends to watch for: 

Shift towards micro and nano influencers 

While mega and macro influencers have been dominant, 2024 has seen a rise in micro and nano influencers. These smaller influencers have highly engaged followers and offer a more authentic, niche appeal. By partnering with them, brands can create highly targeted campaigns that resonate deeply with their audience.

Rise of virtual influencers 

Virtual influencers, free from physical and geographical constraints, are gaining popularity. Brands are partnering with these digital personalities to reach broader audiences and create innovative campaigns. Moreover, virtual influencers offer unique advantages, including 24/7 availability and flexibility in adapting to brand images.

Increased focus on transparency and authenticity 

With advanced analytics revealing fake influencers with fake followers and inauthentic content, influencer marketing will shift towards genuine relationships and aligned messaging. Brands will focus more on the quality of influencers’ community engagement and trustworthiness, emphasizing authentic content over follower numbers.

Consistent growth of short-form video content

With the rapid rise of short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, video content will continue to dominate influencer marketing strategies. In fact, brands will invest more in video-focused campaigns, using influencers' storytelling skills to create engaging, shareable content that captivates audiences across different platforms.

Rise of social commerce

Social platforms and marketplaces will enhance influencer marketing and social selling tools, helping brands track and optimize shoppable content. Now, influencers will be able to tag and track affiliate product links easily, with platforms providing analytics and payment systems to boost purchase conversions.

FAQs about influencer marketing campaigns 

How do I find the right influencers for my brand?

Identify your target audience and their preferred platforms. You can look for influencers whose content and follower demographics align with your brand values. Also, consider micro-influencers with smaller, highly engaged followings matching your niche.

What are the best practices for influencer outreach?

You can personalize your influencer outreach by engaging with their content—like, comment, and share their posts. Make sure to be concise and specific about why they’re a good fit for your brand. Also, provide a clear proposal and follow up politely if you don’t hear back.

What are the most effective ways to measure the ROI of influencer marketing campaigns?

Measuring the ROI of influencer marketing campaigns involves tracking key metrics that reflect your efforts' financial and engagement impact. Social Snowball’s analytics dashboard is a powerful tool for this. 

It allows you to monitor total revenue earned, identify top-performing affiliates and influencers, and analyze revenue over custom periods. 

How often should I launch influencer marketing campaigns?

The frequency of your influencer marketing campaigns depends on your overall marketing strategy, budget, and goals. Generally, it’s beneficial to maintain a consistent presence through regular campaigns, such as monthly or quarterly initiatives. 

Additionally, consider aligning campaigns with key events, product launches, or seasonal promotions to maximize impact.

Excited to create an efficient influencer marketing campaign? Steer forward with Social Snowball.

When executed effectively, influencer marketing can significantly boost your brand’s visibility, engagement, and revenue. Now that you know what to avoid, you're all set to hire the perfect influencer for your brand and hit your campaign objectives. Remember these tips, and start planning your next step with confidence. 

And, by using Social Snowball, you can streamline your entire influencer strategy from one platform. Customize attribution settings, send bulk payments effortlessly with just two clicks, and eliminate coupon code leaks with secure Safelinks. Schedule a demo today!