Last Minute Ideas for Leveraging Influencers

This is the most important month of the year for retailers worldwide. Most brands will do nearly 25% of their yearly business in the month of December, so getting it right is paramount. To that end we wanted to stress it’s not to late to leverage influencers to give your brand a little boost as we move towards the holidays. Here are a few things you can do when you are short on time.

Gifting

One of the bedrocks of a good influencer strategy, gifting is so great because it’s not time or cost prohibitive, let’s you test out relationships with new influencers and is product focused. 

How many: Pick 10 people you have never worked with, reach out and get them some product in the next week. 

Who: Know that unless you are a established luxury brand, influencers ranked 1-250 likely won’t post without payment, focus on a good mix from 250-1,500. Your chances of getting a post rise as the rank gets lower.

Cost: Set aside at least $1,000 of product

What to expect: This is dependent on the quality of the product, but you can expect about 25% on the low end and over 50% if the product is solid. 

Sponsored Giveaway:

Giveaways are great in a pinch because they don’t hinge on getting product into the hands of the influencer. 

How many: Pick at least 3 partners who hit different demographics, or regions. 

Who: Partner with influencers ranked 200-1,000, and focus on influencers who have big traffic numbers, you want action here and Instagram won’t do as good a job of getting results.

Cost: $500-2,500 per post.

What to expect: If you execute correctly, you should drive awareness and traffic to your site from the sponsored posts. 

Social Takeover

I love these, everyone has special place and traditions around the holiday, why not let them tell your audience about those. I actually did this years ago for Oscar de la Renta. They had me photograph iconic NYC holiday locations, they did it the year later with Natasha photographing Erika’s favorite holiday spots. 1 2 3 4 5. This can be applied to any Instagram or Tumblr and is a great way to let an influencer combine their views wity your brands. 

How Many: This is a one person deal. 

Who: You want to focus on someone with good reach, but more important is LOVING the photos they take, or the stories they tell.

Cost: This should be mutually beneficial, you can offer a small payment $500-1,000 or better yet a credit. 

What to expect: At least 5 photos, and the influencer should share some over on their channels as well. 

You have three weeks left, good luck!