BDB’s Top Tips For Influencer Campaigns in 2021

The IPA told BDB that it expects industry-wide revenues for advertising and marketing to fall by about 20% year on year as a direct result of COVID. By contrast, we expect influencer marketing industry growth to increase by 29% year on year. With influencer marketing worth $6.5billion last year compared to $9.7billion in 2020, it’s no wonder more brands are investing more of their budget in creator content.

This year, Billion Dollar Boy produced 124 campaigns in total and won 37 new clients. As new clients enter the market with influencers it’s important to remember these top tips from BDB for influencer campaigns in 2021.

1: TikTok or Reels: they both have benefits 

August saw the launch of Reels, a new Instagram feature which allows users to create and share 15-second videos set to audio featuring AR effects. Reels are seen as Instagram’s answer to TikTok. With the two platforms now offering very similar functionalities, our data analyst conducted some research to assess the performance of Reels vs TikTok content.

Our early data suggests that on average Instagram Reels get a play rate of 40.1% of an influencer’s follower count, while for TikTok this number is 9.4%. While the play rate may be higher on Instagram, TikTok performs better in terms of engagement rate. UK influencers see an average engagement rate of 17.2% on TikTok, while for Reels this number is 5.1%. This is the case across all influencer tiers – engagement rates on TikTok are consistently higher than Reels. 

2: Co-create don’t dictate

For new clients entering the marketing with influencers, it’s important to remember that influencers have their own brand to protect and it’s in our best interests to let them protect it. Because if they create content that isn’t in keeping with the aesthetic and tone of their feeds then it won’t perform well.

Flexibility is key to make the investment work as hard as possible and brands must take note if they want to see the best results. By handing over the creative and capitalising on what the talent does best, brands will see content that resonates better with the creators’ audience as the brand message will be delivered in an authentic manner. 

3: Remember, influencers are not production companies

In influencer marketing, you are essentially working with multiple production companies (influencers) at the same time. In some cases, their influencer work is in fact their first job in media or advertising. So the production process will inevitably be different from what you are used to.

The development of an influencer campaign is not a linear process like working with production companies and there will be challenges along the way – as they are always is working with lots of stakeholders. The more flexibility and time that can therefore be allowed the better! 

4: Rapidly expanding demand and a slower growth of talent base

2020 has seen a rapid rise in demand for celebrity/influencer promotion and partnerships. However, the talent base has not grown at the same rate. We are seeing paid slots get booked earlier and when internal approvals result in posting dates missed the next window not becoming available until considerably later. We also anticipate cost increases amongst the most in-demand talent. Plan and engage talent early to avoid disappointment.

5: Set aside budget for amplifying content via paid social 

Setting aside budget for amplifying creator content through paid media is a great way to make full use of the great content created for the campaign. It allows you to target the audience and drive results at scale. 

6: Be pragmatic about exclusivity

Influencers who have a specific content focus can be hesitant to accept standard exclusivity terms around product categories, as they can lose out on their primary deals and partnerships, which ultimately is their livelihood! Loosening these can avoid inflated costs and speed up negotiations. Win-win!

Need help with your brand campaigns next year? Get in touch: [email protected]