B2B marketing has faced major disruption over the past decade. Today's B2B marketers must be nimble, ready to adjust strategies at a moment's notice and anticipate the next big trend before it arrives.
In recent years, one such trend is the rise of influencer marketing—that is, collaboration with social media influencers with a significant and engaged following in your industry or niche.
Through endorsements and product mentions, influencers can help amplify your brand's message, reach a broader audience, and build trust with potential customers. They engage directly with their followers, respond to comments, and share moments from their everyday lives, which helps foster a perception of authenticity and personal connection.
That approach has proven to pack a punch.
But can you ensure brand safety with influencer marketing?
In this article, we'll explore that question and provide practical tips for B2B marketers who want to harness the power of influencers while safeguarding their brand's reputation.
The Importance of Brand Safety
Your brand's reputation is one of its most valuable assets, and it can easily be tarnished if not handled with care. Proceed carefully with influencer marketing so you don't do it wrong.
With influencer marketing, you are entrusting your brand image to another person. If that person (or something they say) doesn't align with your brand's core values, you may end up doing more harm than good. A damaged reputation is hard to recover from.
Keep in mind, too, that the regulatory and compliance requirements around influencer marketing are always evolving. Noncompliance with regulations and guidelines can result in serious legal repercussions and fines.
Consistency is also vital in safeguarding your brand. That includes maintaining a consistent brand image across all marketing channels. If there are drastic differences in how you, influencers, and other channels represent your brand, you will confuse your audience and lose trust.
So, how can you maintain brand safety while engaging in influencer marketing?
Eight Tips to Ensure Brand Safety in Your Influencer Marketing
Use the following tips to ensure brand safety with influencer marketing.
1. Thoroughly Vetting Influencers
Research potential influencers meticulously. Look beyond their follower count—it's not all about the numbers. The key is examining their content, interactions, and marketing history. When vetting potential influencers, ask yourself these questions:
- Do their values align with your brand?
- Do they interact with their followers in a way that you're comfortable with?
- Do they have a history of promoting ethical and responsible content?
If you answered "no" to any of those questions, move on to the next option!
2. Follower Analysis
First things first: check whether the influencer's followers are real—or at least 80% of them. Marketing to a bunch of fake accounts and bots is nothing but wasted time, money, and effort.
Here are characteristics that suggest the influencer has fake followers:
- Very low engagement rate = high number of fake follower accounts
- Very high engagement rate = automated engagement bots or bought likes and comments
- Suspicious comments (e.g., only emojis, short and repetitive, irrelevant)
- The number of accounts they are following is greater than or equal to their number of followers
Note: You can calculate the engagement rate by dividing the number of engagements (likes and comments) by the number of followers, then multiply the answer by 100.
The next step is determining whether the influencer's followers match your target demographic.
Many tools are available that analyze influencers' follower demographics, so search online and find which best suits your needs.
3. Clear Guidelines and Contracts
Develop detailed guidelines for influencers specifying what they can and cannot promote. The document should cover the type of language to use, topics to avoid, and the portrayal of the brand.
Specify what is required for posts, stories, videos, and any other content type the influencer will be creating. Also, establish content boundaries to prevent any negative association with your brand.
Next is the contracts. They should be legally sound and crystal clear, defining the following:
- Scope of work
- Deliverables
- Deadlines
- Payment terms
- Intellectual property rights
- Legal ramifications of contract breaches
Your contracts should also stipulate the process for conflict resolution and outline the terms for early termination.
Contracts serve as your safety net, ensuring influencers adhere to the agreed standards.
4. Content Approval Process
Establish a thorough content approval process in which multiple members of your team review all influencer-created content. Your team could include marketing professionals, legal advisers, and brand managers.
Reviewing all influencer content before it gets published is key.
The process should be efficient and structured, with a clear timeline and criteria for approval. That's how you ensure the content is on-brand, compliant with regulations, and appropriate for your audience.
Provide influencers with constructive feedback, and put a system in place for revising and re-evaluating content that doesn't initially meet brand standards.
Meticulous content review not only protects your brand but also guides the influencer to better align with your brand's image and values.
5. Transparency and Disclosure
Influencers must be transparent about their partnership with your brand. Ensure they disclose sponsored content in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. This includes clearly labeling any sponsored posts with appropriate disclosures, such as using #ad or #sponsored, in a prominent position.
You can also include a clause in your contract that requires influencers to state their partnership with your brand in a clear and conspicuous manner. Doing so not only maintains legal compliance but also promotes authenticity and trust among consumers, leading to better engagement and brand sentiment.
6. Monitoring and Compliance
Once you sign a deal, monitor the influencer's content and online behavior on a regular basis.
Establish a monitoring schedule and use tools to flag potential issues, such as mentions of competitors or inappropriate behavior. Keep an open line of communication with influencers for timely resolutions of any issues that arise.
Consider creating a crisis management plan to address potential fallout from noncompliance or from controversial content. A plan will help you maintain a consistent brand image and quickly address any missteps in the influencer partnership.
7. Content Collaboration
Engage in a collaborative relationship with influencers. The key is to provide them with all the necessary information and resources to create content that aligns with your brand's values and standards.
Here are some ways you can establish a good collaborative relationship with influencers:
- Invite influencers to product launches or company events to immerse them in the brand culture.
- Offer creative direction and feedback during the content creation process to ensure that the final product is a true reflection of your brand.
- Organize regular workshops or webinars to educate influencers about your brand's standards, storytelling elements, and visual aesthetics.
8. Post-Campaign Evaluation
After an influencer campaign concludes, conduct a thorough evaluation to assess its impact on your brand image and equity, in addition to quantitative metrics, such as sales or conversion rates.
Use both qualitative and quantitative data to gauge the campaign's effectiveness, including...
- Social media sentiment analysis
- Brand perception surveys
- Engagement metrics
Analyze whether the influencer's content reinforced your brand's message or whether there were any discrepancies that need to be addressed in future campaigns.
You should also take the opportunity to seek feedback from the influencer on the partnership's process and the influencer's experience working with your brand. That feedback can provide valuable insights for improving future collaborations.
* * *
B2B marketing requires an investment mindset. Influencer marketing can be a potent tool for B2B marketers to connect with their target audience and enhance brand visibility.
So, can you ensure brand safety with influencer marketing? The answer is a resounding yes, provided you take the necessary precautions and follow the tips outlined in this article.
Because protecting your brand's reputation is non-negotiable.
In the fast-paced world of B2B marketing, influencer marketing offers a unique opportunity to build credibility and trust. Embrace it, but do so with the utmost care for brand safety.
Brand safety is not a luxury; it's a necessity. So, go forth and leverage the influence, but do it with caution and responsibility. Your brand's reputation depends on it.
More Resources on Influencer Marketing and Brand Safety
Five B2B Influencer Marketing Guidelines for Brands
How to Analyze Your Influencer Campaign Performance
The Three Key Types of Influencer Marketing Campaigns [Infographic]
What Makes B2B Influencer Marketing Programs Successful [Research]
