Instagram Guides, Explained

One of Instagram’s newer features is also one of its most underutilized. We’re breaking down the basics of Instagram Guides.

The debut of Instagram Guides went under the radar for most. When they were first introduced to a select number of wellness-focused accounts in May of 2020, the world had more pressing matters, understandably. By the time Guides became a feature that all users could access in November 2020, other, flashier features like Reels and the revamped Shops tab captured the headlines instead, leaving Instagram Guides an unexplored feature for most.

We see Instagram Guides as an exciting way to make the most of your brand’s Instagram profile. In fact, we use it across both Lytehouse and Socialyte to highlight the brands and influencers we work with.

Let’s break down the basics of Instagram Guides so you can understand why they could be a big part of your next Instagram marketing initiative.

What Are Guides?

Guides are a way to share content, locations, and products as a collection. You can think of them as mini blogs or catalogues that are accessible directly on Instagram.

There are 3 types of Guides you can create:

1. Places - Ideal for local recommendations and travel guides

2. Products - To share product recommendations or curate catalogues using items available on Instagram Shops

3. Posts - Can share either posts from your own profile or posts that you’ve saved from other creators

How Do I Create A Guide?

To create a Guide, click the “Create” button on Instagram (that little Plus sign in the top right corner) and select “Guide”. You will then be prompted to select one of the 3 Guide types (Places, Products, or Posts). From there, you’ll be able to add entries to your Guide.

For Places and Products Guides, you can add saved places or products or search for ones you’re thinking of. You also have the option to add in saved photos, either from your own profile or from other creators, to accompany each listed place or product.

For Posts Guides, you’ll have the option to add saved posts or posts from your profile.

Once you’ve added in your entries, you’ll need to select a cover image, title your Guide, as well as each entry. You also have the option to add a Guide description as well as captions beneath each entry, if desired.

You can save Guides as a draft if needed. Once you’re satisfied with your Guide, press “Publish” and the Guide will appear as a tab under your Instagram profile (with a map icon).

How Many Posts Can Be Added To A Guide?

Guides currently allow up to 30 entries per Guide. 

What Types Of Posts Can Be Added To A Guide?

If you can save it, you can add it to a Guide!

In-feed posts, Reels, IGTV videos, products, and places can all be added to Guides.

How Can Guides Be Shared?

One issue with Guides is that, currently, you cannot share them to your main “feed”; instead they live under their own tab on a user’s profile. Because of that, they’re not as visible as other post types, but there are ways to share them.

Guides can be shared to your Story or sent via Direct Message to accounts. You can also share a link to your Guide and share across different websites or messaging platforms that way.

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Now that you have the basics of Instagram Guides down, read this post for some ideas on how to incorporate Guides into your brand’s channel or next Instagram marketing campaign.

Have more questions about Instagram Guides or anything else social media? Let’s chat.

4 Ways To Create Campaigns That Break Through The Noise

The pool of influencers has never been bigger, but that also means the competition for eyeballs is fiercer than ever before.

This means that the standard one-and-done Instagram post approach to influencer marketing is not going to have the same effect that it did just a few years ago.

So, what content will cut through the noise in 2021?

1) Embrace Long-Term Partnerships

For one, long-term partnerships are going to help you tell a story through weeks or even months. According to the popular “Rule of 7”, people need to see an ad interact with a brand 7 times before they remember it, so seeing an influencer speak about a product once and then never again probably isn’t going to have much of an impact on converting those views to customers. On the other hand, if an influencer constantly mentions a brand month after month, followers are more likely to remember the brand, take it into consideration, and finally purchase the product. By incorporating repetition into your influencer marketing strategy, you increase the likelihood for an influencer’s followers to translate into customers.

2) Lean Into Relevant Trends

Social media apps from Instagram to TikTok to Twitter thrive on trending content and viral hits. Creators hop aboard popular sounds and hashtags to make their content discoverable, taking trending formats and making them their own. When it makes sense for brands to do so, they can also join in on viral trends and give it their own branded spin.

Take Nathan Apodaca’s insanely popular TikTok video of him skateboarding while drinking a jug of Ocean Spray cranberry juice while Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” plays. The video was viewed over 78 million times, spawned countless remakes, and even got multiple Fleetwood Mac band members to join TikTok to talk about the unexpected reemergence of their 1977 hit. When clothing brand KJP put a preppy autumnal spin on Apodaca’s video, they received over 5 million views. KJP’s take on the “Dreams” video worked because they tied it into their brand personality and made it their own (in this iteration, the skateboarder is wearing one of KJP’s pumpkin sweaters and has a carved pumpkin head; the cranberry juice is replaced with a preppy classic, a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte). The organic plug of Ocean Spray came full circle for Apodaca, too: Ocean Spray turned Apodaca’s video into an official #DreamsChallenge trend and also gifted him with a brand new truck (plus all the cranberry juice he could ask for).

3) Capitalize On Authentic Moments

Which brings us to another opportunity for innovative marketing: take advantage of authentic moments in the space when you see them. When TikTok’s biggest star Charli D’Amelio was constantly sipping iced Dunkin’ Donuts drinks in her popular dance videos, Dunkin’ saw the opportunity to partner with D’Amelio and created “The Charli”, a signature drink that fans could order at Dunkin’ locations. Because the partnership stemmed out of D’Amelio’s natural love of the coffee, it proved to be a major success. It also required minimal effort on Dunkin’s part, as they didn’t need to develop a new product, just market Charli’s signature order.

Other food companies have taken this approach in recent months, like McDonald’s with the Travis Scott meal. With both of these campaigns, the brands noticed natural affinities and transformed those into official partnerships, and because D’Amelio and Scott were already fans of Dunkin’ and McDonald’s respectively, their audiences saw these partnerships as natural progressions rather than disingenuous, money-motivated collaborations. 

4) Do It For The Meme

Similar to capitalizing on trending content, Instagram itself declared 2020 the Year of the Meme. Their year-end review highlighted the most popular memes that took the Internet by storm last year, from the Dolly Parton Challenge to Tiger King to relatable jokes about working from home in quarantine. Such memes succeeded on Instagram not only because they were witty and clever, but because they were inherently sharable. Shares and saves have become increasingly valuable analytics to monitor on Instagram and other social media platforms, and we suggest this be one of your key metrics to focus on when developing your social media content strategy.

Take the recent proliferation of Bernie Sanders memes: one iconic photo of the Vermont senator donning his favorite Burton jacket and a pair of hand-knit mittens sitting by himself at President Biden’s inauguration became an instantly viral meme that flooded the internet in record time. Here he is, joining the cast of Sex and the City as the fourth member now that Samantha isn’t returning for the reboot. Here he is with fellow meme icon Guy Fieri. In fact, one man even created a website where you could insert an inauguration Bernie into any photo you desire, should inspiration for a meme strike (and over 9 million photos were created on the site in the week that it was live). Or you can transform yourself into the mittens-wearing senator with an Instagram Story filter. You get the idea.

As a case study, the Bernie Sanders memes encapsulates so much about the content that succeeds in 2021: it tied into a timely event, was easy to transform and turn into a trend where everyone could add their own spin on the image, created for hilarious memes that were highly shareable, and the image itself was incredibly relatable. Who among us hasn’t felt like a curmudgeonly old man looking moderately annoyed with everything after this past year? 

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Gone are the days of obsessing over magazine-quality photography and vague three-word captions. Social media users want content that is sharable, saveable, and relatable; in other words, content that educates, entertains, and inspires. With every new social media post and influencer campaign in 2021, ask yourself how each piece of content is achieving one of these 3 main goals and you’ll see your brand grow and foster a community of its own.

For more on the latest social media trends and where the influencer marketing industry is heading, download our State Of Influencer Marketing 2021 report. 

3 Ways To Maximize Influencer Campaign Success

You’ve spent valuable time and money on your latest influencer campaign. Now it’s time to make the most of it.

Here are 3 ways that you can maximize the results of your influencer marketing campaigns.

1) Secure Usage Rights For Brand Channels

You’re already contracting influencers to create content on behalf of your brand, why not utilize that content for brand-owned channels and digital ads as well? Internet-savvy consumers tend to prefer influencer-created content over branded imagery, so utilizing influencer-created content can help increase clicks and sales conversions. Note that usage and amplification may increase an influencer’s fee and should be discussed in the contracting phase of a campaign.

For more on using influencer content on brand channels, check out this blog post.

2) Strategically Amplify Influencer Content

The right content amplification strategy is the secret to a successful influencer marketing campaign. Whitelisting (which we break down in detail here) can extend the reach of your campaign beyond just an influencer’s existing audience, exposing your brand to new, like minded users who may also be interested in your brand. In addition to targeting lookalike audiences, you’re able to customize copy, imagery, and calls-to-action for whitelisted posts, ensuring that you can achieve a number of KPIs and test out different strategies until you find the perfect formula.

3) Re-Partner With Successful Influencers

When you find an influencer partner who exceeds campaign expectations, it’s time to brainstorm the next partnership! As the industry becomes more saturated, finding and fostering strong relationships with influencers will become essential to long term success. Continuous partnerships will also help build trust with the influencer’s audience, as they’ll see the influencer returning to your brand time and time again and be encouraged to do the same. Join forces with your best influencers to help support new launches and marketing initiatives on a regular basis and utilize them as brand ambassadors.

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Let’s plan your next influencer marketing campaign together so we can ensure all your goals are met. Connect with us here.

Support Asian American and Pacific Islander Creators

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has experienced an extremely difficult year, with a 149% increase in hate crimes in 2020 that stemmed from anti-Asian sentiments related to the coronavirus pandemic. With May being Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, it’s an important moment to reflect on how we can all do better to support and represent AAPI individuals, not just during this month but all year long.

Representation in media and marketing alone won’t directly solve the racism that the AAPI community experiences, but it can help. Show your support by partnering with AAPI influencers and donating to organizations that support the AAPI community. As Lytehouse continues to push for diverse representation in its casting of influencers, we encourage you to take a similar pledge and commit to representing and lifting up diverse voices and faces in your brand marketing.

We've created a one-sheet with key statistics about the AAPI community as well as ways to support the community, including quotes from AAPI influencers on our sister agency Socialyte's roster. Together in our industry, we can make a difference.

The Basics Of Influencer Campaign Contracting

Contracts: a time-consuming yet vitally important part of the influencer campaign process.

We know, contracts are no one’s favorite part of the campaign process, but they’re detailed and necessary for a reason. Contracts set expectations for all parties involved in the campaign, from what type of content is required to when and how an influencer will be paid for their services.

A contract that is too short or missing crucial information can lead to disappointment and frustration further down the road of the campaign process. A clear and detailed contract assumes nothing and outlines all expectations and processes so no one is left in the dark about a partnership’s requirements. 

Here are the basics:

Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is intended to be construed as legal advice. If you need assistance with any of the issues identified in this post, we recommend you consult with an attorney in your area.

Do influencer campaigns really need contracts?

Yes! Contracts protect the influencer, brand, and any other party involved in the campaign. Even if it’s just a one-off Instagram Story post, creating a contract with clear guidelines and legal verbiage protects all parties involved.

What should be included in a contract?

Scope of work: What is being asked of the influencer for this campaign? This should outline how many posts the influencer is expected to post over the course of the partnership, which platforms they need to post on, and so on.

Pro tip: if the campaign requires Instagram Story content, specify how many slides of Stories are required! We can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to clarify what counts as “1 Story” with clients.

Creative guidelines: This is where all the photo, caption, and/or video requirements are outlined. Include talking points, image requirements, required hashtags, example content, and do’s and don’ts of campaign content. Providing clear creative direction for influencers to refer to will minimize back and forth on approving content and give all parties involved a clear understanding of what the brand is looking for with influencer creative.

Approval process: How does the influencer go about submitting their content for approval? Is there a limit to how many times the influencer can be asked to reshoot content? 

Campaign timeline: This should include not only posting dates but also approval deadlines. 

Payment terms: How will the influencer be paid, how much will they receive for the project, and when will they receive payment? This section should clearly answer all 3 of these questions.

Content usage: If the brand would like to use the influencer’s content for brand-owned channels and materials, it is important to outline precisely where and for how long the brand will be utilizing the influencer’s content. An influencer should never be surprised to see their content on brand materials.

Note: usage may increase an influencer’s rate.

Exclusivity terms: It’s pretty understandable that a brand would not want an influencer talking about a direct brand competitor in close proximity to a campaign going live, so this section is a great place to outline any exclusivity details. It should be noted that the broader and longer an exclusivity term is, the more an influencer is likely to charge. When you can, get specific about your content category (for example, asking for exclusivity in the shampoo category as opposed to exclusivity in the beauty category). 

Indemnification and liability limitations: By working together and associating themselves with each other to the public, both the brand and influencer are taking on new legal risks. These types of provisions (which can get fairly technical) ensure that both parties are going to take responsibility for any issues they might have caused for the other party as part of the campaign, and also minimize the amount of legal exposure they might otherwise have.

Cancellation policy: Marketing plans can change for any number of reasons, and after 2020, we became especially aware of how important it is to keep in a cancellation policy should circumstances around the campaign change. 

FTC disclosure requirements: The Federal Trade Commission requires brand partnerships to be clearly and transparently disclosed, so it’s good to have a reminder of what you require influencers to include in their disclosures.

For more information on what does and what does not count as proper partnership disclosure according to the FTC, check out our article here.

Confidentiality: When working on a campaign, it’s possible that confidential information will be shared between the brand and influencer. A confidentiality paragraph will ensure that items like the influencer’s rates or the brand’s trade secrets are kept confidential.

What are the biggest mistakes when it comes to contracting?

Omitting details and requirements: Essentially, the more details the better when it comes to influencer contracts. The biggest issues with influencer campaigns often arise out of lack of communication or expecting influencers to just know things, even if they aren’t explicitly stated. 

Expecting exclusivity: While a lot of influencers will try to limit the partnerships they accept in certain categories, unless exclusivity terms are clearly outlined in a contract, you cannot expect an influencer to know that they aren’t “supposed” to be posting about other brands or competitors. 

What’s the biggest contract red flag?

Asking influencers to NOT disclose paid partnerships. This violates FTC guidelines and can lead to penalties and other legal actions. Not to mention, it just feels shady.

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For all the latest on influencer marketing, download Lytehouse’s State of Influencer Marketing 2021 report.

Whitelisting vs. Boosting: Breaking Down The Differences & Benefits

We’re firm believers in the power of amplification in influencer marketing, but it can be tricky to figure out successful tactics. Let’s break down the basics.

Whitelisting, dark posting, boosting...if you’re in the digital marketing world, you’ve likely heard these terms before, but understanding what they all mean can be complicated. The world of digital ad amplification is still relatively new, and finding the pathways to success can be difficult for newcomers.

For Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram, there are two main methods of amplification: boosting and whitelisting, and in our opinion, one is far superior to the other.

Boosting

Boosting influencer content through Instagram’s Branded Content Tool is simple, but it’s options are limited.

The Limitations of Boosting

As we mentioned, boosting is a little too simplistic to create targeted ads that maximize reach and conversion.

For one, you cannot edit a post’s copy or imagery in order to run variant ads and figure out which ads are performing better and worth scaling. Another drawback is the inability to target lookalike audiences through boosted pos ts, and some features, like Instagram Stories, are not supported through Branded Content boosting.

Last, advertising partners can only access metrics of an influencer’s content for 14 days after the original posting date, making it difficult to run longterm ads and determine success over time.

Whitelisting

Whitelisting is where influencers will give brand partners access to their accounts in order to modify and promote content directly from their account.

The Benefits of Whitelisting

Brands can customize a post’s captions, images, and calls-to-action to target different KPIs and achieve various campaign objectives. Through whitelisting, brands can also create posts that appear to be shared from the influencer’s channel but do not appear on their feed.

In addition to customization options, brands also have access to a vast number of performance insights such as reach, engagement, impressions, and clicks.

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We love the customization opportunities and insights that come with whitelisting and definitely recommend it for your next influencer campaign. Have no clue where to start? Amplification is one of the many services Lytehouse can manage on your brand’s behalf. Let’s chat.

What Factors Go Into An Influencer’s Rate?

Influencer rates cannot be determined by formulas and quantitative factors alone. The truth is much more complicated.

Let’s discuss influencer rates. Within our industry, it’s one of the most widely debated topics, one that lacks transparency and standardization across the board. We’ve seen influencers undervalue their worth with low rates, and we’ve seen brands bristle at influencers asking for what the brands view as overinflated fees. It’s a fine line to walk; ask for too little and you’re setting up a standard of brands underpaying creators; ask for too much and run the risk of not meeting the brand’s ROI expectations, or turn them off influencer marketing altogether.

While it would be easy to have a set formula to determine what an influencer should be charging for a sponsored post, the truth is that influencer rates are not one-size-fits-all. Two influencers who on paper may appear similar in following and content may charge two vastly different rates. That doesn’t mean that one is overcharging or one is undercharging; it simply means that there are more factors to consider that have an impact on an influencer’s fee for sponsored content. 

Factors To Consider

Analytics: Quantitative numbers like following size and engagement rates are a great place to start, but they don’t tell the whole picture. An influencer could have a million followers but reach the same audience as an influencer with 50K followers. 

Demographics: Who is the influencer’s audience? Do they appeal to in-demand millennial and Gen Z users? Do they have a majority-US following? Strong demographics can raise an influencer’s fee.

Campaign scope: The scale of a campaign will have an impact on an influencer’s fee. One Instagram photo will cost less than a 5-minute professionally-filmed IGTV video, for example. Some influencers will charge for multiple posts a la carte, while others may offer “discounted” rates for comprehensive projects. 

Content Usage: Using an influencer’s content on brand-owned channels and materials can raise the price of a campaign. It’s important to outline exactly where and for how long your brand intends to use an influencer’s content so there is no confusion about usage.

Exclusivity: Exclusivity clauses are important for a lot of brands—you don’t want to have an influencer partner feature your competitor the next day!—but they do affect rates. Short time frames with specific category exclusivities (for example, a 1-week exclusivity in the shampoo category) will incur lower fees than broader exclusivity requirements (like a year-long exclusivity in the hair space). 

Expertise: The recommendations of industry experts are highly valued and thus can drive up the price of a sponsored post. A verified account with a blue check can also lend an air of credibility and likewise raise an influencer’s rate. 

Demand: It’s simple economics: in-demand influencers can charge more for partnerships. Influencers often limit the amount of partnerships they take on to avoid oversaturating their feeds with branded content, so highly sought after influencers may raise their rates. Influencers may also charge a premium during holidays when demand surges. 

Content quality: How does the influencer create content? Do they use their phone, or are they hiring photographers and videographers? Are their captions compelling and thought-out, or are they simple and to the point? 

Management: Yes, management means an influencer is giving a certain percentage to their agency, but it also establishes the influencer as having a proven track record. 

Past partnerships: Past partnerships can also showcase an influencer’s track record in the space. Working with prestigious brands and securing repeat partnerships can speak to an influencer’s success and ability to market effectively to audiences. 

Press appeal: Celebrities and public figures are so appealing for brands because they can garner press coverage, which is also why they can charge a premium for sponsored content compared to traditional influencers with similar following sizes.

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Have more questions about influencer rates? We can help!

Honoring International Transgender Day of Visibility

Today, March 31st, is International Transgender Day of Visibility. It is a day where we are committed to celebrating the transgender community in a positive and uplifting way while also amplifying transgender voices.

The day was born in 2009 as a reaction to the lack of LGBTQ+ recognition of transgender people. There was frustration that the only well-known transgender-centered day was Transgender Day of Remembrance, which mourned the murders of transgender people. With 2020 being a turbulent and difficult year when it came to violence against transgender people, and the sad reality that 2021 is already proving to be just as difficult with anti-transgender legislation in states across the country, the acknowledgment and recognition of transgender contributions to society, culture, and history is more important than ever before.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an opportunity to give the long-overdue round-of-applause to transgender influencers, creators, and activists as they tirelessly fight and continue to use their voices and platforms as a vehicle of change and advocacy. Today is a day for all people of all gender identities to take a stance for a brighter future of transgender equality and inclusion.

At Lytehouse, we believe in the transformative power of storytelling. Beyond creating content that asks a consumer to consider buying a new pair of shoes, we know marketing is an integral part of creating connections and making people feel included, represented, and supported. When marketing fails to represent the world as diverse and inclusive of people of all walks of life, including the LGBTQ+ community, it fails to do its job. Days like International Transgender Day of Visibility are important reminders to us all of how important it is to represent transgender people and amplify their voices, not just today but 365 days a year. It’s a day to make your brand’s values known, supporting the transgender community not only through representation and marketing support, but through supporting the organizations that are dedicated to assisting the transgender community.

For more information on International Transgender Day of Visibility and ways to support the transgender community, download our one-sheet below.

Creating Content That Resonates

As influencer marketing and social ads grow in volume, so does the competition for capturing new consumers.

Social media behavior moves at the speed of light, and influencer programs that worked a few years ago may feel completely outdated now. So what type of content can hold audience attention in 2021? Here’s our advice:

Embrace Long-Term Partnerships

It’s time to look at influencers as true partners rather than one-off contractors. When an influencer speaks about a brand multiple times over the course of weeks or months, their audience is more likely to trust the partnership and take the influencer’s recommendation into consideration and sales clicks.

Lean Into Relevant Trends

TikTok, memes, and trending hashtags have all contributed to the rise of trend-based content, and brands can benefit from the virality of popular trends by adapting relevant trends for their own channels.

Be warned: trends move quickly on apps like TikTok, so if you are going to try your hand at trend-based content, you’ll need a quick turnaround. Most trends come and go in about a week.

As the FTC gets stricter on how music on apps like TikTok and Instagram are used, you’ll also need to be wary of copyrights around trending music.

Capitalize On Authentic Moments

Lean into authentic brand moments when you see them. Brands like Dunkin’ Donuts have hosted successful campaigns centered around organic brand affinities, such as “The Charli”, a rebranded drink based on TikTok star Charli D’Amelio’s favorite Dunkin’ order. Her fans have seen her sip Dunkin’ coffee all over her social media, so the partnership was a no-brainer.

Do It For The Meme

As with trending content, memes are all about contributing your own spin on zeitgeist cultural moments. From Tiger King jokes to Bernie Sanders appearing literally everywhere after an iconic photo from President Biden’s inauguration, memes are everywhere. They’re also sharable, relatable, and easy to digest, making them primed for extended reach and impressions. 

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Looking for more ways to step you your digital marketing plans and learn about the latest trends driving influencer marketing? Our State of Influencer Marketing 2021 Report breaks down resonating content and so much more. Download it here.

Think Beyond Traditional Influencers

Stretching your understanding of who an influencer can be will open up your campaigns to a wide audience.

Traditional influencers—creators known for their lifestyle content on social media—are essential for digital marketing in 2021, and we’ll be the first ones to advocate for the power of digital influence. Sometimes, though, a campaign requires an expansive approach that looks beyond the realm of standard influencer marketing and considers a broader definition of who can be considered an influential partner.

Influencer Employees

Look internally and cast employees within your own business to speak as brand advocates. They can share an inside look at the brand and speak as authentic (albeit somewhat biased) advocates for the company.

Customers

Why not tap into your network of already-devoted customers? Create a dedicated branded hashtag to capture user-generated content, encourage audience participation through contests and design decisions, and bring customers into your brand’s valued community.

Nano-Influencers

Defined as influencers with under 10,000 followers, these creators have smaller but highly engaged audiences and can speak to niche audiences, making them great partners for targeting specific or localized audiences for a minimal budget.

Trade Influencers

B2B and SaaS companies can benefit from partnering with professional influencers with specified backgrounds who can speak to fellow professionals about the products that benefit them.

Graphic Design & Meme Accounts

Shareability has become an increasingly valuable measure of success for social media campaigns. Educational and entertaining text and graphic-heavy content is ripe for sharing, increasing the overall reach of content.

Activist Influencers

Social media is where we’re having necessary conversations about race, politics, gender, the environment, and other important issues, and social media activists are becoming influencers in their own right. You can work with activists as you would traditional influencers and partner with them on sponsored content, but we encourage you to look at larger ways you can partner with activists, potentially bringing them on as brand consultants to address diversity in marketing and within your company as a way to holistically collaborate and enact change both internally and externally. 

Niche Creators

When you hear the term “influencer” your mind probably wanders to fashion and beauty lovers, or perhaps world travelers showcasing exotic locales. The truth is, you can talk about pretty much anything and hold influence; take TikTok creator Tony Piloseno, who went viral for his popular paint mixing videos, as an example. For brands with products that may not make sense for a traditional lifestyle influencer to promote, there’s a niche creator out there who can speak to your brand’s offerings.

Entrepreneur Influencers

Entrepreneurs are taking to social media to educate audiences on what it takes to start a business and inspire others to follow their dreams. These entrepreneur influencers have dedicated followings and know how to sell, so they are great partners for conversion-focused campaigns. They also often have various online offerings, including podcasts, e-books, and online courses, providing additional ways to partner on branded content. 

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With so many people turning to social media to share their passions, there are more types of influencers than ever before. For more information on non-traditional influencers and how to best activate them, download our full State Of Influencer Marketing 2021 Report here.

Let’s Talk About Clubhouse

Clubhouse is the hottest new social media platform that has the digital marketing world buzzing, but will the hype last?

Clubhouse, aka the audio-only app that tech insiders, celebrities, and influencers alike are all raving about, has been gaining a lot of traction in recent months as it expands its audience. While still in beta-mode (and invite-only) at the moment, we think Clubhouse is the next big thing in social media.

Sure, apps can come and go quicker than a flash of lightning, but every once in a while you get an Instagram or TikTok, an invention that has the power to reshape how we use social media to communicate with one another. Clubhouse is that next innovator. Here’s why we’re digging this new app:

Ideas Over Image

Social media has built up the idea that everyone lives picture-perfect lives, but we know this is far from the truth. While apps like Instagram encourage users to only showcase the highlights of their lives, there’s been a bigger push in the digital world to cut through the filters and content curation and be “real”. 

Clubhouse puts the focus on verité and personality, in large part due to its audio-only nature. Aside from your profile picture, your voice is your main tool of communication on the app, taking pressure off of having to appear camera-ready, worrying about having the perfect backdrop, and other appearance-based stresses. Conversations are the main way to foster connections on the app, letting personality and ideas take center stage. Seeing a platform place thought leadership above imagery is really exciting as we try to find ways to seek more authentic experiences on social media.

Bringing Conversations Online

Speaking of authenticity, Clubhouse conversations are about as close as we can get to IRL conversations in our pandemic-stricken world. They happen in real-time and aren’t accessible after the fact, creating just the right amount of FOMO to encourage users to hop onto the app when they see an intriguing conversation beginning.

While this may deter creators looking to utilize content across different platforms (you can’t record your Clubhouse conversation and turn it into a podcast episode, for example) we like to look at Clubhouse as a way to increase your status as a thought leader in a way that cultivates relationships rather than content.

Organic Brand Building

Of course, the big question everyone has is: will Clubhouse open up to marketing and advertising opportunities? And if so, how? Sponsored Clubhouse Rooms, pre-roll audio ads, and Room amplification are just some of the ways we foresee Clubhouse introducing advertising opportunities to the app as it expands, and Clubhouse has listed ticketed events and subscriptions as monetization methods that will be making their way to the app in the near future. For now, one of the delightful things about Clubhouse is that it is free from ads.

Now, just because official advertising opportunities aren’t available on Clubhouse just yet, it doesn’t mean you should ignore the app in your marketing plans. In fact, now is the opportune time to get in on the ground floor and establish a community on Clubhouse, one that you can use to organically expand your customer base.

Today’s consumers love to follow brands who have developed a sense of community within their social media messaging, and Clubhouse offers an inventive way to further that brand-building in a way that puts ideas and conversation above hard sales. Develop Clubhouse discussions around topics that naturally tie back to your brand—say, an eco-friendly skincare brand hosting a talk on steps you can take to be more environmentally conscious—and partner with influencers and industry experts who can add further insights to the conversation.

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Clubhouse isn’t the only app getting in on the audio-only trend. Twitter has started to roll out a competitor feature called Spaces. Like Clubhouse, users can enter a Space and listen to or participate in a conversation. Spaces lives within the main Twitter app, with live conversations appearing at the top of a user’s home feed. Facebook is also reportedly developing a competitor to Clubhouse.

While not everyone has access to Spaces yet and Facebook’s yet-to-be-released competitor is still in early development, Twitter and Facebook have a huge advantage over Clubhouse if their competitive products take off: established followings. Influencers with large followings on Twitter or Facebook/Instagram could flock to these competitor offerings and choose to focus their attention on cultivating their existing community rather than building a new one from scratch on Clubhouse. It’s happened before; just look at Snapchat after Instagram rolled out Stories. As more Clubhouse challengers emerge, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. 

Want to hear more about our thoughts on Clubhouse—or just need an invite? Let’s talk.

4 Reasons Why Instagram Stories Are A Valuable Platform For Marketers

Social media is always evolving, and one trend we’ve certainly noticed in 2020 is that Instagram Stories are slowly overtaking Instagram Posts as the most popular post type for influencer campaigns.

From April to September, Instagram Stories accounted for almost half of all our campaign post types. Across that time period, we observed an 8% increase in Instagram Story campaigns from 2019 to 2020.

Why is it that Instagram Stories are on the rise? There are a few factors that make Instagram Stories so valuable for marketers. Let’s break them down:

1. Relatability Factor

If Instagram feed posts are a dreamy highlight reel, then Instagram Stories are where an influencer’s personality and real life can shine. There is less pressure to make every Instagram Story frame picture-perfect, making them feel much more relatable and off-the-cuff.

When it comes to brand partnerships, even Instagram Stories are often pre-recorded and approved by the brand before posting, but their reliance on selfie videos, iPhone photos, and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks make them relatable to viewers, much more so than the curated content that goes on an influencer’s feed. 

2. Demonstrations Made Easy

Instagram Stories make it incredibly easy to demonstrate how to use a featured product in short, concise clips. Whether an influencer is cooking a recipe, demoing a new technology, showing how to style a piece of clothing, or something else, Instagram Stories are the perfect platform for such demonstrations. With the ability to add text captions and GIF stickers too, there are plenty of tools to create engaging and informative tutorial-like content. 

3. Conversation Is Key

Instagram Stories are about community building, and the poll and question stickers, along with the ability for followers to direct message (aka DM) an influencer help cultivate conversation. Viewers can provide feedback, ask questions, and create a dialogue that can last far beyond the 24 hours that a Story is live.

Story interactions are beneficial for 2 main reasons: first, replies, poll votes, and other interactions help increase the Story’s engagement numbers and can in turn boost an influencer’s Story to the front of people’s Story feeds. Second, both your brand and the influencer can receive immediate feedback on the content, product, and partnership. Maybe a follower has a question about how to use a product or absolutely loves the content produced and DMs the influencer to say as much. This instant feedback can help both of you inform future content and strategies for future marketing efforts.

4. Ease Of Conversion

Last but certainly not least, the ability to add “swipe-up links” is perhaps the valuable benefit of Instagram Stories, particularly if you are deciding whether an in-feed Post or Story is more worth your time (and budget). Adding in swipe-up links allows influencers to turn their content into sales conversions and hopefully drive more sales to your brand.

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Now that you know why Instagram Stories are all the rage in influencer marketing, make sure you know the ins and outs of Instagram Story analytics so that you can track your campaign success.

Are Drive-Ins The Future Of Experiential Marketing?

Experiential events have undergone an evolution in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Heading into 2020, in-person experiences were celebrated as a valuable way to market to consumers and influencers. Then lockdowns started happening and the experiential events moved largely to the digital world. Now that lockdowns are slowly starting to lift, a retro type of event has re-emerged as the premier way to host experiential events in a socially distanced world: the drive-in.

Before this year, drive-in theaters were seen as a charming relic of a bygone era. They were fun for a novelty movie experience if you could find a nearby location, but with movie theaters (not to mention streaming services) conveniently in reach, the drive-in business model wasn’t exactly flourishing.

However, this year has witnessed the resurgence of the drive-in experience as one of the best ways to keep experiential moments alive during COVID-related restrictions on events. Not only are new movies debuting in drive-ins (some new releases are even hosting drive-in premieres) but brands are taking advantage of this innovative workaround to host safe events.

This works best for entertainment-related events like television shows and movie premieres, or presentation-centered events like a panel or workshop, where attendees can watch from the comfort of their own cars. Another option is to host a drive-through event where attendees can drive through an activation (like this “drive into” experience for Netflix’s Stranger Things) which lends itself well to art installations and visual moments.

If you are considering hosting a drive-in event of your own, think about how you can highlight your brand’s values and products through the drive-in format. Entertainment properties are obvious candidates for this event style, but drive-ins could lend themselves to a number of industries. A clothing brand could host a drive-in fashion show, for example. A beauty brand could partner with a popular beauty influencer to teach a beauty workshop featuring a new product line, with guests practicing along from within their vehicles. Get creative about how you can center your brand through this format of presentation. You’ll also want to put a lot of attention into ensuring that your event is adhering to local safety regulations and keeping everyone protected and healthy at the event. 

Planning a drive-in experience is no simple task, but they are a fun way of creating an interactive experience when such moments are at the moment rare. And if you need a helping hand, Lytehouse can work with you to plan and execute your drive-in experience from the initial idea to post-event reporting.

YouTube Analytics, Explained

If you’re interested in video content, there’s no better platform than YouTube. For both individual creators and brand channels, video is a powerful way to connect with your audience and build a loyal fanbase.

As with all social media platforms, understanding your analytics will help you perfect your YouTube video strategy so that you can create resonant content and grow your following.

Here are the key stats you should understand when looking at your YouTube analytics:

Channel Analytics To Watch

To access your channel analytics, open up your account’s YouTube Studio page and click the graph icon on the left hand side. You can customize the time period, but the default shows analytics for the past 28 days.

Channel Views: How many overall views your channel received across all videos (note: a “view” on YouTube means someone has watched at least 30 seconds of a video) in a given time period. This is a good overview of how many viewers your channel is currently receiving in a month.

Subscriber Growth: This statistic shows you the positive or negative change in subscribers over a given time period. A large increase in subscribers indicates that your channel is growing in popularity, always a positive sign!

Top Videos: This one is pretty straightforward, as you will see your top 10 best performing videos over the time period you are viewing.

Take a look at your top videos and look for any trends or points of similarity between them. Is there a common theme or format that is performing the best? Identifying these commonalities will help you determine what viewers are best responding to so you can shape your future content strategy to share similar content.

Impressions: The number of times your videos’ thumbnails appear across YouTube, as well as external websites and apps that link to YouTube videos.

Impression Click-Through Rate: This is the percentage of users who click through to watch one of your videos from an impression. According to YouTube, average impression click-through rates range from 2% to 10%. 

YouTube also recommends waiting at least a week to get a video’s true click-through rate and compare against older videos to get an accurate comparison of your average click-through rate.

Unique Viewers: Because a single viewer can watch and rewatch videos over and over again, or watch several videos on your channel in a row, it’s also important to see how many unique viewers are tuning into your channel.

Traffic Source Types

YouTube breaks down traffic sources into several categories, including YouTube search, Channel pages, Suggested videos, Playlists, and External. This overview will show you the percentage breakdown of each type of traffic source, and below, you’ll be able to see more detailed analytics on each traffic type. 

External: traffic sources from outside of YouTube. This can include Google searches, your website, other social media channels, and external websites that your videos may be embedded on. 

Playlists: You can create different playlists on your channel to group similar videos or entries in a series together and organize your content. Other users can also add your videos to playlists of their own. This section will show you the best-performing playlists, which can help you see the types of content that people are looking at the most, and also channels that are similar to yours that are helping to boost your content. 

Suggested Videos: one of the reasons why YouTube can become such a time-suck is their algorithm that suggests related videos once you are finished watching your current video. You can see the videos that direct viewers to your content and understand the topics and styles of videos your viewers are interested in based on the videos that led them to you.

YouTube Search: These are the top search terms that lead viewers to discover your videos. This is why it is super important to optimize your video titles and descriptions with searchable terms. The best titles succinctly explain what the video is about and utilize trending buzzwords when applicable.

Video Analytics To Watch

Along with channel analytics, you can view statistics on individual videos to further understand how your audience engages with your content and if certain videos are successful or not. As with Channel Analytics, you can change the time period for video analytics, but the default provides analytics since the video was published.

Views: How many total views a video has received. This is a great top line measure of success, but be sure to look at the other numbers for a complete picture of a video’s success, as YouTube counts just 30 seconds of watch time as 1 view.

Subscribers: How many new subscribers you gained from a video. If this number is high, that’s a great sign, as it means your video was engaging and valuable in content, so much so that users have subscribed to see more of your content!

Audience Retention: How much of your video are viewers actually watching? Viewers click on videos that aren’t what they're looking for, or get bored and click away, all the time, so this graphs out the average drop off of viewership over the length of your video. There will almost always be drop off, but the higher percentage you keep throughout the video, the more your video is doing a good job at retaining an audience.

Top Traffic Sources: How people found your video. As with channel analytics, this is broken down into different categories like YouTube Search, Suggested Videos, Playlists, and more, but the analytics here refer to the specific video you are monitoring. In addition, you can also see how many of your subscribers received a “New Video” notification and clicked through to watch (according to YouTube, the average notification click-through rate is between 0.5% and 2.5%).

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With video content more popular than ever, understanding how your YouTube videos perform will enable you to create effective and strong-performing content. Knowing the key analytics to track will also help you when working with YouTube influencers so you can set goals for your partnership. Need help finding the right YouTube creators? We can help!

Want to learn more about analytics on other social media platforms? Discover our guides to Instagram Insights and Instagram Story Insights.

How To Activate Local Influencers

We often think about influencer marketing on a macro scale, where campaigns reach hundreds of thousands of people and benefit national and even global marketing efforts, but influencer marketing can be just as powerful when applied to local businesses as well.

Local influencers and public figures may not have as large of followings as celebrity influencers, but they can provide niche expertise and appeal to local audiences in an authentic way more than any celebrity ever could. 

Restaurants, boutiques, and other small businesses can partner with local influencers to get the word out about the business and turn social media postings into conversions, whether that’s in-store visits or purchases. 

When searching for the right influencers to partner with, you will want to find influencers who post content that is relevant to your business and who live in or near your area. If your business requires in-person patronage or doesn’t have an e-commerce platform, micro influencers with smaller but more localized followings will be the best partners for your campaign, as they typically have a high following from their own area. This means that the majority of their followers will be interested in learning more about your business and actually able to support it.

Aside from appealing to a localized audience, micro influencers have a strong ability to relate to their followers and cultivate a sense of authenticity with their recommendations, from the clothes they wear to the businesses they frequent. Think of your influencer partners as brand ambassadors who act as an extension of your business. You can even collaborate with them to develop content for use on your brand’s social media accounts. 

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Interested in working with local influencers but not sure where to start? Lytehouse has tools to source the perfect influencers for campaigns big and small, so reach out to us here.

Using Instagram Reels and TikTok Strategically

It was only a matter of time before a competitor came for TikTok. In early August, Instagram launched their competitor feature, Instagram Reels, and with the future of TikTok unclear, digital marketers and creators alike are asking how to use the two apps strategically.

Like TikTok, Instagram Reels allows users to upload 15-second videos set to music with easy-to-navigate editing tools that make it a breeze to film content without ever leaving the app. Both apps also feature a scrolling feed of videos (on TikTok, the For You Page; on Instagram Reels, the Discover Tab) that make it easy to discover content from new creators, not just the ones you are already following.

While Instagram Reels lacks some of the features that TikTok possesses (videos can’t be longer than 30 seconds at the time of writing this, and the analytics of Reels are practically nonexistent at the moment) it is clear to see why so many people are referring to TikTok and Reels as twins.

However, there is a major difference between TikTok and Instagram Reels that alters how users interact with each app and the video content that is shared: user demographics.

Gen-Z vs. Millennials: Who Do You Want To Reach?

TikTok has grown in popularity with Millennial and older generations in recent months, but the majority of their user base is Gen-Z, with almost half of users between the ages of 18 and 24. Instagram’s usership, however, skews toward Millennial audiences, with 33% of users falling between the ages of 25 to 34.

Depending on your target demographics, you may want to prioritize one app over the other. Entertainment, affordable fashion & beauty, and fast food brands have found great success marketing to teen and young adult audiences on TikTok, whereas brands with an older target audience will find that more millennials still prefer Instagram as their main social media platform. Determining who you want to reach on social media and which platforms they use the most will help you plan how much to invest in TikTok vs. Instagram Reels content.

Think Of TikTok As An Experimental Playground

Another way to utilize TikTok is to think of it as a great place to experiment with new types of content. Because the app is newer and the way their discovery algorithm displays videos to both people who follow you and people that TikTok thinks will like your content, each and every video theoretically has the potential to go viral. The better your content performs initially, the more times it will appear on people’s For You Pages.

Since a video could be shown to thousands regardless of your follower number, TikTok is a great place to try trends, experiment with new content, and test out what users respond to best. It is normal for some videos to perform better than others, so there is less pressure for every single piece of content to perform.

Use Analytics To Support What You Post On Instagram Reels

An easy way to get the most bang for your buck with content creation is to share videos across both TikTok and Instagram Reels. However, you should think strategically about what videos to share from TikTok to Reels and vice versa. Use the analytics you have on your Instagram account (need a refresher on interpreting analytics? Here’s an explainer) and think about the types of content that your audience responds to best on Instagram. From there, you can curate the videos you re-share to Reels.

For example, a nail polish brand may get thousands of views on TikTok for their take on a popular dance trend, but that trend may not make sense to Instagram’s audience. Despite performing well on TikTok, that video may not be best to reshare on Reels. However, nail art videos may have previously performed well on Instagram, so it’s likely that nail art Reels will also resonate with your audience.

Reels should be seen as another extension of your brand’s Instagram persona. In the same way that Instagram Stories allowed brands to share more “relatable” content that tied back to the brand’s tone and voice on their feed, Reels should be used as another way to create content that ties in to your brand’s social media identity.  

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No matter which platform you lean into more with your social media strategy, Lytehouse can help you perfect your content and match you with influencers to create engaging Reels and TikToks on your behalf.

What Brands Need To Know About The FTC’s Influencer Guidelines

Like any form of commercial advertising, influencer marketing requires disclosures for monetary relationships. In the United States, the FTC (also known as the Federal Trade Commission) is responsible for “protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices in the marketplace”. In the social media marketing world, this means that brand relationships need to be disclosed clearly.

Today, we are breaking down everything you need to know about when to disclose brand partnerships, acceptable and unacceptable ways to disclose, and why greater ad transparency helps all parties involved. 

Note: As Lytehouse is based in the United States, this is a guide for US-based campaigns. If you are managing a campaign in a different country, check their regulations and guidelines regarding influencer partnerships so you are using proper disclosure language. 

Why Should I Care About FTC Guidelines?

Clear disclosures of brand-influencer relationships benefit all parties involved by creating transparency. 

Audience trust is crucial for influencers, so they want to be clear and transparent with their audiences about when they have paid relationships with brands. Likewise, brands should strive for honesty with both their followers and the followers of influencers with whom they partner. And third, consumers want to know when the content they see has been paid for.

Some people view paid partnership disclosures as a negative, arguing that they decrease post engagement or seem “inauthentic” but at this stage in the evolution of influencer marketing, consumers understand the ecosystem and deserve to have transparent disclosure language and obvious indicators that content is advertorial, the same way that television commercials or branded magazine editorials are clearly demarcated.

When Should A Partnership Be Disclosed?

According to the FTC’s influencer handbook, influencers need to disclose any “financial, employment, personal, or family relationship” with a brand. One important thing to note: contrary to popular belief, gifted or discounted products provided by a brand count as a financial relationship.

Dos and Don’ts of FTC Disclosure

Disclosures should be obvious and easy to find for anyone looking at the piece of content. Here are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind:

Do...make a disclosure obvious and easy to find within the branded caption or post message.

Don’t...hide disclosure language in a comment, group of hashtags, or “read more” button.

Do...place disclosures toward the beginning of a post or caption.

Don’t...assume audiences know about existing brand relationships. If an influencer posts 20 times for a brand, all 20 posts should include disclosures.

Do...require clear and easy-to-understand language like “Thanks to [brand] for gifting this product” or “This post is sponsored by [brand]” makes the brand-influencer relationship clear. Other acceptable terms to use include “advertisement”, “ad”, and “sponsored”. 

Don’t...use abbreviated or confusing terms like “sp”, “spon”, or “collab”. 

Do...use a social platform’s official partnership disclosure (like Instagram’s Paid Partnership Tool) when possible.

Don’t...ask influencers to discuss or endorse a product or experience that they have not yet tried. 

Do...include disclosures in both verbal and written form when sharing video content, and consider that many viewers watch social media videos without sound. 

Don’t...hide or minimize disclosure text on Instagram Stories or Snapchat posts. 

Who Is Responsible For Enforcing FTC Disclosures Are Added?

Both brands and influencers should hold themselves accountable for enforcing proper disclosures. Brands can do this by outlining proper disclosures in their contracts with influencers. Influencers can do this by pushing back when brands try to avoid adding disclosure language.

What Are The Repercussions of Ignoring FTC Guidelines?

The FTC has started to crack down on deceptive advertising in the influencer space, issuing warnings and fines to influencers and brands alike. Violating FTC guidelines could have significant monetary and legal consequences. Beyond that, ignoring proper disclosures will hurt your brand’s reputation as well as the influencers you partner with as social media consumers have become more wary of deceptive ads. 

At the end of the day, brand-influencer relationship disclosures make the influencer marketing industry as a whole more transparent, so we should be holding each other accountable, as the industry only stands to benefit.

4 Ways To Use Pinterest For Marketing

Pinterest is a valuable marketing tool that most people overlook when planning out their social marketing strategies. Users employ Pinterest as a visual search engine of sorts, making it easy to grab potential customers with eye-catching photos, videos, and visual resources.

From a marketing standpoint, the strong performance of “evergreen” content and ability to highlight products and services in a visually appealing way makes Pinterest a great way to build long-lasting customer relationships and showcase your brand’s unique qualities and value to consumers.

Wondering how you can get started with turning your brand’s Pinterest into a strong lead generator? First, don’t forget to set up a Pinterest Business account so you can track your analytics, then keep reading for 4 ways to get “pinning” and build out your Pinterest marketing strategy!

1. Share Educational Resources

Many users look to Pinterest as a research platform to find valuable resources. Whether they are looking for fashion inspiration, a new recipe to try, or tips on building their business, Pinterest users are searching for content that educates. Tap into this by “pinning” educational content that relates to your brand. This could be anything from recipe ideas featuring your food products, or how-to-style graphics highlighting your latest clothing collection, or showcasing all the uses for your inventive new product. You can even upload dynamic video pins that will catch the attention of viewers scrolling through their feeds. However you can, highlight the value of your product through tutorials and inspiring images and video.

Key tip: vertical photos perform best on Pinterest, and photos with informative text overlays are optimal for highlighting blog posts or articles. When uploading a Pin, you can crop your images to Pinterest’s recommended dimensions, add text overlays, and even create slideshows.

2. Highlight Bestsellers To Drive Traffic

One of the best things about Pinterest is that the platform makes it easy to link photos directly back to your site, so you can create a board (or multiple!) to highlight bestsellers and new arrivals on your profile. You can also create shoppable product pins to drive sales (this handy guide will walk you through it).

Don’t forget to add titles and descriptions to your pinned images so that they are easily searchable. Think about the keywords you might type in as a Pinterest user that could lead you to find your product to maximize searchability. You can even use hashtags in your pin descriptions, too!

3. Utilize User-Generated Content

Just like you are able to build out your brand’s Instagram with user-generated content, pinning UGC is a great way to highlight different ways customers utilize your products. Within the description, you can identify what product or products the user is showcasing in the photo.

Because UGC is organic and natural-looking, discerning Pinterest users may gravitate towards UGC over branded product content. By featuring both on your Pinterest, you’ll be able to attract users who otherwise might overlook your pinned content.

4. Start Running Data-Driven Ads

As mentioned above, be sure to set up a Pinterest Business account (it’s free!) so that you can start running Pinterest ads. We recommend building out your Pinterest profile and boards with organic content first so that you can take a look at your analytics and determine the types of content that perform best on the platform.

Do simple product photos drive a lot of traffic back to your site? Or are most users interested in creative, beautiful photos that feature your product and inspire? Identify the types of content that perform best and think about key metrics. Are impressions the most important metric, or is the click-through rate more valuable for your brand’s success? Asking yourself both what your followers value and what your brand measures as success will help streamline your Pinterest ad strategy.

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Need help identifying your key analytics and developing powerful Pinterest ads? As experts of data-driven marketing, we’re here to help!

Why Facebook Amplification Should Be Part Of Your Influencer Marketing Strategy

Facebook ads are an extremely important aspect of digital marketing and a large reason why brands have been able to find incredible success in the e-commerce world, often without physical stores.

Between Facebook and Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) their ads have the potential to reach millions of potential customers. Most brands with a digital marketing strategy know the importance of Facebook ads, but not all brands are taking full advantage of Facebook’s features, especially as it pertains to influencer marketing.

Today, we are breaking down how to amplify your influencer partnerships across Facebook and Instagram and why Facebook amplification should be part of your efforts moving forward.

What Is Amplification?

Amplification is exactly what it sounds like: the ability to share an influencer’s content to new audiences beyond the accounts that already follow them. Amplification benefits both the brand and influencer, as it increases the content’s reach to new audiences that can go on to follow the influencer and purchase the product they are promoting. Audiences are also more likely to trust and engage with promoted posts from an influencer account as opposed to a brand account, as influencer content typically appears more relatable. 

How Do I Promote An Influencer’s Post?

The “Tag Business Partner” feature on Instagram and Facebook allows influencers to “handshake” with the brands with which they work. One major benefit of this is added transparency of branded partnerships, but the “handshake” tool also makes it easy for brands to promote influencer content on the influencer’s behalf. 

When an influencer partner’s post goes live, ask them to tag your brand using the “Tag Business Partner” tool (note that before the campaign goes live, your brand channel will need to grant the influencer access to tag your brand as a business partner; learn more about how to add influencer partners here) and have them toggle the “Allow Business Partner to Promote” option. This will give you, the brand, the ability to promote the content on Instagram and Facebook. 

Another option is to have the influencer grant advertiser access through their Facebook. This will require them to have an ad account on Facebook (another great reason to work with influencers who have Business accounts) but will give you, the advertiser, a wealth of options to create targeted 

Note: as this is additional content usage, the parameters and length of boosted content should all be outlined within your contract with the influencer. Boosting the influencer’s content may incur additional fees. 

What Options Do I Have To Promote Influencer Posts?

Once the influencer has granted you advertiser access, you will be able to promote the content on their behalf. There are two main options on how to promote: boosting and amplification. Both options will get the influencer’s content—and your brand—in front of new audiences, but they vary in terms of customization and targeting options. 

Boosting

The simplest option is to boost an influencer’s content, promoting the post exactly how it appears on their account. When boosting a post, you are given a few customization options and can select your target audience, your budget, and the duration of your promoted post. This option is quick and easy, but the customization options are limited, making the second option, amplification, the better way to make the most of your promoted content.

Amplification

Amplification allows for greater customization. Through this method, ads are created through Facebook’s Ad Manager, where you can decide where the amplified posts will appear on both Facebook and Instagram (including Instagram stories, ads in Facebook Messenger, and other locations), specify your ad objectives, and develop your target audience with greater tools than boosting allows.

In addition, you can edit captions, add call-to-action buttons, and create carousel ads using Ad Manager. For example, say an influencer creates a carousel Instagram post on their feed where the first photo features the influencer prominently, and the second photo is a close-up of your product. With the creator’s consent, you can switch the order of the photos to feature the product close-up in the ad. 

Because of the various ad objectives you can select, Facebook Ads are optimal for gaining new customers and sales conversions. 

Lytehouse has a paid amplification division that can amplify content on your brand’s behalf. Get in touch with us here.

How Much Should I Budget For Amplified Content?

Budgets will vary from case to case, but we suggest allocating around 20% of your overall influencer marketing budget toward post amplification. We have found that brands who spend around this percentage (with daily monitoring of ad performance, making adjustments where needed) see close to a 100% return on investment. Increasing the spend beyond 20% similarly increases the ROI. Again, exact budgeting will vary per brand, influencer content, and campaign goals.

The value of amplified content is worth the extra budget, as it can exponentially increase the reach of your influencer campaign and bring a greater ROI than simply leveraging an influencer’s existing following. 

How Socialyte Influencers Are Creating Branded Content While Staying Home

As we continually work to slow the spread of COVID-19, Socialyte influencers have found creative ways to partner with brands and develop inspired content from home. By highlighting timely products and structuring creative briefs around “safe from home” guidelines, branded campaigns have found success during our “new normal”. 

Here are a few ways Socialyte influencers and brands partnered together for recent campaigns:

Working From Home with Leo Chan

With a large portion of audiences working from home, find ways to develop related campaigns when applicable. For example, working from home provided the perfect opportunity for Leo Chan and a technology company to share a new computer monitor that could benefit those perfecting their home office setups. 

At-Home Activities with Jessica Hall

Jessica Hall found a clever way to tie in a favorite snack to her family’s home activities. She and her family “camped” in their living room, complete with a tent, s’mores, and more. By tying in the brand partner to a timely activity that other parents might try in their own homes, the campaign found a way to be relevant with audiences.

Loungewear with Linc + Canyon

Loungewear is seeing a surge in popularity as a large portion of the country is working from home and spending time indoors. For a recent campaign with a clothing brand, Linc and Canyon shared how they are spending their time during quarantine along with what they are wearing. Especially for fashion brands, it is important to emphasize categories that speak to current consumer trends, like loungewear and basics.

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For more tips on developing creative briefs during the coronavirus pandemic, check out our blog post here.