Do you know who opts for an Instagram influencer marketing program? All those who want to bring scalability and growth in business take the route of Instagram influencer marketing. With this approach, they reach a massive range of targeted audiences.

However, the entire process may sound daunting to a beginner – why are we here to help you? 

Following are 20 primary steps that will assist you in starting a successful Instagram influencer program. 

1. Know Your Business Goals

What is the very first thing you will know about Instagram influencer marketing? It is always about setting the goals of your campaigns. It would help if you determined the goals to achieve anything and stay dormant. Or even if you get some results, they wouldn’t be great as expected. To know what your goals should look like, ask yourself the following or similar questions. Answer them and create milestones – short and long. 

• Why am I starting influencer marketing on Instagram? 
• What are my expectations from this program? 
• How much traffic and engagement rate do I need on IG posts and websites? 
• How much money should I invest to boost sales? 

These and such questions will bring clarity before you start with the plan. 

2. Determine the Targeted Audience

Now that you know the primary goals, it is a must to know the targeted audience. What should be considered while selecting the targeted audience? Let’s check. 

• Age group: which group will be most interested in buying my products/services? 
• Whereabouts: what is the geolocation of the targeted audience? 
• Preferences: this is all about what the audience likes, dislikes, or prefers to consume/buy. 
• Behavior: what entices, excites, puts off, happy, etc. 

In short, it is all about the ideal customer for your branding. Based on that, you can pick and choose the right influencer.

3. Dig for Potential Influencers

Knowing who is the best influencer for your brand is crucial. You can’t just start working with someone without doing the research. What should you know before collaborating? Let’s check. 

• Is the niche or industry the same as yours?
• Can they align with what you sell? 
• Do they have massive reach and visibility on Instagram?
• How many followers do they have? 
• Is their content excellent? 

Other than the mentioned questions, you can ask whatever makes sense.

4. Connect with Potential Influencers

When you have set goals and found the right influencer, it is the right time to pitch the campaign. However, it would help if you were highly sure about the expectations, what you want from the influencer, the proposal, and the compensation. Also, you should discuss roles, compensations, and participation.

5. Create a Social Calendar

After finding the right influencer, you must create an Instagram content calendar. It is so that you know what is coming up next. To ensure your content is away from the fluff, determine how many engagement posts, sponsored posts, stories, etc., you want in a month. However, it is always good to give flexibility to the influencer to use their creative ideas in your content too.

6. Do Some Basic Tests

To know what is working out for you and what may need some alterations, it is a must to do some basic tests. What are those tests? Well, tests are around two aspects – monitoring and analyzing. There are tools inside Instagram that may be helpful in this regard. However, some third-party tools like Hootsuite also serve as the best source. These tools help influencers to check reach, conversions, and engagement rates.

7. Focus on Your Asks/Expectations

All right, so what is next? Always communicate clearly to address expectations. If you need help with what to talk about or your expectations, let us help you get some ideas. 

• What do you want the influencer to cater to in the posts? 
• When do you want the influencer to create something different from the calendar?
• Where and how should the campaign start? Will the influencer post content outside IG for traction and engagement?
• At what time will the posts be published?

8. Propose Interesting Incentives

All love incentives and giveaways. Mainly because they are free and pump influencers to get products without investments. With such incentives, influencers tend to work harder and want to make you successful in the campaigns. 

9. Go Big with IG Paid Features 

There are tons of paid Instagram features that help in leveraging influencer marketing. For example, we have promotional and sponsored posts on Instagram that help reach different audiences. To know what really works in your favor, try and test them separately. However, if you buy Instagram followers (in case there are few or no organic followers) the prospects of getting more traction increases automatically.

10. Don’t Forget or Ignore the Importance of Connecting with Audience 

We all know that influencer marketing is all about networking and connections with people. So, engaging with the audience in the comments is always a pleasant surprise. Checking on the clients after sending the product and responding to direct messages on time also works in favor of a good and successful campaign.

11. Change Strategy Whenever Needed 

Do you know what actually makes an Instagram campaign or influencer marketing successful? It is the effort you make in marketing the right way! If and when you don’t get the required results, the ability to change the course of strategies are changed. The successful influencer is the one who is well-aware of the ins and outs of Instagram strategies. Also, these tools facilitate users in understanding where improvement can be seen and made.

12. Make Use of IG Analytics 

IG’s analytics always work in your interest and favor! It helps the users track and monitor engagement metrics (likes, followers, etc.) and notice conversions and the reach of promotional and sponsored posts. This information helps in further strategizing the campaign.

13. Give Weight to Quality, Not Quantity 

See, quality is something that will be weighted more than the quality. It will help you get nearer to your aims, objectives, milestones, and other plans. Without high-end content, your influencer may not be much of a help. So, keep this point in mind while creating content that works in favor of the followers. For that, you have to be extremely passionate about achieving your goals.

14. Remain Transparent with Influencers 

The next step in the process of launching successful Instagram influencer marketing is to remain transparent. Focusing on the rules, laws, and everything in between tells much about the brand’s personality. Discussing these areas with the influencer will help you and him create a safe boundary while working on the content. It will also support in maintaining the credibility and authenticity of the brand. Worry not if you think it is high time to get some followers that you don’t have organically. Buy Instagram likes from third-party platforms (websites, pages, or even apps).

15. Always Work Within Budget 

All right, now that you have done everything essential to start Instagram influencer marketing, it is time to fix a budget. You might want to spend more to get the best influencer, but would that be a sensible move? Bet not! Getting everything done within the budget will keep you safe from a lot of future worries. Considering factors that may include the exact number of influencers over the course of 6 months or more will help you make a budget. Also, in order to create incentives, you have to figure out the budget.

16. Try to Create Content of Different Types  

Content done with the collaboration of the influencer shouldn’t be of one kind. It should be a blend of several types of content – Instagram stories, informational posts for engagement purposes, promotional posts that work as ads, live videos, and carousels. Doing so will keep the followers and audiences encouraged and motivated.

17. Use User Generated Posts/Content 

Once the posts are created and posted on your Instagram account, ask your followers to share them on their pages. It is so that your brand is featured and creates credibility. User-generated posts or content are incredibly effective for increasing authenticity and trustworthiness. Minding this step will help you get closer to your mission – start a successful Instagram influencer marketing.

18. Use Features on Instagram 

Instagram desperately wants you to leverage and plunge from dormant biz to the most revenue one. To do so, it adds value to the system by introducing new features every few months or years. It is so that you and people like you can quickly get what they are looking for – a successful campaign on Instagram. If and when you use these features in your content, it will surely give a boost to your campaign.

19. IG’s Shopping Build-In Features 

Tons of features allow you to showcase products. For example, when you create shoppable posts and integrate “check out,” followers buy products quickly without issues. Including these features will serve as a significant prospect of making more sales.

20. Collaborate with Different Influencers

Collaborating with micro-influencers with a small fan following can also serve as the best and most effective source for completing Instagram campaigns. However, these influencers are less massive than others, but they have a considerable impact on the audience. Their fan base or followers are much more loyal and engaged.