Influencer marketing strategy: definition and implementation

Influencer marketing is a dynamic and constantly changing market. It represented 13.8 billion dollars¹ in 2021.

To remain competitive, businesses must implement authentic influencer marketing strategies which generate 11 times more² ROI than traditional advertising.

Read our definition of an influencer marketing strategy and how to implement it in your company.

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Influencer marketing strategy: definition and advantages

What is an influencer marketing strategy?

With an influencer marketing strategy, a business can use the renown of recognized influencers (bloggers, youtubers, instagrammers…) to promote their products and/or services. The most frequently used influencer marketing channels are Instagram (97%³), Instagram stories (83%³), Facebook (79%³), YouTube (44%³)…

A company can implement an internal strategy, use a dedicated platform and/or hire an agency to support them in their choice of influencers, writing the brief, establishing contracts…

The benefits of influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is attracting an increasing number of businesses: 93% of marketing professionals⁴ are already using it.

There are many advantages to this strategy: greatly increased visibility (58%²), original and creative content (56%⁵), the possibility to target a specific customer segment (53%⁵)… It also provides the advantage of the connection that influencers have with shoppers: 92% of shoppers² trust influencer recommendations and 87%⁶ say that they buy the products that are promoted.

Implement a successful influencer marketing strategy

Determine clear and precise objectives

In implementing an influencer marketing strategy, a business works with precise objectives: improve brand positioning (22.5%⁷), boost conversions (18%⁷), convey the brand's values and commitments (11.5%⁷), acquire new subscribers (9%⁷).

It is essential that these objectives be clearly defined as this will enable the business to implement relevant strategies to achieve them: Buzzkit (sending products for testing), unboxing, sponsored content (paid collaboration)…

For example, a takeover strategy⁸, enables a company to acquire new customers. This involves giving an influencer control over their social networks for a given period. During this time, the influencer can post content on the brand's official account helping them to acquire new subscribers.

Identify the right influencers

There are 4 different influencer categories², each with specific identities:

• Nano-influencers: with between 1000 and 10,000 subscribers and targeting a niche audience.
• Micro-influencers: have between 10,000 and 100,000 subscribers and a real connection with their audience.
• Macro-influencers: have between 100,000 and 500,000 subscribers and are highly visible.
• Mega-influencers: are famous in a specific domain (sport, art, entertainment…) and have over 500,000 subscribers.

A business should look for influencers with profiles consistent with their brand image: editorial policy, values, commitments… and ensure that the content they provide is relevant to their audience. It is also advisable that rather than relying on just one or two macro‑influencers, the business should choose a multitude of micro-influencers as this option tends to generate 60% more engagement⁹.

Contact your chosen influencers

It is important to contact influencers correctly: contact the relevant agent and/or manager, send an email and/or private message… and to customize messages as much as possible. For example, they could adapt each message in line with the type of content that influencers publish on the social networks and pitch their message in such a way that encourages the influencer to work with them.

A business should also determine the terms of their future collaboration: number of publications, timing, potential payment: paid or performance related contracts (76%⁹), payment through social networks (52%⁹), free gifting contracts (30%⁹)…

Provide the right information

When a brand works with an influencer, they should provide them with all the information they need to create the best possible content: product to highlight, editorial policy, hashtags to use, whether or not to include a logo… This step is essential to ensure that the content they create is customized in line with the brand and not « generic or standard¹⁰ ».

They should also ensure that the influencer respects their rules of transparency towards shoppers. They should mention « in partnership with… » and/or « collaborating with… » so as not to mislead their audience.

Measure campaign results

It is crucial to analyze the performance of an influencer marketing strategy.

To do so involves determining 3 or 4 KPI¹¹ to monitor: number of impressions, rate of engagement, number of new subscribers… and calculating the ROI generated by the campaign. Businesses can use several methods to gather this data: the integrated tools of the various social network platforms and/or a dedicated influencer marketing solution.

This analysis is essential to assess the performance of the chosen influencers in relation to the target audience. This targeting means that shoppers can access unique and original content around the products that interest them and receive information relevant to their profile: preferences, interests, online activities… to have an optimal product experience.

¹ Reisacher, A. (2022, November 14). Grille de tarifs des influenceurs par réseau social pour 2023. BDM.
² Guilleux, Y. (2021, October 7). Marketing d'influence : définition, intérêt et étapes (+ exemples). blog.hubspot.fr.
³ La rédaction. (2021, November 6). Chiffres marketing d'influence : 10 statistiques à connaître en 2022. oberlo.fr.
⁴ Dahmani, S. (2022, October 28). Les chiffres du marketing d'influence pour 2022. hubspot.fr.
⁵ Marketing d'influence : un levier puissant pour les marques. (2022, October 20). Le Point.
⁶ The Complete Guide to Influencer Marketing in 2023. (2023, May 8). shopify.com.
⁷ Réussir sa stratégie d'influence à coup sûr !. blog.agencetribu.com
⁸ Gué, V. (2023, May 25). Comment réussir un bon takeover des réseaux sociaux ? blog.hubspot.fr.
⁹ Simonnin, P., Faucon, L., & Barriere, L. 31 Influencer Marketing Stats to Know in 2023. assets.reech.com.
¹⁰ Celestino, P. (2023, March 10). Influencer Marketing In 2023: Benefits And Best Practices. Forbes.
¹¹ De Swarte, M. S. (2022, May 21). Quels KPIs pour mesurer le ROI du marketing d'influence ? Meltwater.