In part one of our thirteen-part series, we discussed how to kick off your evaluation process when selecting an influencer marketing platform. We also published a user-friendly guide and practical workbook to help you along your buyer journey. We took a leaf out of the guide & workbook to create a series of blog posts to discuss each section in greater detail. We will explain why you should consider your long-term marketing strategy when choosing a technology partner in part two.
Selecting an Enterprise Marketing Platform
13 Part Blog Series
- The 5 Typical Stages When Evaluating an Influencer Marketing Platform
- Thinking about Your Long-term Influencer Marketing Strategy
- The Importance of Industry Reviews & Rankings When Selecting the Best Influencer Marketing Platform
- How to Judge Influencer Marketing Platform Maturity Related to Customization, Security, and Advanced Admin Controls
- Why Marketers Should Prioritize Influencer Marketing Platforms with Advanced Data Science Solutions
- How to Make Sense of The Services That Different Influencer Marketing Platforms Provide
- How to Choose an Influencer Marketing Platform with The Best Creator Search Solution
- Why An Influencer Marketing Platform Should Have Solutions that Automate the Vetting of Influencers
- How to Evaluate Influencer Marketing Platforms’ Collaboration and Approval Solutions
- Why Advanced Campaign Management Capabilities Should Be Integral to Your Prospective Influencer Marketing Platforms’ Solution Set
- How Influencer Marketers Can Evaluate Measurement, First-party Data, and Reporting Solutions When Considering an Influencer Marketing Platform
- Why a Robust & Customizable CRM is a Crucial Influencer Marketing Platform Solution to Scale Your Influencer Marketing Strategy
- When Deciding on an Influencer Marketing Platform, Evaluate its Integrations & APIs
Download the Platform Buying Guide and Workbook
No matter what stage of maturity your influencer program is in, you will need the right solution to achieve your goals now - and in the future. That’s why one of the most critical aspects of your selection process should be considering your long-term influencer marketing strategy.
What is Your Long-term Influencer Marketing Strategy?
You’re in the process of finding an influencer marketing platform that solves your needs today. The problem? The same platform will need to address your requirements tomorrow and in 2,3,5 years down the line. If there is a chance your influencer marketing strategy will grow in size and importance - including additional teams, offices, and partners - be sure to weigh this notion within your platform selection process.
A simple, less expensive platform that may seem perfect for your requirements and budget today may not easily scale with your future ambitions - and subsequently, switching to a different platform can be costly and time-consuming. Start thinking about what features could be critical for your teams in the future.
Industry Insight:
Think of the advent of social media. In 2007, Facebook enabled businesses to create profiles on its platform, and suddenly over 100,000 companies were using it. At that time, there was a race for likes and building a presence. After businesses understood the value of marketing to their growing audiences, they invested more in their social media strategy and developed teams to manage everything. The same year the social media giant introduced Facebook Ads, which offered a new way to advertise online. In very much the same way, influencer marketing tactics are progressing every day. Your tech stack has to evolve with the increasing demand and investments your organization makes as you build out complex campaigns and add to your Rolodex of content creators.
Pro-Tip:
One way to gauge a platform’s ongoing innovation & vision is reaching out to its customers. They likely know the product’s ins and outs, so this is a great way to get additional insight. Using resources like G2Crowd or Product Hunt can also be of help.
A Question to Ask:
Be sure to ask to see the platform’s “Product Roadmap” to understand which features are coming in the next 3 to 6 months. The Roadmap ensures their plans align with your future goals & requirements.
Determining Your Candidate’s Score for Future Goals & Requirements
As you start to conceive your long-term vision for influencer marketing, a grid like this can help you consolidate important criteria for navigating your future technology needs. At the end of the day, you want to rest assured that these prospective platforms (there’s a lot of startups on the market) will be around and are evolving with you.
We love making marketers’ lives easier from our suite of solutions to every blog post we create. That’s why we’ve built these handy dandy workbook grids for inspiration during your platform selection process. You can access them here.
The Takeaway
As you see, there are several aspects to consider when evaluating an influencer marketing platform. Get the complete Guide & Workbook for Selecting an Enterprise Influencer Marketing Platform. Stay tuned for the next blog post to learn about the importance of using third-party reviews while conducting your research.