Why Building An In-house Influencer Marketing Team Harmonizes Influencer Practices

Upendran Nandakumar Feb 27, 2023

Social media marketing, like any other sector, is constantly advancing with the development of new technologies and to maintain a connection with the audience, one must keep up with the latest developments. In recent years, brands have attained massive growth momentum attributed to different social media trends out of which, influencer marketing holds a powerful relevance in the present marketing scenario.

Influencer marketing is a potent digital method for reaching out to targeted groups, expanding audiences and developing customer loyalty. There has been a steady increase in influencer marketing activities as brands utilise the fame and following of influencers to promote their business. The popularity of the activity has almost doubled with more and more brands embedding influencer reach in their customer acquisition and sales strategies.

In the present marketing landscape, brands are allocating larger chunks of their marketing budget to activities involving influencers. However, the biggest concern still remains to find the right and most relevant influencers for the brand endorsement. Establishing a trustful relationship with multiple influencers and formulating the right strategy to align their marketing agenda can be extremely time and monetarily intensive. As a result, brands today are either left with reaching out to each influencer and developing strategies or relying on an in-house team of influencers.

Factors scaling In-House influencer marketing

An in-house influencer marketing team standardizes influencer processes and enables the rest of the company to work collaboratively with all sorts of influencers. The team frequently interacts directly with some influencers, as well as collaborates with other teams that will also engage in interactions with influencers. This ensures greater accountability and transparency for the marketers and brands which further helps brands in increasing the efficiency of their strategies.

In-house influencer agencies have a stronghold in collaborations due to the experience gained in previous influencer campaigns. These specialised agencies know what has worked for their former customers and are exceptionally advantageous and budget friendly to startups and emerging brands. With the directory of in-house influencers in hand, these agencies accelerate the influencer marketing process while unlocking standardised performance metrics and measurement.

Another significant step in creating a robust influencer marketing strategy is scaling influencer relationships. Direct communication with influencers enables the establishment of long-term connections. In-house influencer marketing eases communication and coordination and makes the entire activity more economical, particularly for startups and developing firms. Organisations that communicate directly with influencers preserve ultimate control over marketing. Conversation between brands and their designated influencers becomes honest and transparent as the marketing team cultivates a direct bond internally with influencers, enabling long-term relationships. Long-term relationships with influencers are more sincere and persuasive, as well as more organically accepted by the brand’s core demographic. Brands can be rewarded with long-term monetary and non-monetary rewards.

Brands that participate in in-house influencer marketing experience greater returns on investment (ROI) over time. For such campaigns, ROI is far from dead. Firstly, the content produced by in-house influencers is cost-efficient as the production cost of the content is no longer borne by the brand. Instead, these brands can invest more into the campaign and plan the ad spend better. In addition, the agencies with in-house influencers use a robust CRM that determines the origin of leads or traffic sources that led the customer to the brand’s point of contact.

In the digitally driven world, influencer marketing activities are considered expensive. With an in-house influencer team, brands can reduce their marketing expense associated with campaigns. Agencies with in-house influencers help in securing lower rates, identifying the influencers appropriate for the brand’s campaign and determining the success metrics based on real-time data. Simply put, these agencies offer a performance-based solution to ensure campaign success.

When choosing the ideal fit for a brand, it is important to take into account experience, availability, adaptability and affordability. Influencer marketing is a major aspect of expanding sales plans and brands should emphasize an in-house influencer team or agency sooner rather than later. With this, brands can benefit from influencer partnerships and protect authentic connections with audiences while delivering impactful marketing outcomes.