Goal set up

Whenever you decide to work with influencers, it won’t give a result without an effective strategy. This is an essential step for any campaign as well as for influence marketing. In this article we will learn about goal attainment techniques and main goals in strategy for influence marketing. 

There are many techniques in how to set up your goals, but the most popular are:

SMART

BSQ

SMART abbreviation stands for different indicators, that your goals should be: S – as specific as possible  M – measurable A – actionable and/or attainable R – relevant T – should have a timetable These, for the first sight easy, steps may help a lot when we are talking about a successful advertising campaign. Try to ask yourself (or your team) 5 questions based on the SMART indicators “Is my goal…”, and if the answer is “yes” – you can move on to the next step.

BSQ technique creates a simple but strong focus on the goals. The letters stands for: B – a big goal is what we want to achieve.  S – small actions can build a great result. Q – act quickly, otherwise you lose.  “S” can be explained like this: if you want to get 1 million subscribers, start from 100, then it will turn into 1000 and you will have an experience with different ad types, bloggers and budgets. Analyze this background and move on. This way you will get a lesson from every single step of this ladder and the next one will be easier to take.

As soon as you’ve practiced these techniques, remember “S” from SMART and try to set up particular goals. The most common for influence marketing are:

• sales increasing
• brand awareness
• facilitating lead generation
• audience building
• engagement
• reputation

To reach these goals, marketers are commonly divided into 2 main groups:

1. Those who want to take it all at once without analysis and realistic thinking.
2. Those who understand the specificity of the influence marketing strategy and want to get actually good results but with the knowledge of risks and opportunities. 

If you don’t want to be a representative of the first group, try to take the following steps. 

• Understand your niche and see how your competitors act on the market. 
• Create a mini-strategy for every single goal you set. 
• Focus on the math/statistical indicators to clearly know where you start and want to finish. 
• Choose platforms that can describe your offer in the best possible way.
• Think about the concept of the placement. 
• Create a strong storytelling that will fulfill your audience’s wishes and pain. 

When your first influence marketing campaign is over, it’s time to analyze it, and get ready for the next one, whenever it is going to be. Try to ask yourself the following questions:

• Was the platform I chose effective for my product/brand/business?
• Have I got enough engagement/subscribers etc (based on goals)?

Then set your next goals as at the very beginning, but connected with your previous results and currently important indicators. 

Let’s analyze the BSQ goal attainment of the specific example. Company “American Licorice Sour Punch Bites” reaches over 32 million people with compelling influencer content featuring their Sour Punch Bites candy. 

A main goal (B due to BSQ technique)  was to generate buzz around their Sour Punch Bites candy at multiple retailers. They sought to reach sour candy enthusiasts of all ages with content that promoted their great tasting assortment of Sour Punch offerings. 

Platform for promotion: Instagram. 

Among small (S due to BSQ technique) goals were:

• Content;
• Engagement;
• Impressions;

The process: activating influencers who could reach candy enthusiasts with impactful content promoting Sour Punch Bites. The influencers selected for this campaign were a mix of east coast Millennial moms, candy enthusiasts and lifestyle bloggers.

Influencers produced mouthwatering content that featured Sour Punch Bites as a treat and in recipes for desserts and drinks. They shared the images of the product on their blogs, Instagram, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and Twitter. Their content received significant attention from their audiences, who were encouraged to shop from various retailers on the east coast.

SMART can ve also explained like this: