Our Founder, Kate Finley, sat down with Nation’s Restaurant News editor-in-chief, Sam Oches, to discuss how social media influencers can help restaurants.
Some important do’s and don’ts of creator marketing that came out of this conversation:
DO: Set yourself up for success by first evaluating “why are we doing this,” “who is the audience,” “what do we hope to achieve,” and “how will we know we were successful.”
DON’T: Forget about measurement! Especially if part of your job is to evaluate and scale influencer programs. Use the answer to “how will we know we were successful” to identify KPIs and report out.
DO: Opt for creators in your niche over an extended period of time rather than one-off, cross-your-fingers, hopefully-it-works macro relationships.
DON’T: Pick the influencers with the largest audiences and call it a day.
DO: Set aside ample and equitable compensation for influencer partners.
DON’T: Expect content in return for free product or services.
DO: Strip layers of brand promotion from creator content and allow for the partner’s personality to shine.
DON’T: Execute such strict contracts with partners to the point where authentic creator → brand connection is lost with their followers.
DO: Experiment + adapt to get results.
DON’T: Quit early! Pilot influencer campaigns are meant to test + learn. It takes time to find what creators and content mix works for your brand.
Listen to the podcast to hear more about influencer marketing and how restaurants can properly tap into this creative community in an authentic and profitable way. In this conversation, you will learn more about why influencers aren’t just here to talk about your new product, why you need some clear KPIs with your influencer strategy and why size doesn’t always matter with influencer audiences.
