There are certain periods of the year when influencer activations multiply in volume and frequency – and Q1 is home to a whole host of key moments ideal for creator campaigns.

With plenty of large-scale events on the horizon, we’ve compiled our key recommendations for activating a gold-standard influencer campaign that positions your brand above the rest. 

Here’s how to stay ahead of the curve:

1. Get in there first

Many influencers will have brand deals secured months in advance for key calendar moments like Valentine's Day, Mother’s Day and Easter – and more often than not, these will include water-tight exclusivity clauses, barring them from signing deals with competitor brands. 

To combat this, be quick off the mark with your research and outreach to creators to ensure you’re getting in front of them first, boosting your chances of securing the best possible talent for your campaign.

Best practice is to start planning at least three months ahead of the occasion to make sure you’re beating the competition. However, campaigns are still possible if you’re late off the mark – you’ll just need to work quickly with the right partners to achieve tighter turnaround times.

2. Assess your previous influencer campaigns

If you’re in the position where you’ve activated influencer work before, dig out your previous reports to ensure any past learnings are taken onboard. 

While some time may have passed, those insights can be invaluable and help ensure future campaigns are a success, delivering a strong return on investment.

3. Analyse your audience

Authenticity is key when it comes to achieving cut-through with creator-led campaigns, particularly during busy periods when brands are fiercely competing for views and ultimately, sales. 

You can achieve this by selecting talent with audiences that have a genuine interest in the products, the retail moment and any subsequent content around it. For example, partner with couples or friendship-orientated creators, like Brontë King or The Girls Bathroom, for Valentine’s/Galentine’s Day to ensure content comes across as credible and authentic.

4. Consider longer-term partnerships

Influencer activations appear more authentic, and ultimately more compelling when creators partner with brands on a longer term basis, with content going live across multiple key retail moments, holidays and campaigns. 

One way to tee this up is to consider all key moments for your brand when researching and selecting talent, and analysing whether your shortlisted creators could fit the bill for more than one of these. If they do, you should consider signing them on a multi-campaign contract to lower costs and boost authenticity. Just ensure you’re doing your due diligence on whether their audience will resonate with the content first.

5. Don’t sleep on a paid ads strategy

With content on social media increasing in volume around the holidays, a paid advertising strategy can amplify your organic content. Boosting content increases its visibility, and having ‘purchases/conversions’ as the advertising objective has the added benefit of driving sales and boosting revenue. 

Ensure this is filtered through plans from the get-go, rather than factored in as an afterthought – given that creators need to agree for content being boosted. 

Millie O’Connor, our Senior Account Manager and Paid Ads Specialist, actually recommends running campaigns during assumed ‘off time’: “Running ads through busy retail periods is something that brands typically shy away from, considering people aren’t going to be on social media as much. We’ve seen the opposite, with our recent campaigns yielding high engagement rates and purchases during the supposed ‘off time’. In fact, in one recent campaign, the majority of clicks, 65% to be exact, happened from December 25-31.”

If you’re planning your H1 influencer activations, or if you want to know more about how to work with creators effectively, email us hello@battenhall.com to see how we can help you.