Influencer marketing is the process of partnering with social media influencers to promote and sell products or services. Influencers have a wide reach across multiple platforms and are trusted by their audiences. They can elevate brand awareness, increase sales and drive customer loyalty.

Getting this partnership right requires careful research, and it’s important to have an understanding of what success looks like for your brand before you start reaching out to potential influencers. To begin, look at your target audience personas and identify the influencers who best represent those traits. Then, use a tool like Grin to find influencers who meet your specific criteria and can deliver the results you’re looking for.

Once you’ve identified the influencers you want to partner with, reach out to them via their social media platform or email address and ask if they are interested in promoting your product. Be clear about what you expect from them and be prepared to negotiate a fee based on their level of engagement, following and reputation. It’s also helpful to set a testing period for the campaign, so you can see how the content performs before it’s widely released.

When negotiating, be sure to include a contract that clearly states the project details and sets expectations for each party. This includes a time frame for completion, the amount of content to be produced (ideally with two assets — one that will live on their social channel and one that you can use at your discretion), and the rights to any images or videos captured during the shoot. If you’re working with a macro-influencer, their agent may handle the contract; if they’re a micro-influencer, you’ll likely deal directly with them.

Unlike traditional paid advertising, influencer campaigns tend to have shorter lead times and can produce results more quickly than traditional ads. However, this also means that it’s more important to be clear about what you’re hoping to achieve with your campaign, and to give influencers the creative freedom to produce authentic and engaging content that their followers will respond positively to.

One of the most common mistakes that brands make is not clearly defining what success looks like for their campaign. While it’s tempting to want to measure the number of followers an influencer post reaches, this isn’t always an accurate measurement of the impact your campaign has on the audience. To get the most out of your campaign, look at metrics such as engagement and conversions to determine the true value of your partnership.

As you continue to run influencer campaigns, it’s important to constantly learn from the ones that miss the mark. Identify why the content didn’t resonate with your audience and take action to fix it for future campaigns. You can also leverage media monitoring tools to track how your influencer content is resonating across the Web, including sentiment analysis apps such as Brandwatch and Brand24.