In the chaos of sending out an email every week, running paid ads and performing influencer campaigns might seem too much of an effort for you. Well, if other campaigns bring you the desired results, why would you switch to influencer marketing?
Your client says so, or are your competitors doing it?
Either way, if you’re planning on doing a campaign with influencers, the biggest debate is whether you choose to influence influencers with monetary benefits or products/services.
In Influencer marketing terms, is it a barter or paid influencer campaign?
Let’s explore both and get a clear perspective before choosing a campaign for your brand.
Understanding Barter Campaigns
Barter influencer campaigns are when brands give goods or services to an influencer in exchange for promoting the brand while creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
No monetary benefits are involved; in exchange for your product/service, the influencer shares their experience on their social media platform.
For example, a clothing company might send an influencer some of its clothing in exchange for the influencer promoting the clothing on social media.
Brand Perspective
Barter influencer campaigns can be a cost-effective way for businesses to promote products, especially for smaller businesses that may not have a large marketing budget.
Influencer Perspective
Budding influencers (nano and micro) might find barter campaigns a good opportunity to gain exposure.
Pros of Barter Campaigns
Cost Effective
Barter campaigns are especially helpful if you don’t have a large marketing budget.
The cost for a barter campaign often involves the value of the item being exchanged and shipping costs.
One-off Campaigns
If you feel like doing influencer marketing only once, barter campaigns are a pretty good start.
As a wise man once said, “It’s also a good way to test the waters before you dive in.”
With one-off campaigns, you can measure the effectiveness of your campaign and determine if it’s worth investing more time and money into influencer marketing.
Cons of Barter Campaigns
Influencers Might not Respond to Barter Pitch
You can’t take chances when doing influencer campaigns for the first time.
And pitching your barter campaigns to influencers and expecting a positive or even a response is exactly “taking a chance.”
Truth bomb: Most influencers will think, “What’s in it for me?” and ignore your pitch.
Limitations of Brand’s Direction in Content Creation
The brands have a minimal say in barter campaigns.
You cannot demand or give input on how the content should look.
It’s completely up to the influencer to post a story, reel, video, or image post.
You’ll surely get your deliverable, but the content quality is something you should be willing to sacrifice in such a case.
Content Quality Takes a Hit
The commitment or effort from the influencer side during barter campaigns is not always 100%.
They might feel their time and effort outweighs the product you sent.
The influencer may post in a way that fits their grid or Instagram story, except you cannot ask influencers to adhere to your brand guidelines.
Content will be more of an influencer personality, leaving your brand essence in the dark.
Scope of Opportunity Is Limited
Influencers feel it’s one time opportunity, and their scope of future collaboration might be limited.
Hence the chances of them agreeing to a barter campaign are less.
Product Value Is Judged
Influencers have their own preferences regarding brands they want to collaborate with.
Your product should match their preference, and the product value should be convincing enough for them to agree; otherwise, they will reject your offer altogether!
Your Marketing Effort Is Limited
You cannot extend your sales when bartering.
Consider you want to run barter campaigns for a seasonal/festive product like rakhi, christmas cakes.
You cannot give discount coupons to influencers and track sales in barter campaigns.
Influencers might need compensation for the number of people using the discount coupon. Making it awkward for your brand and the influencer.
Understanding Paid Campaigns
In paid influencer campaigns, brands pay an influencer to promote products or services.
Paid campaigns take many forms, such as sponsored posts on social media, product reviews, or mentions in a blog post.
Brand Perspective
Paid campaigns offer the opportunity to reach a larger audience and have more control over the content of the influencer’s promotion.
Influencer Perspective
Paid campaigns offer a way to earn money to promote products they’re interested in while building their portfolio.
Pros of Paid Influencer Campaigns
Opportunity to Explore Many Influencers
In paid campaigns, you have access to millions of influencers.
You can explore influencers’ followers and see if your brand fits their niche. This makes it easier to find the right influencer for your product or service.
Control Over the Campaign
Brands have control over the campaigns when it’s a paid model.
You can ask for specific posts, content types, and vocabulary (talking points). You can also decide when the influencers should post and how often.
If the talking point or vocabulary isn’t up to the mark or the style isn’t right for your brand, you can ask the influencers to make revisions until everything is right.
Projected Reach
The average reach of an influencer campaign is a critical piece of information for brands.
Look at influencers’ overall pattern in collaborations over time. If they have consistently high engagement rates across multiple posts, then you know they are engaging with their followers, and in doing so, they’re likely to do the same for your brand.
This is very crucial when determining your budget and projected ROI.
Monetary Benefits Excite the Influencers
The chances of influencers responding to a paid campaign pitch is higher.
It’s not just the chance to make money that makes influencers more likely to respond to your campaign pitch, but it’s also the fact that they are being compensated for their time and effort.
Win-Win for Brands and Influencers
Brands need influencers for brand awareness and sales.
Influencers need brands for audience engagement and opportunity.
The paid campaign is a mutual benefit for both parties, making it a winning partnership.
Audience Become a Part of Your Campaign
Audiences appreciate transparency when it comes to advertising and paid collaborations.
They want to know the influencer’s relationship with the brand.
The “paid collaborations” tag on the social media post will provide the sense of transparency, and trust audiences are looking for in brands. Eventually, make your audience feel that they’re part of the campaign.
Cons of Paid Influencer Campaigns
Demands an Allocated Influencer Marketing Budget
Paid influencer campaigns require a separate budget allocated.
This means if your brand is working with a limited marketing budget allocated only for other forms of marketing, starting with this campaign would be difficult.
Requires Time and Effort
Paid influencer campaigns require your time and effort if you want them to be successful.
You’ll have to find influencers who match your brand’s values, negotiate rates, create an agreement, and then manage the campaign once it’s live.
Try an influencer marketing platform to proceed with your marketing workflow, saving time and making data-driven decisions.
Difference Between Barter Campaigns and Paid Influencer Campaigns
| Barter Campaigns | Paid Influencer Campaigns |
| Only free product benefit | Monetary and free product benefits |
| Influencer response time is doubtful | Influencer would like to take the chances of opportunities |
| More like one-off campaigns | Opportunities for long-term collaborations |
| No control over content quality and deliverables | Complete control over the campaign |
| No budget campaign | Need at least a minimum budget allocation |
| Premium products attract influencer’s attention | Regardless of the brand/product value, influencers will be ready to collaborate |
| Cannot track or foresee the campaign reach | Brands can have a basic idea of the reach of the campaigns |
| The campaign cannot be sales or conversions driven | Brand awareness and conversion-driven campaign |
| Influencers interested in barter campaigns are less | Any influencer will be up for paid campaigns |
Conclusion
If running influencer campaigns is to gain better reach for your brand, then decide on a method that provides just that.
Recalling the most important part: Paid influencer campaigns provide guaranteed reach, whereas, with barter campaigns, you essentially have to hope that your item will catch an influencer’s and their audience’s attention.
Own your brand and campaign, and march towards your desired ROI!
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