5 Benefits of Working with an Influencer Marketing Agency
Looking to outsource to an agency to manage your influencer marketing program? Like any other working relationship, it can be difficult to find the right influencer marketing agency — one that understands your brand’s goals, messaging, and vision. That being said, when you do find a well-aligned agency, it can truly transform your program and take your campaigns to the next level.
Agencies vary dramatically, with some offering full control and insight, while others operate in a black box. So, what qualities should you look for in an influencer marketing agency? Look for a platform-backed agency like Aspire’s Agency Services. A (better) alternative to traditional agencies, a platform-backed influencer marketing agency combines the knowledge and human touch of traditional agencies, with a dynamic software ecosystem that stores, manages, and tracks every part of your program processes — all in one place.
Here are the top benefits of working with a platform-backed influencer marketing agency.
1. Smart technology to streamline your program
The biggest benefit of investing in a platform-backed agency is that you gain access to a full-service influencer marketing agency, backed by a smart influencer marketing platform — at no additional charge!
Aspire’s Agency Services team works on top of our platform, allowing us to drive efficiencies in ways that traditional agencies cannot. For example, traditional agencies typically have a limited pool of influencers they work with repeatedly for different campaigns. Meanwhile, our platform-backed influencer marketing agency has a variety of creator discovery tools at hand, such as a robust influencer search engine and an extensive creator marketplace of over a million creators, from which we can pull a diverse array of creators for each unique campaign.
Not to mention, each step of the influencer marketing workflow is streamlined, from sending terms to hundreds of creators with the click of a button to measuring campaign performance in real-time with data pulled straight from social media APIs. All of these features catalyze each campaign, getting your program live quicker and more seamlessly.
2. Transparency into all aspects of your work
Another major perk of working with a platform-backed agency is that you actually have transparency into your campaigns. Unlike traditional agencies, a platform-backed agency like Aspire’s Agency Services gives you full access to our analytics dashboards so that you can gain comprehensive insight into what’s going on at any given time.
In addition, while traditional agencies often merge together their service fees and influencer payments — making it impossible to see the real value of your dollars — a platform-backed agency like Aspire gives you transparency into your fees and where all of your budget is going, from how much we pay creators to how much we charge for our Agency Services. We never take a percentage from the creator budget and are incentivized to get our clients the most bang for their buck.
3. Partnerships and integrations to stay ahead
Another unique benefit of leveraging Aspire’s platform-backed Agency is our relationships with major social platforms such as Meta and TikTok, as well as well-loved ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. We have extensive partnerships with each of these companies, allowing us to be the first to build new integrations with each platform and to be early adopters to industry trends.
For example, earlier this year, we were one of Meta’s first partners to gain access to their Instagram Creator Marketplace APIs, allowing us to build a new Instagram Direct Messaging integration into the Aspire platform. As an Agency customer, you gain access to game changing features like these, adding another avenue for communication to increase creator response rates.
4. More hands on deck
More likely than not, you’re choosing to outsource your influencer marketing efforts to an agency because you lack the bandwidth to manage the nitty-gritty parts of your program. By hiring an influencer marketing agency, you gain a team of influencer marketing experts who can take care of every aspect of your program, from finding influencers to measuring campaign ROI. This allows you to take a more hands-off approach to your influencer program and gain back time to focus on other important tasks.
Take WE tv, for example. Struggling to get everything done with a small in-house team, Brian Tyrseck, Director of Marketing at WE tv, enlisted the help of Aspire’s Agency Services team to help manage the day-to-day tasks of their program and build relationships with WE tv’s influencers.
5. Wealth of knowledge and expertise
Last but not least, the right influencer marketing agency can provide their expertise based on their years of experience running different kinds of campaigns with creators. For example, if you don’t have an in-house SME to run a successful influencer affiliate campaign, you can hire an agency to build a strong affiliate program from start to finish. Or, if you have no idea where to start with creating a brand ambassador program, your agency’s team of experts can utilize their know-how to recruit well-aligned brand ambassadors and set up a plan for long-term success.
In fact, Rad Power Bikes, the award-winning ebike brand, partnered with Aspire’s Agency Services team to launch an innovative brand ambassador program that could leverage loyal customers to boost brand advocacy. To do so, our Agency activated Rad Power Bikes’ customers-turned-brand-ambassadors in a product seeding campaign. Despite lacking traditional influencer backgrounds, Rad Power Bikes’ ambassadors were able to drive a 561% increase in ROI with our Agency’s guidance.
The death of the traditional agency
Platform-backed agencies combine industry knowledge with deep data, a repository of relevant influencers, and an integrated platform that offers transparency on campaign progress and results.
Aspire’s Agency Services team offers a different approach compared to conventional influencer agencies, catering to brands seeking flexibility and scalability within their campaigns. Our approach relies on comprehensive data and insights to guide every step of your campaigns, complemented by our extensive expertise in influencer marketing and partnerships with key social media platforms.
Interested in Aspire’s Agency Services? Get in touch with us.
