Get All Access for $5/mo

How to Build a Successful Influence Marketing Campaign A six-step recipe is all you need to plow ahead.

By Jason Falls

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Cecilie_Arcurs | Getty Images

The following is an excerpt from Jason Falls' Winfluence: Reframing Influencer Marketing to Ignite Your Brand, which will be released Feb. 23 via Entrepreneur Press. Pre-order your copy now via Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop.

It's time to move from strategy to action, but there still remains a world of preparation. Planning influence marketing campaigns is far more than just deciding we want to use influence partners and here's the goal we're going to shoot for. People who skim the surface of preparation aren't Winfluencing. Remember that online influence partners care about their goals, so building offers and opportunities for them need to integrate what they want with what you want.

As clichéd as it may seem in our link-bait world, I still find lists and mnemonic devices to remember step-by-step processes useful. So yes, I'm guilty of the occasional listicle or silly alliteration to remember things. But they work, so sue me. Building influence marketing campaigns, in my experience and practice, boils down to six steps. So, if you'll excuse the repetition, I present you with the six steps to building influence marketing campaigns! (Try to hear a dramatic, Monty Python-esque trumpet blast in your mind each time you read that, and the mnemonic will stick better.) I went the extra mile to make them alliterative, for those who prefer the dork factor turned up to 11.

Related: Get to Know the 3 Types of Influencers

1. Decide goals

With Winfluence, as opposed to influencer marketing, you must begin with the end in mind. What do you really want to accomplish with your influence marketing program, and how will that ladder up to your overall marketing and business goals?

2. Define audiences

Then you need to think deeply about who you want the marketing program to persuade, convince or have an effect upon. Knowing who you're going after makes the next step far more effective.

3. Delineate influential people

Next, you'll zero in on those who can truly impact the audience you're trying to reach. This prevents wasting time or resources on "look at me" online influencers who won't help your business.

4. Develop assets

Now you have to give those people with influence the content they need to successfully spread your message. This means you'll need to plan, write, design and produce content for their accounts.

5. Deliver messages

The rubber meets the road as you craft messages to your chosen influence partners to recruit them to help you achieve the goal. And as you manage the execution of the program where the influence partners deliver your messages to their audiences.

Related: HBO's 'Fake Famous' Documentary Gets Influencer Marketing All Wrong

6. Determine successes

Finally, you'll look at the influence marketing program's analytics to determine whether it is succeeding or something more needs to be done. And don't forget: You don't wait until the end to measure. You're going to plan that up front.

On the surface, these "Six Ds" make sense, right? But just taking those brief descriptions and running with them is like reading "add salt" to a recipe and thinking you know how to cook. You need to know how much salt to add, how the salt affects the taste and what other spices should be added to make it taste great.

Jason Falls

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® VIP

Digital Strategist, Industry Analyst, Speaker, Author

Jason Falls is a noted author, speaker and influencer in the social and digital marketing space. He is the senior influence strategist at Cornett, an advertising agency in Lexington, KY. He is the author of three books on digital marketing, including Winfluence — Reframing Influencer Marketing to Ignite Your Brand, from Entrepreneur Press. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Leadership

Should I Stay or Should I Go? 8 Key Points to Navigate the Founder's Dilemma

Here are eight key signs that help founders determine whether to persevere or let go.

Marketing

Your Most Powerful Marketing Weapon Is Hiding in the Finance Department — Here's Why

Transform your marketing leadership by turning finance from a barrier into a strategic ally. Learn how aligning with your finance team can drive unprecedented growth and innovation.

Starting a Business

They Bought an Ice Cream Truck Off eBay for $5,000. Now Their Company Has 70 Shops and Sells Treats in Over 12,000 Stores.

For the episode of "The Founder CEO," the co-founder and CEO of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream explains how one ice cream truck grew into a successful nationwide brand.

Growing a Business

How Connecting With the Right Audience Drives Long-Term Business Success

Here's how targeted lead generation can help you unlock higher conversions, stronger brand loyalty and scalable growth.

Business News

Meta Makes $1 Million Dollar Donation to Donald Trump's Inaugural Fund

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also reportedly gave Trump a pair of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Business News

'You Own Nothing Here on Social': Meta Outage, Looming TikTok Ban Has Creators Questioning How Much of Their Business They Really Control

With repeated tech outages and a possible TikTok ban on the horizon, creators are looking for new ways to influence. Turns out, one old-school way still reigns supreme.