Startups or small businesses mostly do not have the luxury to hire a full-time marketing team. By the time the business is up and running, companies do not even have a marketing budget. This post is for those businesses that want to market themselves but in the least budget possible. You will find tried and tested Low-Budget Influencer Marketing Techniques that will establish your presence in the industry. Moreover, these tips are hand-picked for the Pakistani market and will help you launch an influencer marketing campaign in Pakistan.
Influencer Marketing in Pakistan and the World
By the end of 2020, influencer marketing will be an 8 billion dollar industry. Starting from a humble number of 1.7 billion dollars in 2016, this industry is growing fast and churning out great results. And why would it not grow anyway? After all, it gets 16x more engagement than paid ads that people happily skip.
These stats paint a happy picture for brands in Pakistan that have plenty of money, however, it is a grave concern for the startup owners. Startups and small businesses in Pakistan do not have high budgets to spend on influencer marketing. But since this is a surefire way to involve the masses,there has to be a way to hack this process, right?
Today’s marketers are focused on attracting Millennials and Gen Z. These Pakistanis are mostly on their phones, ordering things online, and not waiting for a website to load for more than 5 seconds. Moreover, Pakistani influencers in this age bracket do not focus on money for all the answers. Therefore, a little bit of creativity can craft a perfect influencer marketing campaign.
In this post, we will introduce you to some excellent low-budget influencer marketing techniques that can create a great impact.
Choose a Budget
You must be thinking: how to run a successful low-budget influencer marketing campaign? Well, for starters, you need to create a budget keeping in mind that it is not a one-size-fits-all model. You have to decide on a budget based on many factors. So first, you will highlight a budget and then jump to other techniques.
Here are your options for building a payment structure:
- Upfront payment: you decide a rate to pay the influencer in full
- Results-oriented payment: pay an influencer after the he or she has achieved the milestones as promised
Along with the budget, also list down the offers, promos, products, and services you can offer. Free products and experiences are also the right ingredients to include in an influencer marketing package. If you do not have freebies at hand, you can create a low budget PR package. Once you have listed down each dollar, it is time to go out and explore.
Micro-Influencers
So many Pakistani brands are now shifting towards micro-influencer marketing. A micro-influencer has anywhere from 0-10K followers who are very active. These followers, multiplied by the number of influencers, can earn more engagement and drive more brand awareness.
10K followers x 10 micro-influencers = 100K combined followers
Thus, spending on ten micro-influencers will still cost you less than spending on one mega influencer, and earn a greater engagement rate. We have discussed the benefits of working with micro-influencers in Pakistan in detail in this post.
Find your Fans
Influencers, just like us, have preferred brands where they like to shop from. They have a strong affinity for some brands or products based on their lifestyle. For example, Alina Fahad aka That Karachi Girl is a hijabi, therefore, it is only natural that she will prefer brands that offer excellent quality scarves.
Similarly, your business will also have fans and followers who would love to stay in touch. Research into this area and find out if influencers are talking about you or buying from your business. This is an excellent place to start because a person who has an affinity with your brand might charge less.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B99DMT-Fqn2/Next, reach out to them with a proposal and hear their thoughts on it. This does not imply that the influencer will work for you for free, but they might charge less or devise a more creative proposal. Their followers will be already educated about their love for your brand, hence, it will be a very organically engaging affair.
Offer a Product or Service in Exchange
For short-lived campaigns, you can reach out to industry experts and influencers for one post. Be it a vlog or a post, ask them to offer you the space in exchange for your products and services. Many beauty salons in Pakistan perform this activity regularly.
Shangrila Foods invited Karachi bloggers to Masterclass Pakistan, a cooking institute. They offered a free cooking session using Shangrila products. Two brands collaborated in this influencer marketing campaign and made it to the guest blogger’s feeds in exchange for products and services. Aimaan Meat is a meat shop in Karachi that regularly collaborates with influencers and sends them customized meat cuts and products.
Ask yourself this question: Is my product/service strong enough to obtain a review?
User-Generated Content
Apart from influencers who are your fans, every loyal fan is a potential ambassador. Encourage your loyal followers to create content for your business. User-generated content can be a marketer’s best friend.
For example,
- National Geographic regularly asks users to send their photos and videos. These photos are featured in Nat Geo magazine and digital media
- Pictures and challenges are engaging and get people to work, using your products and services. You can repost or boost this content to reach more customers. Generation is running a #DopattaChallenge asking people how they use a dupatta and reposting all photos
Fresh content promotes your business and adds more creativity to the mix. This is beneficial because startups also have a limited content creation budget. What is better than free content created by some loyal followers to give a boost to your low-budget influencer marketing campaign?
Last word
A robust influencer marketing strategy in 2020 surpasses the limits of money and checks. Influencer marketing has proven time and again that good experiences are more valuable. Countless brands launched with the help of influencer and word of mouth marketing; yours can be next.
The trick is to make all the right decisions, or learn from previous experiences. You can learn by analyzing data from past campaigns and influencer data. With all the data and resources at your disposal, your brand will be successful.
