International Influencer Marketing: 4 Factors to Consider

As influencer marketing continues to be recognised as a valuable opportunity, many companies are starting to extend their reach and run international influencer marketing campaigns. We run global campaigns for many of our clients – so can share some pointers on what to look out for. 

Here are 4 things to remember when partnering with influencers internationally to ensure a smooth and successful collaboration.

Laws & Guidelines

Firstly, be aware that different countries have different guidelines surrounding influencer marketing. Recently, while working on an international influencer campaign for a client, we offered a second product to the influencers for them to run their own giveaway as part of the collaboration.

However, while most European influencers we worked with were happy to add the competition aspect to their content, our Italian YouTubers politely declined. They brought to our attention that in Italy, there are complex regulations surrounding running sweep-stake competitions which, if not followed, may result in penalties.

Similarly, in the UK the new influencer marketing guidelines given by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are exactly that – guidelines – and not all of them are compulsory.

Your influencers may have specific ways they like to declare collaborations, sponsored posts or gifting on their social channels.  You should have a conversation with them about what works for them and ensure the agreed final approach of declaration is clear, and adherent to the guidelines.

Fees & Terms

With transactional collaborations (where the influencers are paid a fee for their content or time), it’s key to consider that fees and terms may differ from country to country. Influencer marketing is worldwide and has larger markets in some countries than others. This could mean that there is more opportunity for brands, but also more competition for the influencers in certain countries vs others. This may affect how they cost their time and content.

We have also found that whether an influencer is with an agency or not can affect the fee they charge. Stick to your method on influencer budgets – whether that’s going by average reach, engagements or estimated costs of each to meet your client’s expectations – but still be open to tweaking methods and negotiation to make the collaboration a smooth one for all parties involved.

Time & time-zones

A simple one, but often overlooked in the planning stages; allow a little more time for everything you’re doing internationally.

If you’re sending a product out to an influencer in a different country, it’s important to allow extra time for shipping and any problems which may occur. Setting unrealistically short deadlines may result in a poorer rapport between you, your client and the influencer and potentially lower-quality, rushed content.

Another factor to bear in mind is time-zones. This is important to consider again in the planning stages, as well as throughout the collaboration when communicating with the influencer. You should factor in what times of day, or days of the week content performs best in each country, and if you’d like the content to be published at different times.

Cultural Differences

Finally, when putting together a campaign theme or brief for an International Influencer marketing campaign, it’s important to be mindful of the cultures in the countries your influencers are from.

Most influencer marketing campaigns are centred around a product or service, and so typically, few cultural differences or problems arise. However if your client likes to express interest in a specific culture, tradition, heritage or political view on their social channels, it may be beneficial to match this up with your brand and their expectations.

Working with international influencers can be extremely beneficial in spreading your clients’ message, but it’s important to do it right. Bearing in mind the above will help to minimise any potential issues and make the collaborations smooth for everyone involved while achieving fantastic results.

For more insights, head over to one of our previous posts – e.g. 3 helpful influencer relationship management tips. If you need any influencer marketing or social media advertising advice or support, feel free to contact us.