Strategy for Effective Collaborations with Influencers

By Discover Puerto Rico

Collaborations with influencers have become a key strategy to increase brands’ visibility and reach both within Puerto Rico’s business landscape as well as internationally. These partnerships amplify messages authentically and directly, reaching the communities built by influencers on various digital platforms.

Identify the Objective and How You Will Measure Results

Although the collaboration begins with an agreement between the business and the influencer whose digital presence is characterized by a significant number of followers on social media, blogs or YouTube channels, it is crucial that the business first defines the purpose of the collaboration (increase reach, sales, interactions, etc.) and how results will be measured. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as impressions, video views, website referrals, and clicks, among others, must be clear from the beginning.

Assess the Influencer’s Performance

It is essential to evaluate whether the chosen influencer is aligned with the brand’s objectives by considering aspects such as authenticity, content quality, niche, values and pillars compared to those of the brand, demographics, and engagement rate, as well as their previous collaborations and posts.

Choose the Promoted Communication Approach

To ensure an effective collaboration from the beginning, businesses must clearly communicate their objectives and expectations to the influencer. This includes defining the expected content, dissemination channels, and posting frequency. Communication must be supported by a brand guide that specifies what the influencer can or cannot do during the collaboration period.

Establish Contractual Agreements

It is also important for the business to define guidelines to comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosure regulations, agree on content approvals, negotiate compensation (either monetary or through exchanges), and, if necessary, offer recommendations for accommodations and experiences. The most important thing is to have an agreement that specifies each party’s contractual obligations.

Types of Collaborations

After selecting an influencer, businesses can engage in various collaborations to position themselves in the competitive digital market. A common example is sponsored content, where an influencer creates and promotes material about the brand on their social media. Other options include product reviews (unboxing) and takeovers, where the influencer takes control of the brand’s social media for a certain period.

In addition to these practices, there are other ways to collaborate, such as contests and brand events in which the influencer’s participation can increase visibility and interaction with the public.

The Content Has Been Published... Now What?

Once the influencer publishes the content, the brand must amplify it and interact with the posts, even if they include tags such as #Partner or #Ad. This strengthens the relationship with the influencer and increases the collaboration’s credibility, generating more interactions between users.

It is important for the brand to actively monitor user reaction and assess the collaboration’s positive impact on the audience. In addition, the brand must have a crisis management plan ready in case the outcome is negative.

Case Study: Discover Puerto Rico

Lastly, to evaluate the collaboration’s success, the brand must analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and compare them with those established at the beginning, thus evaluating the return on investment (ROI) and lessons learned for future strategies.

Discover Puerto Rico’s influencer program is an example of the effectiveness of these collaborations. Partnering with 18 influencers from different niches and key markets, they promoted the “Live Boricua” campaign. Although the agreement was to publish two videos on TikTok and Instagram, many shared additional contents that resulted in 773 posts (61 contracted and 712 value-added), 34.5 million impressions, and an average engagement rate of 3.17%.

This shows that more than a trend, collaborations with influencers are an authentic tool for brands to connect with new audiences. To achieve this, collaboration must be established from the start and transparent communication must be maintained. Discover Puerto Rico’s experience shows how good alignment between both parties can increase the brand’s perceived value and expand its reach to new audiences.

Discover Puerto Rico is responsible for off-island promotion of leisure travel, meetings, conventions, and events through an integrated and research-based marketing strategy. Highlighting the island’s cultural distinctiveness as a travel engine and celebrating Puerto Ricans’ warm spirit, the destination marketing organization (DMO) launched the “Live Boricua” campaign to invite tourists to discover the island’s unique charms. Click here to learn more about the organization and the campaign. For more marketing resources you can visit the Discover Puerto Rico Industrial Portal.

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