Everywhere you turn, advertising gurus are talking about how essential it is for marketers to incorporate influencers and content creators into their channel mix.  For some marketers, that is easier said than done.  

With technology, great strides have been made in advancing influencer marketing, influencer networks, and social platform enhancements—but that doesn’t mean executing influencer campaigns is crystal clear. 

The following guide focuses specifically on working with YouTubers and shares some best practices that you can start incorporating into your strategy today.

What Is a YouTube Influencer?

A YouTube influencer is someone with one or more YouTube channels on which they produce content to influence, educate, entertain, or engage their audience.  They receive revenue for their collaborations with brands and a share of ad revenue on videos they produce.

YouTube, Emerging Audio, and Amplifying Your Message

At ARM, we’ve made audio our business. And that means we’ve made YouTube a primary focus of our work. 

YouTube is not only the number one video streaming platform in the world, it has become the preeminent platform to discover and consume podcasts. 28% of weekly podcast listeners say they use YouTube for most of their podcast consumption, which is more than the next two competitors (Spotify and Apple Podcasts, at 15% and 12% respectively) combined. 

What’s more, YouTube is where younger audiences are flocking to consume video podcasts—typically video footage of hosts in conversation, though some video podcasts feature a static image while podcast audio plays. 84% of Gen Z podcast listeners in the U.S. have discovered a podcast on YouTube. Nearly half of them say that they find video podcasts allow them to feel more connected to the hosts, making YouTube a great platform to nurture deep emotional relationships with audiences. 

Given the growing popularity of YouTube as a platform for podcast consumption, and the rising star of video podcasting as a medium, it's crucial for brands to integrate creator marketing on YouTube into their strategy. At ARM, we balance media mixes, incorporating high-performing channels like YouTube at efficient CPMs. 

We know YouTube amplifies your message in ways no other channel can. And our cross-channel strategies with influencers have earned us a reputation for big results.

What Are the Benefits of YouTube Influencer Marketing?

The benefits of YouTube influencer marketing include building brand awareness, establishing trust and credibility, improving conversion rates, and driving traffic to a brand’s website, to name a few. 

When an influencer features a product or service in their videos, creates reviews, shares promotions, and hosts giveaways, their audience begins to recognize the brand in question—and what’s more, because influencers are seen as industry experts, their endorsements create trust. In fact, in a recent survey 69% of consumers indicated that they trust influencer recommendations .

Influencers also boost bottom lines—60% of marketers say that influencer-generated content performs better, drives more engagement, and increases conversions compared to branded posts. 

And for most brands, this isn’t just an increase in quantity, there is a general increase in quality when it comes to who is engaging with their product or service.  51% say influencer marketing helps them acquire better, more qualified leads. 

Given the numbers, it’s no wonder that marketers are excited by the potential of YouTube creator partnerships, though they may remain a bit intimidated by the platform’s complexities and vast number of potential collaborators.

In order to get started, we recommend applying some of the best practices outlined below to help guide the process. 

The three most important topic areas to familiarize yourself with are: Developing your YouTube influencer strategy, identifying and finding creators to bring your strategy to life, and establishing contact with your preferred creator partners.

How to Develop a YouTube Influencer Marketing Strategy

One of the most common mistakes that brands make when starting a campaign is to begin selecting influencers they believe will be a good brand fit before they establish their influencer marketing strategy. 

Instead, we suggest beginning with strategy. This will ensure that you establish clear success criteria at the outset and align your creator marketing efforts with your top business or product priorities.

Know Your Target Audience

Look beyond the demographics of your target audience and focus on where they consume content and what they are interested in.  Some important data points to evaluate are:

  • Interests & Affinities
  • Purchasing Patterns
  • Web Browsing Behavior
  • Streaming & TV Consumption
  • Social Media Influencers They Follow
  • Common Search Behaviors
  • Device Usage

You can use these various data points to develop your strategic framework.  

Remember that the best YouTube creators for your brand don’t look and act like your audience—instead, they appeal to and influence your audience.

Understand Where YouTube Influencers Fit Within Your Overall Marketing Plan

Next, clearly articulate the desired role that YouTube creators will play in achieving your marketing objectives.  It is important to leverage them for what they are particularly good at that brands often struggle to accomplish in other ways:

  • Reach
  • Relevance
  • Incorporation into Culture
  • Meaningful Connection
  • Third Party Credentials
  • Testimonials
  • Personal Storytelling

Allocate Your Budget

To establish an appropriate budget for your YouTube creator collaboration, it is critical to discuss current marketplace rates with experts fluent in the space. These days, it is more common to pay influencers rather than provide them with free products or services. Compensation isn’t one-size-fits-all and can vary based on audience size, quality of media, and expected engagement level. 

Though rates vary, brands can expect to pay between $1,000 to $2,500 for nano influencers (less than 15k followers), $2,500 to $9,000 for micro influencers (15k to 17k followers), $9,000 to $25,000 for mid-tier influencers (75k to 250k followers), $25,000 to $49,000 for macro influencers (250k to 1m followers) and $49,000 and up for mega influencer or celebrity endorsements (1m+ followers). 

Getting insights from industry experts affiliated with influencer networks, talent managers, or specialist agencies like Ad Results Media can help brands get the best rates to maximize budgets. This is critical because to succeed brands should allocate enough budget resources to the creation of the content as well as to secure additional rights and potentially use paid amplification techniques.

How to Find YouTube Influencers to Promote Your Brand

Finding the right individual creators to collaborate with can seem overwhelming. After all, there are thousands of creators out there. Use these steps as a starting point to narrow down a list of prospects.

Search by Keywords

YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine and is well-equipped to surface YouTube creators simply by using native search capabilities. Take the list of your target audience’s affinities and interests and begin your search using those as keywords. 

Review Content for Style, Brand Fit, and Appropriateness

The best predictor of what kind of content an influencer might create for your brand is looking at what they have done with previous partners. Review 10 to 12 videos from the past 12 to 24 months to get a feel for how that creators executes partnerships. Make an assessment to determine if they are the correct stylistic fit for your brand and audience.

Gauge the Success of Past Videos at Driving Key Performance Metrics

While reviewing potential partners’ videos, take a close look at their typical performance metrics—particularly on sponsored content. A few things to pay close attention to are:

    • Average Video Views
    • Subscribers
    • Likes
    • Comments
    • Comment Sentiment

How to Find YouTube Creators That Amplify Your Podcast Advertising Success

At Ad Results Media, our core business has historically been in the audio and podcast advertising space.  But we also have years of experience collaborating with YouTube influencers that expand on the success our clients have earned through podcast advertising. 

To get the best results, we start by extrapolating key learnings from a brand’s previous success with specific podcast hosts and apply those insights to YouTube. We also look at two other key factors to pair brands with the most aligned YouTube creators: the brand’s target audience profile and current topical or cultural trends on YouTube.

How to Contact YouTube Creators

There are several ways to contact YouTube influencers to inquire about brand partnerships.  Here are the most common methods:

Send a Business Inquiry Email

It may seem simple, but to send influencers an email, you should first go to the YouTube channel and navigate to the “About” section. If a business inquiry email is provided, select “view email address.” If you don't see a business inquiry email address, then the channel owner didn't provide one. Use the email listed to send a message to the channel instead.

Use the Contact Form on Their Website

For some channels that do not offer the option to send a business inquiry email, you can use the influencer’s website contact form to send an inquiry. In the subject line or top of the email body, indicate that you are inquiring about brand partnership opportunities.

Reach Out Using Other Social Media Channels

For some channels that do not offer the option to send a business inquiry email, you may contact them using their other social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter).  All of these apps provide a mechanism to send a message to the account holder if they have opted in to receive messages. 

Leave Them a Comment on a Video

When all else fails, or for more casual inquiries, you can also leave a comment in the comment section under their YouTube video(s).  Most channel admins review the comments and will likely see your inquiry.  Do not include the details of your request in the comments, instead keep them topline and try to bring the conversation into a private communications channel.

In Conclusion

At Ad Results Media, we believe that future-proofing your brand and marketing strategies begins with a focus on creator-based advertising across podcasts, video, and emerging audio. 

When brands and creators come together to co-create a brand experience it is one of the most powerful and effective ad mediums that can be leveraged. As a global leader in creator-based advertising of all kinds, we’ve spent years identifying strategies that get results for our clients on YouTube. This deep understanding and expertise have allowed our clients to achieve tremendous growth. 

Ready to capitalize on the power of YouTube influencers to reach your business goals? Contact the Ad Results Media team to plan your next YouTube creator collaborations.