How to run a successful influencer social media takeover

Are you looking to switch up your social media content and gain new followers organically? Why not collaborate with an influencer or brand? As a marketer, this is a fantastic way to provide varied content online. Running an influencer social media takeover might just be something that sets your account up for lot’s of success.

What is a social media takeover?

A social media takeover is temporarily giving someone access to post on your social media for a set period.

What are my options?

When sharing content, you have two options: Either the host can log into your account and post content directly OR your host can create the content and then they can send it to you to post. Don’t let giving out your passwords bother you – we have a solution! Use something like One Time Secret! Type in your password, and it will create an encrypted link which will only work once.

Here are the things you need to do to make sure your influencer social media takeover smoothly…

1. Think up your end goal! 

Do you want the outcome to be that ensures benefit for both you and the influencer? This could be:

• To improve engagements and gain new followers.
• Promoting a new product or service
• Launching a new campaign

2. What, where and when?

The best thing to do when looking at what to post is HAVE OPTIONS! Which socials will be involved in this takeover? TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are most effective but don’t limit yourself! Make sure you look at what type of content will be most effective for what you are looking to promote. Don’t forget to give people options.

• Posts
• ‘Vlog’ content.
• Stories
• Exclusive interviews
• Tutorials
• Instagram Live
• IGTV Mini-Series
• Behind the Scenes

Make sure you plan at least one month before your takeover date, this means your both you and your chosen partner will have plenty of time for planning, editing (when necessary) and promotion.

3. Who is your host?

Looking at the goals, create a list of content creators and accounts who you would like to collaborate with. It’s a good idea to understand the types of influencers that you can work with. TOP TIP – Don’t rule out micro-influencers (those with 10k followers or less), micro-influencers have the highest engagement rates!

• Look at their social media presence, make sure the host is a natural fit for the target audience, you don’t want anything to be forced!
• Have they worked with other companies previously? Is there a good mixture of regular content and ads?
• Look at their engagements, check comments and likes comparing it to their follower count. Doing this will give you a general idea about their engagement rates and have a general idea of what their followers interact well with.
• Once you have created a solid list of creators, reach out to them and explain about your brand and talk them through your take over ideas. Make sure to include why you think they are an excellent fit for the brand and how it would be beneficial for them.

TOP TIP – You might think that it’s a little bit awkward but why not set up a video call or in-person meeting to discuss the takeover with the brand/business owner and the influencer. Let them see the genuine passion behind the brand! Or why not partner up with other businesses and create a system where you can both benefit from running takeovers on each other’s channels. Doing this will open you up to a whole new audience and provides a chance for you to grow your community.

4. Tease your influencer takeover

Once you have secured your takeover partner, at least one week prior, post a teaser on both feeds and stories. This will begin to attract new followers onto both accounts. TOP TIP – Hashtag it! Created a branded hashtag for each takeover; this is a great way to share and monitor content.

5. Prep and post!

The first step is making sure your chosen creator knows the requirements, what they are posting, the format of the posts and how many. Also, make sure you include story templates, coaching templates on your brands colour scheme or wording. If someone is pre-shooting content, make sure that you review material before posting. Then GO LIVE! Make sure if the influencer is using an Instagram Live someone is available to respond to any audience questions or comments. Once stories are posted, don’t forget to save them in your highlights, you can always refer followers back to them – linking them in new stories or posts!

6. Assess your Success

Check your metrics! Go back to your goals? Have you had a successful influencer social media takeover? Good luck and have a fabulous takeover!! Written by Carys Knox