Whether you sell health products, gadgets, or home services, a single positive recommendation from a trusted individual can trump even your most stunning product photo or most beautifully written copy. That’s why customer reviews online matter. But in this day and age, there’s another source of that positive and trusted product recommendation: social media influencers.
Influencer marketing has become a part of great digital marketing campaigns. But how do you exactly go about it? Can you choose any popular personality on social media? And how to approach them?
First, determine who you want to try to influence.
Before you even send a message to a YouTube or Instagram personality, determine first who you want to try to influence. You will then have a clear picture of the audience that you and influencers need to target. Plus, knowing your target audience helps you start a master list of possible social influencers you can tap.
If your product’s target audience comprises mainly 30-something, work-from-home mothers, find out who these mothers follow on Instagram and Twitter. Research the social platforms they mostly use. And see what type of content they usually consume—do they like videos, infographics, or Instagram Stories?
From there, you can have a list of social media influencers who target the same audience as you. If you have multiple audience demographics, you might need multiple influencers to reach out to them online.
Then, narrow down your list of possible influencers.
It’s tempting to use vanity metrics like the number of likes or followers to narrow down your list. But it’s crucial to go deeper to measure a person’s influence. One vital thing to look for is relevance. Browse through a vlogger’s content to see if their content or personality is aligned with your brand messaging. You don’t want to collaborate with someone who doesn’t share the same core values as your brand.
Another factor to look at is engagement. Even if an influencer has hundreds of thousands of followers, if their audience doesn’t interact with them, those statistics don’t mean anything. Besides, there are fake ways to increase the number of followers and post likes on certain social media platforms. To make sure you get the right influencer, pay attention to how their followers share and comment on their posts.
Lastly, reach out to the chosen influencers nicely
The first thing to keep in mind is not to reach out in sort of a creepy manner. Don’t sloppily message them, retweet or share each of their most recent posts, and like their Instagram posts from 2016. Rather, plan your initial outreach efforts and keep your first message or interaction light. If possible, make a human connection. Reach out to them via phone or video chat if a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible.
What would you say after you’ve built a rapport with a social media influencer? Make a pitch. But don’t do it with a 45-slide PowerPoint presentation. Instead, continue with a light conversation and make sure to ask your influencers about their content ideas. Influencers have a strong sense of ownership about their posts, even if brands sponsor these. So, offer ideas, but let them freely share theirs, too.
Sealing the partnership also comes with the compensation talks. Be prepared and clear on what you can offer, whether it’s monetary compensation, exchange deal, or any other favorable agreement. This way, you get your collaboration off to a great start.
Influencers are increasingly becoming popular—and most of them know their value in brand marketing. Make sure to tap the right influencers and reach out to them nicely to create a good partnership.
