Influencer Marketing – How to use it effectively

You probably know that. Promoting a service or product through a blogger, social media user or otherwise influential person who has significant engagement with their following is an excellent way to gain meaningful exposure.

Influencer marketing provides a return on investment that is 11 times higher than traditional digital marketing firms, according to a study conducted by Nielsen Catalina Solutions regarding influencer marketing software known as TapInfluence.

Non-celebrity bloggers encourage purchases more likely than celebrities to 30% of consumers more inclined to buy from them, a Collective Bias survey says.

Reportedly, that inclination has declared millennials, 70 percent of whom use peer recommendations while purchasing.

A whopping 95% of consumers believe recommendations from others over content that is published by a brand, a 2011 Nielsen survey report.

You don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to a celebrity for promotion. However, You can form valuable connections with people whose passion lines up with the brand.

Here’s how to identify influencers, how to reach them, and how to get them to work with the brand.

How to find the right influencers:

The extent of the internet can make narrowing down an influencer search hard. By using the existing connections first, an influencer search becomes more focused and appropriate.

Start with what you know:

First, ask colleagues at your business, which influencers they follow in are related to the industry. Look for the influencers who don’t just have a large number of followers, but whose audiences are more engaged.

A celebrity influencer whose posts may reach hundreds or thousands of followers is less efficient when compared to the one whose post gets more shares and comments, and thus, increasing the organic reach.

Browse your followers:

Within the social network, followers for your brand, identify your most passionate followers. Since they’re already enthusiastic about the business, these people may also be ready to act as brand advocates.

Use search engines and tools:

Don’t doubt the power of Google when you’re searching for influencers. Search with the word “influencer” and the topic related to your brand.

Also, influencer marketing tools such as Klout, and BuzzSumo can let you into top influencers. You may also get numerous influencer ideas by actively engaging in online communities like Reddit or forums.

Look for journalists

Journalists are still recognised as worthy influencers, especially within local communities. For brands with a local-first, conquer-the-world-next strategy, subscribing to journalist Twitter feeds and commenting on their web articles is an excellent way to gain their attention.

How to approach the influencers

Once you’ve narrowed your search, it’s time to contact influencers regarding potential partnerships. Remember that many of them get approached often. Your brand must be outstanding and provide value to the influencer to motivate them to participate in a campaign or support your brand.

Establish a connection

Do you know how many people get annoyed by cold calling? They feel the same about a cold email where you try to explain what you want from someone without letting them know the context.

State what’s in it for them

Influencers need to provide valuable content to their followers. If your brand is off-message for their brand, or if there’s no motivation for sharing, they won’t put forth the effort.

Even though you’re doing influencer marketing on a budget, you might still consider providing them with something of worth in return for their work with your brand. This can include:

• Social shares from your channels.
• A link to their content in an email newsletter.
• A link to their content on the website.
• The opportunity to give an interview or testimonial which links back to their website.
• The ability to access a free product and test it out before anyone else.

Thank them for the time

Genuinely thank them for accepting your proposal. Provide easy access to reach you with questions, and show interest in the potential opportunity to work with them.

Provide them with resources

Send influencers the brand’s guidelines, videos, photography, and anything else you think that may help them to know your brand better. These types of materials are especially important for journalists.

Influencers can be a reliable source of public relations for brands. When you treat how you find, approach and work with influencers the same way you would any business partnership, influencer marketing campaigns become more productive.