Influencers Are Spearheading The Marketing Industry
The value of influence and branding visibility are two sides of the same coin. If you’re looking to improve the strength of your brand, then you should be open to hiring those who are experts in the former. One of the many reasons why many companies and brands are putting in heavy investment in influencer marketing is because more and more people are advocating the use of AdBlock. In fact, 47% of the world’s internet users use an ad-blocker today. This makes diverting advertising through influencer posts a popular and effective alternative to getting eyeballs on your products.
Then The Time To Hire An Influencer Is NOW
influencers offer a more engaging and interactive approach towards advertising brands and products that offer not just numbers in terms of views and reach, but also in terms of a long-term mutual partnership between two business-minded parties. Here are 8 invaluable tips that will help you land that partnership with your chosen influencer:
#1. Connect With Them Using The “Influencer Outreach” Approach
The “influencer outreach” approach begins with scouting your potential candidates. One of the easiest methods to scout influencers is by first putting yourself in the shoes of a customer who would use your product. The most convenient way to find your interests nowadays is with the use of hashtags. Hashtags have become a simple way to navigate through pages, people, and content. Different social media platforms offer different strengths and niche demographics for you to tap into:
- Instagram: The benefits of Instagram influencers is that they capitalize on optimized images. If your product is flashier when seen instead or read about, then they might be your primary choice.
- YouTube: YouTube celebrities and content creators have the liberty of creating more than just reviews and giveaways. Their versatility and subtle segues to ad placements in their videos make them an excellent choice for different products in niche demographics.
- WordPress: The impact of blogging should never be underestimated. Bloggers frequently engage with their followers and are often the best choice for product reviews.
Apart from the more commonly used social media platforms, you can also look for influencers’ business profiles through LinkedIn or Hypr.
#2. Be Transparent With Your Intentions And Goals
Chances are, if you’re working with well-known digital marketing influencers, they would be doing their own research on who you are as a company just as much as how much research you’ve done on them. Be clear with your social media strategy’s goals before you start eliminating options from your list of influencer candidates.
- Is it to gain more followers?
- Is it to convert impulse buyers into frequent customers?
- Is it to have a higher engagement rate?
- Is it to add more influencers to your current roster?
Having a clear vision of your purpose and goals that you want to achieve will make it easier for you to adjust your spiels to the influencer that you want to work with.
#3. Ask Them To Be Your Brand Ambassador
After scouring through the potential people on your list, it’s time to ask them through a formal letter to engage in a partnership. Before you send your proposal, you should do the legwork in researching about the influencers’ you’re courting. They’re quick to know when you’re unfamiliar with their content. Know what they stand for and offer a partnership in the form of collaboration instead of a one-time commission. That way, a more lasting relationship can be nurtured.
#4. Highlight How You Can mutually benefit from each other
Mega influencers, who have at least a million followers, might be harder to win over compared to micro-influencers. Though they have a more modest following of about 1,000 – 100,000 subscribers, they are much more likely to actually have an impact on their subscribers. Eighty-two percent of consumers find it easier to trust recommendations by micro-influencers who they feel are more relatable compared to mega influencers.
Reinforce your stand on bringing in a beneficial relationship between both parties and offer them opportunities to be recognized from your own social media channels as well.
#5. Trust Your Influencer’s Creative Choices
Influencers offer a unique type of appeal to audiences as they can market your product without the feeling of being forced or interrupted with the content that they are currently viewing. Content creators such as vloggers can provide first-hand reviews of your products and services. But instead of sounding like a drone forced to read through a script, you should be able to give influencers the creative freedom in promoting your products.
Content creators on YouTube all have niche audiences and they’re quick to notice when they’re being forced to watch a paid advertisement; this makes them reluctant to view sponsored content and they may opt to skip when the video returns to the content they clicked on. Know how to give them flexibility when it comes to their creative process. You shortlisted them for a reason, and that’s because they know how to engage with their audience on their own.
#6. Offer Them The Option To Choose Their Mode Of Payment
A good partnership starts with giving the option to negotiate. Compensation may be in the form of:
Monetary compensation
Discount vouchers to services/products
Invites to brand openings and partner events
Samples of new products
Make sure that your compensation methods are provided in your proposal to ensure that the influencer you’ve chosen will be able to weigh their options in accepting or declining your offer.
#7. Make Them Commit For The Long Run
The best way to gain an influencer’s commitment is by offering them a long-term partnership. One-off offers can appeal to some influencers, but the best way to win their trust is by having a consistent collaborator when it comes to creating content on their side, while providing you with a regular stream of shared subscribers directed to reach and engage with your marketing campaigns.
#8. Expand Your Reach In Bringing In Different Influencers
The fastest way to gain traction is to have multiple influencers talking about your product at the same time. Collaborating with multiple influencers in different circles reinforces trust in your product or service. The more notable credible people are talking about it (in terms of subscriber count and familiarity with the product), the more it must mean that what they are talking about is viable or effective.
Takeaway
Hiring an influencer can be one of the best ways to refresh your brand’s image. With the reach of a traditional celebrity but with the appeal of someone relatable, influencer-brand partnerships prove to be an effective way to bring both parties into greater heights of success. But as with any partnership, getting to know who you’ll be investing your time, effort, and resources on should be done with considerable research. Knowing their likes and dislikes, together with reinforcing your common interests, is a surefire way to land an accepted proposal.
