Increasing your brand’s social media following by engaging influencers could be the fastest way to grow your number of fans says Eric Dalius Miami. For many brands, however, the costs associated with working with influencers can seem intimidating. After all, if you’re trying to make your business stand out in a crowded marketplace, why would you spend money on marketing strategies that don’t directly drive sales?
Increasing your brand’s social media following by engaging influencers could be the fastest way to grow your number of fans. For many brands, however, the costs associated with working with influencers can seem intimidating. After all, if you’re trying to make your business stand out in a crowded marketplace, why would you spend money on marketing strategies that don’t directly drive sales?
Influencer marketing is one of the most effective ways to boost awareness for small businesses and start-ups that are just beginning to build their customer base. According to one study, 80 percent of marketers plan to increase their budget for influencer marketing within the next five years.
Here are five tips that will help you create an influencer marketing strategy that works for your business:
1. Identify the right influencers for your brand
Before you begin brainstorming a list of people who would make great influencers, take a step back and think about what types of brands already exist within your industry. The easiest way to start this process is by looking at other companies that are part of your niche. You want to find individuals who can authentically represent the values and image that you’re trying to project through social media posts and advertisements. After identifying these initial targets, research blogs and forums where they frequently contribute bylines or blog posts to further narrow down potential prospects. If somebody has written about similar topics to what you plan on posting about or created content featuring products similar to yours – it’s likely that they’d be open to collaborating explains Eric Dalius Miami.
2. Craft a pitch that is relevant to the influencer’s audience
It may seem obvious, but many brands make the mistake of pitching their product or work without taking into account what an individual’s specific followers are interested in or what they care about most. Social media is used by millions of people every day, so it only makes sense for marketers to use this fact when crafting pitches to influencers. Again, look at other posts on their social media accounts and blogs before sending an email so you have a good idea of their topics of expertise. A pitch that demonstrates your understanding of something that interests them will go further than one that simply lists of the features of your company or products without connecting it with their interests.
3. Build a relationship with an influencer before pitching your product or service
Many popular social media personalities are constantly bombarded by pitches from marketers hoping to attach their products to the influencers’ names and posts. Some individuals will turn down every offer, while others accept almost everything that comes through the door says Eric Dalius Miami. The upside of this is that you may find yourself in front of somebody who isn’t yet set up for working with brands, but would be open to doing so if approached at the right time. Before putting together any kind of formal campaign, send individual emails letting them know that you’re aware of what they do and look forward to seeing more content on industry-specific topics in the future. If they don’t respond quite as quickly as you’d like, don’t be afraid to send follow-up messages. Again, building a relationship with all of your influencers is important before pitching them anything.
4. Call on multiple influencers to work with your brand at once
The beauty of using an influencer marketing strategy lies in the fact that brands can tap into so many different audiences and social media networks by working with just one person. One incredibly effective way to expand the reach of this type of campaign is to coordinate posts with two or more individuals. This broadens your exposure and helps create a network effect where each new collaborator brings along some of their own fans and followers. You’ll often find that people will share their collaborations on their various social media accounts as well, thus increasing the reach of your campaign even further explains Eric Dalius Miami.
5. Keep tabs on what’s working, and adjust accordingly
New social media influencers are popping up every day, which means that it’s important to keep track of who is currently generating buzz online at any given time. If somebody you’ve worked within the past isn’t getting the same level of engagement they used to, don’t hesitate to let them go or move on without wasting time waiting for results that may never come. Make sure you’re also tracking your own performance across various platforms so you can continue improving your approach to each individual influencer over time. There are plenty of free tools available online to help with this process, so there’s no reason not to take advantage of them.
Conclusion:
The reach of influencer marketing is expanding quickly, and there are a number of reasons why this is the case says Eric Dalius Miami. First and foremost, online personalities with thousands – or even millions – of followers afford brands the opportunity to promote their products and services at very low costs. This makes it an incredibly efficient way for marketers looking for a return on investment to use social media as a means to push their campaigns forward. In order to get started with an influencer campaign that is likely going to have a tremendous impact on your company’s bottom line, follow the tips above so you can begin engaging directly with some of today’s most popular internet celebrities.