For the less tech-savvy among us, influencer marketing is a technique which uses key content creators – ‘influencers’ – to drive engagement around a brand’s product or message. An influencer is a social media user with a large following, generally anywhere from a few hundred to several million followers. They target (or, rather, brands target them) a particular topic, discussion, or niche area. As such, influencers generate a highly engaged and loyal digital audience. This is a highly unique marketing concept, a hybrid of classic and forward-thinking ideas.
Influencer marketing delivers huge rates of engagement, which you should take advantage of if you’re looking to grow your brand. Here are our top tips, tools, and techniques for your first foray into influencer marketing.
Identify your influencers
When stepping into influencer marketing, it’s important to identify who the influential players are in your field. Use Google, pay attention to the Forbes top influencer lists, and research Instagram to find out exactly who is promoting your kind of product, message, or service. Depending on the size of your company, make a list of 30-50 influencers, before segregating them by their desired function. For example, a clothing company may target specific influencers to promote their spring-summer line, and others for their autumn-winter.
Make your social media profiles stand out
Influencers are highly in demand, so even if you’re targeting them, there’s no guarantee that they’ll want to support you and your brand. Your business needs to stand out from the crowd. Ensure that your social media profiles are unique, distinct, and valuable. Influencers want to attach themselves to reputable brands, so keep your profiles different, yet in tune with your company’s identity and values.
Engage, engage, engage
Influencer marketing is an industry which survives on the understanding that ‘if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’. If you want influencers on your side, you need them to notice you for the amount of support you give them. Likes, follows, shout-outs, cover it all! Develop real relationships, however, by commenting on their posts, especially ones which aren’t so corporate-driven. If they’re providing an update on their real life, for example, congratulate their successes and offer your support in times of strife.
Be subtle
Unfortunately for marketers, paid ads are losing their effectiveness. Audiences are so exposed to them that they are tuning them out, rendering them almost useless. This is why influencer marketing is so effective; the influence provides useful content and information for consumers, making it less obvious that they are being promoted to. For example, an influencer going live on Instagram to give a skincare tutorial is far more interesting to viewers and will still inevitably secure orders for the skincare brand. Grab customer attention by offering them a learning opportunity.
Try an agency
If you’re looking for that extra leg-up in influencer marketing without the hassle, employ an agency adept in building strong relationships and digital connections. Influencer marketing agency Socially Powerful have unrivaled access to a huge global network, putting the work in for you.
