Influencers are at the top of every marketing strategy nowadays and with good reason. This new form of marketing has been proven to be very effective in the era of Social Media. Just think about how much you spend searching different social platforms. ‘Oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over someone’s newest outfit or electronic. I’m guilty of it for sure!
According to Deloitte, “Customers acquired through word-of-mouth (such as influencer marketing) are retained at a 37% higher rate than those acquired through other means”. That’s a pretty good statistic.
It’s not always easy to gain these types of marketing relationships, though. So, to quote the incredible Vanilla Ice, it’s time to “Stop. Collaborate and Listen”. I’ve put together 5 best practices to engaging and collaborating with influencers in your market.
Let’s review together, shall we?
1. Get Personal
Influencers, especially the top ones, have created a brand of their own. Become a fan! Learn what makes their blog and social channels work. People trust these individuals and look to them for consumer guidance. Finding out what draws consumers in will help you relate on the marketing aspect of this relationship. Respecting what they do and taking an interest in what motivates them will help you create a true relationship. While this is their job, they’re ordinary people that really care about the lifestyle they share. If you care too and treat them as such, you and the brand will be noticed.
2. Communication
This is where the lines get tangled a lot of the times with influencer relationships. Influencers at the top of their game are getting HUNDREDS of emails a day. If you haven’t made an impression, you’re sure to get lost in the mix. Make sure your subject lines stand out and get to the point. As for the email itself, let’s circle back to “getting personal”. Influencers aren’t looking to get pitched, so throw out your cold call spiel and make your email worth their time. To the point, personalized emails are always best. And don’t forget those follow-ups! As I mentioned, they’re bombarded with requests and emails. Keeping the lines of communication open and staying on top of everything will make sure things don’t fall through the cracks. PLUS, they’ll feel the love and who doesn’t like that?
3. Nice Assets
While you depend on influencers to create amazing content for your brand, having the right assets for them is crucial. Do you have high-quality banners and/or product images they can
easily access? How about relevant landing pages for their posts? A lot of time and effort goes into their posts and amazing content available will put you a cut above the rest. Offering pre-written content for your bloggers is always a good idea too. When their calendar is full and you want to get a push, an easy pre-written article for them to copy and paste will up your chances of getting shared.
4. Flexible Compensation
Ah yes, compensation…This is probably the hardest part of gaining influencers for your brand; especially when your budget only allows for a performance marketing partnership. It’s okay though, if an influencer likes the brand and you, they’ll be interested to hear you out. The key is to be flexible, and creative. Think beyond the commission. Bonuses for hitting goals and incentives for posting are a great start. If possible, free product is even better. Most influencers won’t even touch a brand unless they can actually touch the brand. Allowing them to review something honestly, with the bonus of keeping the product, can make a big impact. When it comes to compensation, a good piece of information to remember comes from AdWeek, “Marketers receive an average of $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 spent on influencer marketing”.
5. Give Back
Besides product and compensation, what else can you offer? Re-sharing the influencer’s work is an easy way to stand out from other brands and makes them think beyond your product. After all, this is a partnership. They let their audience know about you, you let your audience know about them, and a true influencer partnership has been made.
Of course, there’s so much more to a successful partnership and every influencer is different. However, keeping these 5 best practices in mind will certainly give you an advantage. Now go get your recruitment on!
Click here and see how embracing influencers can work for you and your brand.
