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Harnessing the Power of Social Media Influencers for Your Marketing
Marketing a brand on your own often requires a considerable amount of work. Despite your best efforts, you still might not be able to capture your target audience. If this is you, it’s time to call social media influencers for help.
To get the most out of the boost provided by social media influencers, knowing how to work with them the right way is crucial. Read on and learn how you can effectively team up with an influencer like DJ Khaled.
Why you need social media influencers for marketing
Social media influencers have a huge presence on a social media platform. They gain this presence through:
- A large following: Influencers on social media often have followers numbering in the tens of thousands, or even millions. This is a large audience that your brand can reach out to when the influencer promotes it.
- Influencers have extensive networks: Aside from a large following, influencers also form connections with people from their industries, as well as other influencers. By connecting to these networks, you can considerably extend your reach.
- They have credibility: Influencers build their reputation with years of experience. Their opinions and insights on various topics, including brands to follow, are considered to be very credible.
- Influencers create effective content: In a survey conducted by research firm Vocus, 62% of respondents say they follow influencers for the content they create. Having your products in this content can be very beneficial.
- Influencers can sway trends: Not only that, they can also generate trends of their own that your brand can ride.
These reasons are certainly more than enough to convince you to connect with influencers.
Identifying social media influencers to connect with
The main goal of connecting with influencers is being able to spread your brand message through them. To effectively do this, the influencers you pick must be aligned with the message you want to convey.
For example, Vanessa Hudgens has over 6 million followers on Twitter. With her younger crowd being so digitally connected, it’s natural to want to connect with her for your tech related product:
Proud to be a founding member of Velocity Black, my remote control to get the most fun out of life. experience #velocityblack #ad pic.twitter.com/QMKUgM9pys
— Vanessa Hudgens (@VanessaHudgens) May 18, 2017
Note that this is not just about the kind of content they create. How they present the content also plays a role in the effective reception of your message. You don’t always have to go looking for a big celebrity, micro influencers are also valuable.
Judge the reach of social media influencers
To actually be able to deliver your message through influencers, your target audience must be part of their following. Travel vloggers like FunforLouis would be ideal for airlines and tour companies to connect with:
Take into consideration the platforms your target audience frequent to determine which influencers would be more suitable to reach out to.
How often does the social media influencer post
In most cases, getting your target audience to respond to your promotions requires multiple takes. Here, the frequency at which an influencer posts content becomes vital. One that has higher posting frequencies will give you more opportunities to catch the attention of your audience.
Are the social media influencers received well
One factor that determines how well a particular influencer is received online is how authentic they are seen by their audience. This is important because that sense of authenticity also applies to the brands they promote.
Read not only the content they produce, but also the reactions of their audience to them. You can also check out discussions about particular influencers to see how they are perceived. Reading the YouTube comments of respected YouTube user Philip DeFranco gives you an idea of how his audience receives him:
Depending on how far you want your campaign to reach, you might need to identify more than a few influencers to help you out. Widen your search by using a variety of platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also make use of tools like BuzzSumo.
Connecting with your chosen influencer
The best way to call the attention of these social media influencers and get them to engage with you for the first time is by focusing on the content they create. Influencers like it when they get to talk about the topics they focus on with their audience. Tell them why you like a certain post of theirs or your opinion on another. By keeping your initial conversations light, you and the influencer become more comfortable with each other.
At this point, you can begin bringing your brand into the conversation. Provide links to some of your own content or to your website. Keeping the links relevant to the conversation you have going helps effectively engage the influencer.
In this tweet by telecommunications provider BlueTone, they reached out to writer Jennifer Schonert with an article about Schonert’s fellow writer.
@JenniferShultz Check out our #womenshistorymonth profile on Jhumpa Lahiri and her success as a female author! https://t.co/WR11h66Pgu
— BlueTone (@BlueToneWorld) March 31, 2017
You can also write a full introductory email and send it to the influencer’s email address. Keep the tone informal to carry over from your initial conversations. It is also wise to use a specific subject line for your email for it to be noticed. Close the email with an invitation to keep in touch in case they are interested in working together.
Pitching a social media influencer
When you feel comfortable communicating with your target social media influencers, it’s time to invite them to promote your brand. This is where a well-written pitch will be useful for convincing them:
- Start with a good subject line: It should be vague enough to intrigue your target influencer, yet still give them an idea of what you are proposing.
- Do a proper introduction: Keep your tone friendly and introduce yourself properly to the influencer.
- Go straight to the point: Your actual pitch should be just around one or two sentences long. State your pitch clearly and don’t put in any extraneous information.
- Make it personal: Research the influencer you are reaching out to and use the information you gathered to create a pitch that is specifically geared towards them.
Here is a template for a pitch using all these points:
Hello, (influencer)!
I’m (Name) from (Company). We spoke on (Platform), and I thought I would send you a personal message.
I was thinking that we could work together on (Proposed project). This campaign would connect with your audience because (Reason). There would also be compensation in it for you, which we can discuss.
If this sounds like something that you could be interested in, please reply to me at this email or call (Phone number).
I hope we can work together,
(Your name)
What you have to offer is also vital in getting your pitch accepted. Take into consideration such factors as the size of the influencer’s following, the nature of the favor you are asking, and the effort the influencer has to put in. It would also be a good idea if the offer you make is something that would be of use to them.
Helping social media influencers promote your brand
Many influencers build their reputations through years of experience. Furthermore, they know their audience well. These guarantee that they know what they are supposed to do and how the work should be done. Learn to trust them and their expertise.
Coupled with that trust, you also need to provide them with a good amount of creative control on the kind of content they produce for you and how they promote. This way, they will be able to present your brand more authentically to their audience.
Be ready to support them
While influencers can market your brand on their own, it doesn’t mean you just sit down and watch. For them to better do their work, you must be ready to back them up. Provide them with all the information they need to better convey your brand’s message.
Another way for you to support your team of social media influencers is by turning them into brand reporters, announcing new products and offers you might have. Online celebrities like popular cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao, are often employed for this due to their large fan bases.
One way that you can support them is to buy X / Twitter retweets for the messages you worked on with them. You know that their audience is going to pay attention, but it will really catch their eye, and caused them to hit the retweet button, once they see how active this tweet is. This tactic works just as well for:
Your goal is to spend just a little more money to draw a lot more attention to the content you have worked on with them.
Connect after the campaign
At the close of your first team-up with influencers, don’t forget to thank them. Aside from the obligatory Thank you email, you can also give them additional perks aside from the ones already stipulated in your initial offer. This is a nice way to show your appreciation for their help and foster a relationship.
@abeautifulmess Emma! Thank you for featuring my book on your August Reads round up! Can I send you a signed bookplate and enamel pin? <3
— siobhan vivian (@siobhanvivian) September 20, 2016
Creating more opportunities for future engagements should also be one of your after-campaign goals. Continue the initial relationship between you and them by frequently sharing their content.
Connect with social media influencers to boost your brand
With their huge following and the significant online presence social media influencers have, they can help in giving your brand’s marketing efforts a big boost. You can enjoy this boost if you know how to work with them the right way:
- Find the right social media influencers: Do your research and look for the ones that best fit your brand message. Be sure to cover the platforms your target audience frequents.
- Build a strong relationship with them: Don’t just get influencers for a one-off engagement. Strive to create a long-term working relationship with them for future projects.
- Help your social media influencer succeed: While they can single-handedly promote your brand, the influencers you hire will need your help from time to time. Be ready to provide assistance.
By keeping these pointers in mind, you and the influencers you team up with will be able to bring your brand more prominently to a bigger audience. Don’t hesitate to contact them today.