Influencers can be found on any social media channel and can help your business immensely. Because they have thousands or even millions of followers, any positive word from them would strengthen your brand and drive traffic to your website.
While influencer marketing can be a force to be reckoned with, a lot of people, especially the ones with little experience can get burned quite easily. Influencers will not work for free, and they tend to prioritize themselves over anyone else. To avoid any potential issues, you need to find out more about influencers.
In other words, what it’s like to work with one. The best course of action would be following the tips below.
Prepare A Plan
The idea of jumping right in sounds appealing, but impulsive behavior will not work if you are looking to improve your business. Instead, try to define your goals and come up with a solid plan.
Ask yourself how you can increase the odds of striking a partnership deal with the influencer, what are your expectations, how much you are willing to pay, and so on.
You cannot operate efficiently without a roadmap like this. Furthermore, you will likely work with more than one influencer in the future. Having a template-like plan comes in handy all the time.
Avoid Hustlers
There are more influencers than you expect. And such numbers make it quite difficult to find one that would suit you the best. You have these so-called experts who make such proclamations themselves and advertise their channels in any way they can.
Real influencers are those who have a true understanding of subjects and work without mentioning what they do every time an opportunity comes. These influencers should be your target.
Identify The Perfect Candidate
The presence that you have on the internet determines what kind of influencer you want. If you work in a very specific niche, it is highly likely that you will have very few options. On the other hand, if your business is the opposite, there are plenty of fish in the sea. A business which is still in the early stage will likely struggle to gain the attention of superstars.
Unless, of course, you are willing to splash a lot of money. After you have a list of potential candidates, consider which of them are realistically available. The prices usually depend on the number of followers they have. When the target is in sight, start buttering up to them.
It’s worth mentioning that if you have 500 followers on Instagram, you might unlock additional features like shopping from creators. So, if you have a good number of IG followers, you can be influential on this platform.
Social Media Engagement
A direct message out of the blue may work out just fine, but you are better off by starting to become noticed on their social media platforms. Engage by liking and sharing their content as well as leaving comments. Use your business account, not a personal one.
It becomes easier to get noticed this way. Influencers are opportunists, so it is possible that they will contact you, not the other way around. This would give you some leeway in negotiations.
Convince Them
When you are writing a proposal letter, it would be better to contact them via email. Social media is fine, but sending an email looks more professional. Most influencers will work for money, but you can offer them more. A blog post on your website, a free product, or anything else that you can come up with. Throwing anything extra will improve your chances of making a deal.
Aim For Long-Term Relationships
Instead of making a quick trade and going your separate ways, try to build a relationship that will last for a very long time. You do not want to jump from person to person with next to no guarantee that they will meet your expectations.
On the other hand, having a few long-term partners will ensure that you can always ask them for a favor and expect a great return on investment. Nurture the relationship by occasionally chatting with them privately or engaging on social media.
Get The Word Out
When you see that the fruits of your labor are ripe, it is time to let others know as well. It all comes down to how far you are willing to go. Usually, a couple of posts on social media or an article on your blog are more than enough.
However, some businesses go the extra mile and make a video presentation or invite the influencer on a podcast for an interview. By doing so you will further strengthen your relationship with the influencer and solidify yourself as one of the best possible clients.
In summary, influencers are great if you want to explore new ideas and get more potential customers. Nevertheless, it is quite easy to end up with losses rather than gains. Therefore, you need to be careful with who you work, and following the tips of this article will definitely increase the odds of finding the right influencer.