It might be tempting to write influencer marketing off as a flash in the pan. But that’s not what savvy brands are doing. In fact, recent surveys show that the majority of brands and marketers plan to spend money on influencer marketing in 2019. And most brands and marketers say their influencer marketing budgets are growing.
That’s because they know it’s important to work with influencers to reach the right markets in ways that other types of advertising don’t. On average, consumers spend nearly two and a half hours each day on social media, and they’re looking to influencers for product recommendations. If you’re planning to approach influencers for your marketing campaign, it’s important to know the right (and wrong) ways to do so.
Benefits of Working with Influencers
When it comes to marketing campaigns, there are numerous advantages to working with influencers.
- Ability to Target Niche or Broad Markets: One benefit of working with influencers is that you can choose those whose niches and audiences are most relevant to your target market. Say you want to target home gardeners with your new all-natural weed killer. You’ll likely find dozens of influencers on social media who focus on organic lawn care and whose followers are committed to the practice. Social media is known for the many different niche markets and communities it reaches. On the other hand, you can also go broad, working with influencers who reach mass markets, like celebrity influencers.
- Boosted Brand Awareness: Influencers help brands reach new markets all over the world. Because their followers share the influencers’ content, working with them increases brand reach. Influencers can also help your brand update its image with content that’s on trend.
- Increased Site Traffic: Followers become interested in a brand that an influencer mentions in a post, driving traffic to the brand’s website. When followers share those influencer posts, it can drive even more traffic to your site.
- Boosted Engagement: When influencers post content about your brand, it encourages their followers to engage with you. They’ll ask questions about your products or services and also like, comment on and share posts about your product.
- Increased Conversions: Consumers on social media, especially Millennials and members of Gen Z, tend to trust influencers more than traditional advertising or celebrities. They’re more likely to buy a product or service based on an influencer’s recommendation.
- Cost-effectiveness: Another advantage to working with influencers is that it’s cost-effective compared to traditional media like television, billboards and print. There’s less waste because you can precisely target specific markets. You can also develop a partnership that allows you to repurpose content the influencer creates for your brand.
- Trackability: It’s easy to track the results of influencer campaigns by examining analytics. You can measure results, like the number of impressions your campaign’s posts get and how much traffic the posts drive to your site.
What to Avoid When Approaching Influencers for Partnerships
If you’re ready to approach influencers for partnerships, remember that you’re pitching and need to sell them the benefits of collaborating. Here’s what not to do when approaching an influencer to work with you.
- Flooding Them with Emails: It’s a good idea to have only one point person reaching out to an influencer about collaboration. Don’t overwhelm them with emails. Influencers don’t appreciate spam any more than you do.
- Being Unprofessional: Treat influencers the same way you would any other marketing partner: with professionalism and respect. Email them using your professional account.
- Not Researching the Influencer: Wait until you’ve done your homework on the influencer before approaching them. Know the subjects they post about and the voice and tone they use. Make sure these align with your brand image. Be familiar with the social media channels they’re most active and popular on. Check out their followers to make sure they also align with your target market. Run a fake follower check to confirm that the influencer’s numbers and engagement are real. Researching influencers also includes looking into their reputations. Have they attracted negative media attention for immature, dangerous or insensitive posts? Have they gotten into hot water with the Federal Trade Commission for not properly disclosing paid posts or sponsorships? Partnering with an influencer whose practices are questionable can damage your brand and your ROI.
- Contacting Them the Wrong Way: Check to see how your influencer prefers to be contacted before you reach out. It’s info you should easily be able to find in their Instagram profile or on their website or blog. Also see if they’ve posted anything about their collaboration policies so you know if they’ll be open to what you’re proposing.
- Not Offering Them Something Valuable in Return: It’s unlikely that a top influencer will work just for the exposure a campaign gives them. Pitch them a fair deal and be clear about the compensation you offer. Depending on their experience level, the influencer may already have their own rates they’ll share with you. Make sure the partnership syncs with their image and will be worth their time before you approach them.
- Not Having a Marketing Plan in Place: Don’t give the influencer the impression that you don’t know what you’re doing. Have a plan in place so they know what you have in mind and what deliverables you expect. Set measurable goals for your campaign and be clear with the influencer about what they are.
- Micromanaging: Don’t forget one of the most important reasons you’re partnering with an influencer. It’s because they not only reach but also know how to talk to your target market. They’ve developed a relationship with their followers who trust them and find the content the influencer creates valuable. Allow influencers the creative freedom to do what they do best. Brands that micromanage influencer campaigns can end up creating content that doesn’t resonate with followers or come across as authentic.
- Approaching with a Short-Term Mindset: The best influencer relationships are those you develop with the long term in mind. The idea is to build on the partnership’s successes and show followers your brand’s value. When you develop a long-term relationship with an influencer, you also develop one with their followers. Ideally, those followers become your brand’s customers and advocates. A long-term relationship with an influencer builds trust for your brand over time because it shows consistency and reliability. A long-term relationship with an influencer can also provide a brand with helpful insights about its products or services. You can learn from the ways an influencer engages with your customers. Their interactions can reveal things like the different ways followers use your products and what does and doesn’t work for them.
- Not Following Up and Not Keeping Communication Open: There’s a big difference between spamming an influencer and communicating effectively with one. Although you don’t want to overwhelm them with emails, calls or texts, you should stay in regular contact. It’s important to show them that you recognize their value and think the partnership would be a great fit. They also need to feel comfortable contacting you with any concerns, ideas or questions.