Proven Tips For Successful Influencer Marketing

In the age of social media, influencer marketing is becoming more and more prominent. Before we get into how you can take advantage of it, let’s talk about what it is.

Influencer marketing usually involves a brand trying to leverage an “influencer” or someone that has influence over the things people buy. They do this by promoting their products or services to them in exchange for word of mouth and brand visibility. From an SEO standpoint, influencer marketing can also be great for getting a reputable link back to your site and attracting new visitors.

In order to make the most of doing influencer marketing, there are a few guidelines brands should follow.

It’s not all about you

Keep in mind when you’re promoting your brand and products to an influencer, you want to do so with the influencer in mind. Influencers get hundreds of requests from brands to promote products, so you want to pitch it in such a way that will make them want to engage with you. Adding incentives like free test products, brand experiences and even a cash incentive can go a long way in persuading an influencer to promote your products or services. Many influencers will also have a media kit, so look into their rates before assuming they will do it for free.

A lot of brands make the mistake of assuming an influencer will want to promote their products for the sake of “visibility”. They assume it doesn’t take an influencer a long time to come up with a social post, but what they don’t understand is the influencer’s time is valuable. To come up with a thoughtful and creative post that garners maximum visibility takes more time than one might think.

Find the right match

Before you go out and send your products to every celebrity you know hoping they will promote your brand, think about your audience

Just because an influencer has a lot of followers, that doesn’t mean their follower base will be inclined to buy your products. So before you go out and send your products to every celebrity you know hoping they will promote your brand, think about your audience. For example, if you sell cycling gear, you will reach a more relevant audience by trying to reach out to a well-known cyclist. Not only would they be more likely to want to test out and promote your products, but their audience will be more likely to engage with your brand.

Collaborate – Give the influencer some freedom

Just because you’ve managed to convince an influencer to promote your products, doesn’t mean you should take total control of the entire project. Work with them collaboratively and allow them the freedom to show their creativity. You’ll likely get a much better outcome, as the post will come out in the influencer’s authentic voice as opposed to it looking like an ad.

Know what to measure

Some influencers can be expensive, so it would be a waste of time, money and resources if you don’t set any goals

The most important part of launching any campaign is establishing which KPIs you should be measuring. Set some goals, and establish whether you should be looking at engagements across social networks, sales, unique visitors to your site, or something else. Some influencers can be expensive, so it would be a waste of time, money and resources if you don’t set any goals.

Influencer marketing is something that takes time and thought. You want to select the right person to promote your brand and pitch it to them in a way where all parties benefit. It’s more of a collaborative process than most people think, so take your time with it and set some goals along the way. You’ll be more successful and will have more fun with it in the long run.