Influencer marketing is a great way to reach your target audience in an effective and authentic way without ever having to do any sort of marketing or outreach work yourself.
Here’s how it works: you utilize movers and shakers on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter – people who already have large, loyal followings – and hire them for an engagement. They promote your products and services, and you both win.
When done right (with the right influencer who has the right audience) this can be an instant way to raise awareness, build credibility, and drum up buzz about a brand or product. It can also help drive traffic to your social accounts, website, and other marketing collateral.
So where do you find these marketing saviors? And how do you get started? Let’s dive in.
Finding Your Influencers
There are thousands of potential influencers out there, each one with their own unique following and brand. The key to using these influencers most effectively is to find one that jives with your own personal brand values/mission, as well as what you’re looking for in terms of marketing goals.
Here’s how to get started:
1. Analyze
Your first step to finding the right influencers is to dive into your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? What does your target look like in terms of demographics? What is that audience interested in? What do they care about? What are their values and dreams?
Understanding what your audience is about is the first step to finding the right influencers who can reach them.
2. Search
There are several ways you can go about finding that perfect influencer, from paid platforms and tools to good old Googling.
Try some of these strategies for size:
- Use tools like BuzzSumo or FollowerWonk to locate which social users are creating the most shareable and engaging content. You can even filter based on location, topic, or social authority.
- Locate your existing customers on social media and check out the accounts they follow. Do any of those accounts contain potential influencer material?
- Try a paid platform like Revfluence, NeoReach, or Famebit that allows you to find already working influencers in certain industries. You can often use these tools to pay the influencers as well.
- Search your brand’s keywords and phrases on Google, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and see who’s creating popular content in that space.
Try to come up with at least a handful of influencers at first. This will allow you to try several different strategies and creative approaches, so you can hone in on the ones that are the most effective.
3. Engage
Your next step is to engage. Follow those potential influencers and start engaging with their posts and content. Make note of how they interact and respond to followers, as well as how those responses align with your values as a brand.
If it continues to seem like a right-sized fit, reach out via email, DM, or through their website. Bring up a recent post or two of theirs to show you’re a fan and try to make a human connection. If possible, head out to an event they’re hosting and introduce yourself.
4. Present Your Proposal
Finally, it’s time for your marketing proposal. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Hit the basics:
- Who your brand is and what it’s all about
- How does your brand/product fit in with the influencer’s audience (Can it help them? Entertain them? Make their lives easier?)
- Summarize what you want (One post about X, a video review, an unboxing, etc.)
- Tell them what’s in it for them (money, free product, both)
- What they’d be responsible for (photos, video, creative, or would you provide it all?)
Keep in mind that an influencer has their own personal brand to think about, so your proposal needs to meld with both their goals and their values. They want to be authentic and true to their followers, so don’t ask them to outright sell anything or solicit sales. You’ll likely get a hard “no” on that one no matter how much you’re willing to offer.
Join the Movement
Influencers are the newest wave of social media marketing and in some ways, they’re more effective than any other strategy out there. Able to connect you instantly with a large, already rapt audience, they bring credibility and authenticity to your brand with very little work or investment on your part.
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