Influencer marketing has been a growing trend in 2020 as brands are looking for alternative ways to reach and engage with their customers online. Data from MuseFind shows that 92% of consumers trust an influencer more than an advertisement or traditional celebrity endorsement. Trust is the main reason brands are letting influencers promote their products and services, and they’re having success in doing so. In this article, we’ll talk about influencer marketing best practices and strategies in working with a social media influencer.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
By definition, influencer marketing is leveraging the reach of an existing influencer who has built a large and loyal following and a strong brand reputation in a particular niche to support your brand with the intent to increase awareness and drive sales.
Why Do Brands Use Influencers?
Brands use influencers as a way to engage customers in a more authentic way than they could do otherwise. People often view influencers as peers or someone who they admire or look up to. This type of relationship is something that brands can rarely fulfill through their social media accounts. Customers are always going to view brands as companies that want something from them, aka their business. Influencers on the other hand can have an authentic conversation about a product or service and can relate on a more personal level with their followers. This allows them to forget about the sales jargon and talk about the benefits, their own experiences, and start a real conversation with their followers. This deeper and more authentic relationship is what brands are after, but need some help in doing so.
How Do I Get Started in Influencer Marketing?
If your brand is interested in working with social media influencers, you first need to figure out your goals for working with them. Is it to drive awareness, or to increase leads, sign-ups, sales, or subscriptions? Do you have a particular number in mind or benchmark KPIs? You’ll need to make your objective very clear so you can inform the influencer you are working with.
Once goals are established, you can start your research to find influencers. Think about who would be a good fit representing your brand. Do they have a following that is similar to your target audience or an audience you are interested in targeting for a particular product or service? There are many ways to do influencer research, but online databases like Influence Grid are a great and easy way to search for accounts based on follower count, interests, location, platforms, and verification status. Some even give you a free trial! It is a best practice to rank your influencers into a top 10 list so you can start by reaching out to your preferred influencers and move down the list if necessary.
Reaching out to influencers can be a tricky process. How do I reach out? What should I say? A best practice when reaching out to influencers is to create a personalized message that acknowledges their hard work, interests, and how it would be a great opportunity to collaborate with them. Influencers often have a preferred way of contact so make sure to do your research and do not just slide into their DMs.
After you have made contact and they have shown interest, set-up a call to talk about the partnership. When talking about the campaign or strategy, it is best to give the influencer framework and let them fill in the details and creativity. If you have any ideas it is best to share them too, but the influencer knows what content will resonate with their followers and it is best to respect that.
At the end of the day, Influencers are a great opportunity for brands to utilize into 2021. If you are interested in more information please check out our recent webinar Influencer Marketing: Grow Brand Engagement and Revenue in 2021 and Beyond. For any guidance or questions, contact Anvil today! Our in-house team of social media experts can help you with your social media influencer campaigns.