Influencer marketing as per the study conducted by Nielsen Catalina Solutions is providing a return on investment that is eleven times higher than traditional digital marketing forms.
As per the available statistics, non-celebrity bloggers inspire to undertake purchases more than celebrities with 30% of consumers more likely to buy from them.
About 95% of consumers trust recommendations from others over content that comes from a brand.
Some of the steps through which one can leverage through influencer marketing for achieving company goals include-
Finding The Right influencers
By using the existing networks an influencer search becomes more focused and relevant. For instance, look for content creators who in addition to large followings have followers engaged.
In other words, it means to seek out influencers who have a lot of comments on their social media posts and on stories as well as a social share of their content.
Within the social network followings for your brand, it is better to identify your most fervent followers.
It is also recommended to use the power of Google when finding the right influencers by searching for influencers and the topic related to your business.
Influencer marketing tools such as Klout, BuzzSumo can help you in tapping top influencers. One may also get the best influencer ideas by actively participating in online communities like Reddit or forums where one can connect with users and asking them whom they follow in your industry.
Journalists are great/worthy influencers within the local communities. Subscribing to journalist Tweeter feeds and commenting on their web articles is the best process to get their attention.
Optimizing your efforts by focusing on engagement and relevance is part and parcel when compiling a list of potential influencers.
The Process of Approaching Influencers
After narrowing down your search – it is time to approach influencers about potential collaborations.
Your brand must stand out and provide value to the influencer so as to motivate them to participate in a campaign.
So the following techniques can be used when approaching influencers such as-
Establishing Connection
It is important to find influencers irrespective of their location if they have commonalities with your approach.
Factors such as blogs, reviews written by influencers and their video channels being watched by your co-workers are important when establishing a connection with the concerned influencer.
Give a clear and effective example of how the work of the concerned influencer aptly relates to your brand goals.
Motivate The Influencers
Influencers should be motivated towards your brand to put their efforts on your brand.
Even the influencer marketing is running on a budget then also you should provide them with worthy returns for your brand and these can include-
Social shares from your own channel
Link to their content through your email newsletter
Getting free product and test it before someone else tests them
Testimonial opportunity that links back to the concerned influencer’s website
Content link of the influencer on your website
It is important to thank your influencers even if they do not respond right away or turns you down. It is better to interact with them continuously by engaging with them on social media and by commenting on their content.
If the influencers are open with your comments, follow them up again within six months with a new opportunity. As such, the concerned influencers may appreciate your efforts and would be desirous of working with your brands in the future.
Set Up Your Influencers In The Course Of Your Campaign
Where the influencers have agreed to learn more about your brand and have shared their thoughts with their followers, then it is a right time to increase your efforts for ensuring success of the campaign by providing the influencers with resources such as brand guidelines, photos, videos or any other sources that you think will help them in knowing more about your brand.
It is important to clear the doubts about your product/service to the influencers to alleviate any frustration that may result in a tainted coverage of your brand.
The other important point to consider during the influencer campaign is through follow up and showing gratitude after a campaign.
It is better to continue to check in with the influencers that you had built relationships with as this will help you in covering your brand through new influencer marketing with the passage of time.
Finally, it can be concluded that influencer marketing campaigns are quite as effective as a strong source of public relations for your business.
