Influencer marketing is the biggest marketing trend of the decade and it’s not due to finish any time soon. Implementing influencer marketing campaigns and collaborations into your healthy biz marketing plan is a sure fire way to engage with new audiences, build exposure and trust and craft beautiful branded content for your products and services. But it’s confusing knowing where to start, follow these 4 rules and you’ll set out on the right foot:
Rule Number #1 - Understand what you have to Offer
A healthy business/collaborator relationship is one that is mutually beneficial, before reaching out ensure that you understand exactly what it is that you’re looking for from the collaboration and what it is that you have to offer them in return. For some, monetary compensation may be the best fit whereas for others it could be product, services, access to your mailing list or following, connecting them to someone important - know what you have to offer them that could be more valuable than cash in helping them achieve their business goals.
Rule Number #2 - Find the Right Fit for your Business
It’s easy to reach out to anyone with a big following but you will see the most results from collaborations with influencers who align with your brand values, vision, look and feel. Consider your target audience and the other businesses and people that they follow or look up to, the people that are already on their radar and that they know and trust. This is your smorgasbord, people outside of this spectrum should not be considered. When narrowing down the list ensure that the individual has a brand style that is consistent with yours, there is no use engaging with a well loved influencer who shoots dark and moody shots when your brand is light and airy looking. Another common factor is many influencers will not promote something that they don’t use themselves, so send them your product to try - this is a great way to begin the conversation and start nurturing your relationship into a collaboration or campaign.
Rule Number #3 - Treat them like a Person
A big mistake many businesses make is reaching out to influencers that they’ve never interacted with and sending a message that they’ve obviously copy and pasted to 40 other accounts… this is no way to begin a friendship! We forget in business that we’re not always engaging B2B, these people are still humans (they just happen to have really cool jobs) so before you make the connection get to know them and their brand, note their interests, the topics they talk about and the way they engage with their following. Interact with their posts, reply to their Instastories and don’t be scared to slide into their DM’s to simply share the love.
When the time is right to pop the question be sure to be authentic, open a friendly dialogue and ask them how their day is going first - this will help you to establish a long-term relationship rather than a simple paid post interaction that is forgotten about in 3 months. Be friends with them! You want them to become a loyal advocate for your brand, not a pay-per-click robot.
Rule Number #4 - Write a Creative Brief but let them Create
Often we see influencers spitting out content that was very obviously not created by them; it seems ingenuine, robotic and downright uncomfortable. The most influential campaigns are the ones that appear native in the influencers feed so giving your influencer the creative freedom to create authentic content around what they love about your product or service and how it integrates into their lifestyle is key to garnering genuine engagement from their audience.
Begin by outlining what it is that you’d like. We suggest a 1-page doc outlining your business, the unique properties of the product and service and any key elements that you’d like them to include because they align with your marketing campaign goals. For instance, if you’d love for the product packaging to be in the shot with their face, or if you’d like to see them on their phone simulating that they’re using your app, maybe you’d simply like your product to be in the shot of their Youtube video or you’d like them to use a word from your campaign tagline. Let them know how they can best align their content with your campaign, to provide the best possible service for you. Then, most importantly, let them have the creative freedom to create what they think is right for their business because at the end of the day they know their audience better than you ever could, they need the content to align with their brand aesthetic and giving them this freedom will ensure your content is authentic and engaging. You chose them because you love what they do, how they look and the energy they inspire in their following - don’t stifle that.
Influencer Marketing is exciting and for many businesses has achieved a ridiculously positive return on their investment, yet to see the best possible results you need to cultivate a genuine relationship with your collaborators. Using these 4 simple tips, you’ll be sure to cultivate beautiful long-standing relationships that help to see your brand grow and thrive through the power of social proof. Now get out there and engage!
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