Influencer partnerships can catapult a brand into increased engagement, lots of visibility, and the consistent “ching” of the pay button. While many brands would love this scenario, if they don’t have an influencer or two onboard with their strategy, they may not see this type of success.
Mega influencer Adhem Tana recently partnered with MoreInfluence to share his top influencer marketing tips to help your brand gain visibility and brand loyalty. The key is learning how to successfully navigate influencer partnerships that benefit both parties for a long-lasting relationship.
“Relationship? Absolutely. Good influencer partnerships are relational, not transactional,” says Tana. “As someone who does this as my full-time job, I love all forms of creation and entertainment.”
Tip #1
The first tip is understanding how brands should approach influencers.
Tana suggests, “[Approaching] formally is the best bet. Messaging through social platforms might get buried within message requests and unseen.”
. Here is additional information on reaching out:
- Have a spreadsheet or document with the influencers you’re interested in, their links, and specialty.
- Check their website to make sure they align with your brand values. This is where you’ll find additional information about their partnership policies.
- Send an email, if possible.
- Make a note of when you reach out so you can follow up in a few days.
- Always use your professional account when reaching out to an influencer.
Once you’ve started talking to influencers, you should have a better idea of whether they are a good fit. Influencer partnerships aren’t built overnight. They take time.
Tip #2
One of the most important things to remember is that the influencer must share the same brand values as you do. They won’t be able to authentically promote your products and services if they don’t. Your influencers should have relevance with your audiences based on demographics that matter to you. You should also look at their engagement rates and how authentic they are with audiences. Look at the captions they use and the reactions they get.
Tana explains, “Look for cues around the influencer when it comes to business, how their bio looks, any promotions/ads they may already have up, to see how they’re currently dealing with brands or have dealt with.”
Tip #3
Focus on content and value.
- Content quality is huge.
They should be ready and available to help you craft a great campaign to win customer trust. Influencers are very different from traditional advertising because they provide an opportunity to give real-time information about your products and services. - Value is another powerful piece of the puzzle.
Consumers are influenced by reviews from others. An influencer can showcase the value of your products and services, their features, and benefits.
Tip #4
Consider the niche. Where does the influencer have the most impact? Is it one niche or a combination of niches that can all work to your benefit? This is very important because collaborating with the wrong person can have dire results.
Tip #5
Reach. Brands look at follower count, but the reach is very important. Mega-influencers are those who have more than 1 million followers, while macro-influencers have between 100K and 1M followers. Finally, there’s the micro-influencer that has between 1K and 100K followers. Micro-influencers are known to have very high engagement rates and can be beneficial to your influencer partnership strategy.
Tip #6
Quality. Consider the quality of the posts they do. Their work should be appealing but having too many brands to promote at one time can dilute the goal and create a situation where they don’t seem as authentic as someone who focuses on one brand at a time.
Tip #7
Learn the influencer. It’s important to onboard them as part of your overall team so they feel as if they belong. This helps them feel connected to the brand and helps in creating authentic, powerful, and engaging content.
Tip #8
Communicate. Be clear in what you want and expect. This is the only way influencer partnerships work, thrive, and grow. Make sure your influencers are always in the loop and are updated on a consistent basis.
Tip #9
Don’t use a cookie-cutter approach. Once your influencers figure out who your target audience is for the campaign, you want to make sure they have all the information and tools needed to be successful. Creating influencer personas helps break down what you want and need from an influencer and helps better pinpoint who may be a good fit and who isn’t.
Tip #10
Review your goals. While you start out with goals to create your campaigns, you should also have goals on how you want to work with your influencers. These goals should outline how many influencers you’ll need, the campaign platforms they will use, and the workflow for all the different stages of the campaign to ensure you are getting the best ROI for your marketing efforts.
While you’re following these influencer marketing tips to find and work with the best influencers for your brand, you must realize that the best partnerships are mutually beneficial. Treat your influencers like they are more than just an avenue to make money and you’ll be surprised how committed they are to helping you reach your target goals.
The best influencers know how to share their stories while weaving your products and services into their content for a relatable, consistent, and authentic approach. You’re paying for a connection, but you’re also building a high-value relationship that can be beneficial all throughout the year.
And of course, don’t forget to have fun!
“Most importantly, have a little fun. Success has always had its place in the most random and unexpected moments,” says Tana.
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