Ways to Make Social Influencer Marketing Work for You

 

Social influencer marketing is a type of marketing where you build relationships with people who will build relationships for you. It’s quickly becoming one of the most authentic forms of advertising because people trust consumer experiences over paid ads.
If you’re planning on launching a campaign on social media or growing brand awareness, influencer marketing will help you reach your goals. But, before you ask just anyone to be a brand influencer, it’s important to find the right types of people who will bring success to your company.
Let’s explore some tips for making the most of social influencer marketing.
Find the Right People
Relying on just anyone to promote your brand could be a waste of your time and resources. Before asking someone to be an influencer, pay attention to a few things. First, choose an active user who you see on social media, blogs, emails and more. These individuals are comfortable being on these channels and probably won’t mind pushing your brand.
Second, look for users that know what they are doing on these channels. While it’s good to be active, influencers should be using each channel effectively (i.e., applying hashtags where appropriate, tagging brand names). They should also generate a response from others. A person who sits at home and posts cat pictures all day probably won’t make a good influencer.
Finally, source influencers that have a genuine interest in your product or service. This will make their posts authentic, which is what consumers look for. Your influencer’s audience should also have similar interests. This way, you can reach a more targeted audience through your influencer.
Create a Strategy
Once you source the right people, you need to have a strategy in place. Be clear about what you expect from your influencers. What will be required from them? Do you want them to use a specific URL or hashtag when creating posts?
You have freedom with what you can do with influencer marketing, so consider what your end goals are. For example, if you want to raise brand awareness, simply asking your influencers to write posts about your product or service may be enough.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for something more specific, such as the launching of a new product, you might want to have the influencer take over your social media account or provide a demonstration. The key is to give your influencers clear expectations and guidelines so they know what is expected from them and what you are trying to achieve.
Repurpose Influencer Content
One of the most exciting parts about having brand influencers is that they create beautiful work for you to use! It gets difficult coming up with new topics to write about – not to mention exhausting!
Give yourself a break and excite your fans and followers with fresh, relevant content from your influencers. It could be something as simple as a picture of your product being used or a brag moment about your service. Either way, these posts are unique, authentic and meant to be shared with the world.
Compensate Your Influencers
Even though social media influencers are happy to be online sharing their experiences, be careful not to take them for granted. Some influencers will already have fees, so you can work with them to determine a fair cost for their services. Others will be happy with a free product or service from your company.
Some brands pride themselves on using only unpaid contributors. However, if you choose not to compensate your influencers, their services may be limited. After all, it’s difficult to ask someone to write an article for nothing in return! The best approach is to ask the influencer what they charge for their services and what their end goals are. Perhaps you can provide them with exclusive access, product gifting or promotion for their platforms instead of money.  
Give Creative Freedom
There’s a reason why you’ve asked an influencer to help promote your brand, so give them creative freedom. This can be scary at first, especially for brands who have always had a hand in their content marketing. But, this approach will only make you stronger.
Think about what made you like the influencer in the beginning. If their content caught your eye, have confidence that they will create something just as amazing for you. If you need more authentic, genuine posts about your products, let your influencers take charge. Your audience will appreciate the humble feedback.
As long as your expectations and guidelines are clear upfront, your influencer should have no trouble creating content that will positively reinforce your brand.
Engage New Visitors
Influencers can be very successful at driving new traffic to your social media channels and website, but what are you doing to keep them there? Hold up your side of things by maintaining a clean, simple and informative website and engaging social channels. When people come to check out your brand, you want them to feel intrigued and welcome.
Consider Micro Influencers
It’s easy to go after the big influencers because they have a lot of followers and clearly know what they are doing. However, you don’t need to stick to them entirely. Micro influencers are those who have fewer followers – maybe 5,000 to 50,000. There are benefits to choosing them to help reach your marketing goals. For example, micro influencers tend to have niche audiences, higher engagement rates and a stronger connection with their followers. Also, many micro influencers are more energetic to work with brands because they are new to the field.
Social influencer marketing is one of the fastest growing forms of marketing, and it has a high return on investment. To learn more about expanding your reach and increasing visibility, call WSI Net Advantage at 510-687-9737.