Influencers are individuals who are active on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or blogs. True influencers have a certain impact on their followers and, when chosen carefully, can boost your brand’s image and visibility in the market.
Contrary to the past, companies nowadays now employ the help of influencers more often than they do with conventional celebrities. A key rationale why such influencers may have greater impact is because their fan base was gained through the influencers’ contents. This does not just create a more passionate fan base, but a group of people who are truly interested with contents the influencer comes up with.
Taking your campaign to the next level, here are 7 tips to make the most your influencer for your campaign:
1. Engage with Influencers Who as an Affinity or Potential Interest to your Brand
Relevance is key when selecting an influencer. Finding an influencer who has a genuine affinity for your brand will be of great value as they will be able to create content that is believable and convincing to their fans. One thing that fans dislike are inappropriate product placement which sometimes is an obvious giveaway and might give your brand a negative image. The most effective manner to create new loyal followers of your brand is to have your influencers present themselves as people who really loves your brand.
2. Make Sure your Influencers Actually have Influence
Before paying someone to promote your brand/product, ask for their statistics. An influencer with large group of followers and likes on social media does not guarantee they have real influence. With a large sum of money, anyone can easily gain fame by syndicating interesting but unoriginal content and gain popularity by purchasing ads such as Facebook page or post likes. One key thing we should do is to analyse if your influencer has real influence on their audience.
3. Know your Influencer’s Audience
Taking the previous point to the next level, it is vital to study if your influencer’s audience and find out if they are your preferred target audience. You might not want hire a TV personality who primarily talks about cooking to be an advocate for your smartphone brand if their audience is mostly housewives who are not familiar with tech gadgets. Though your influencer might be very passionate of your brand, they might not be able to convey a message to their audience that will benefit your brand.
4. Seek Out Creative Influencers
Instead of finding someone who will just post a picture of your product on their account, find someone who can create quality content. A brand mention is great, but more often than not sponsored posts that look too advertorial tend to get ignored. Target those who are really interested in your field and will be happy to provide creative ways to collaborate.
5. Choose Only Credible Influencers
In this digital age, not everyone feels secure with online transactions and online information in general. It’s important to make sure that your influencer’s content is reliable, accurate and trustworthy. This will make your brand and your product more appears more credible in the eyes of your target audience. An easy way to find out is to see comments and rankings on their Facebook page or just Google their names. See any dodgy happenings or controversies surrounding your potential influencer? If yes, it might not be good to work with them as they might jeopardise your brand image.
6. Establish A Lasting Professional Relationship With Influencers
It’s important to create a connection with the influencer that surpasses the business side of your collaboration. Remember that influencers are customers as well. A great experience can make them great advocates of your brand and sometimes even after your campaign has ended. This will make them more likely work with you again or even mention you in the future free of charge. Influencers themselves may come up with campaigns and are always on the lookout for sponsorship or partnership opportunities. Working well with your influencer can bring much benefit long down the road.
7. Maintain Your Own Influence Well
Finally, when you’ve managed to work with an influencer and successfully gained new followers, never forget that your brand is an influencer itself too. It is obvious that any brand that aims to succeed today most probably requires them to maintain their social following through social media. These can be essential assets to not just shout about your brand messages but actively listen to their needs, complains and comments. Like any relationship, a two-way communication is important and this is possible through social media channels. Maintain it well, as make sure that your brand is a great influencer.
