Right now, one of the most effective ways of promoting your brand, boosting traffic, and improving your conversion rate is influencer marketing. What makes influencer marketing so popular, and at the same time, so effective? Well, there is more than one reason behind it, but you could argue that people are tired of traditional ads and campaigns. Regardless at how good and subtle you are at promoting your brand, or selling your product, people will still see it as an ad.
It is an entirely different story with influencer marketing. Readers are more inclined to believe the influencers because they view their content and their advice as genuine, and more importantly, independent, as they are not tied to any particular brand or company. Its the digital equivalent of a positive word of mouth, and because influencers use social media to gather followers, that word of mouth can reach millions.
How Does It Work?
The goal is to get social media buzzing about your content. One of the best examples of influencer marketing was for a dissertation writing service EduGeeksClub, where we have combined the effectiveness of guest posting with our outreach toward influencers in the niche. It was as simple as including influencer comments in the guest post. Guest posting is great, because your content gets exposure in front a whole different audience, and influencer comments just add to the integrity of the post.
In case you want to use influencer marketing as a tool to promote your brand, we have provided you with a step-by-step instruction below, so keep on reading.
1. Find out Who the Influencers Are
First of all, you need to establish what your niche is. Once you have done that, you can scout the Web looking for influencers. Even if you already know who they are, it doesnt hurt to invest some time and dig a little deeper. While its a safe bet to look for them on social networks, doing it manually is extremely time-consuming, which is why we recommend using a tool like Buzzstream Discovery Tool to help you out with your search.
All that is required of you is to enter your particular industry, and choose one in which your search results will be filtered, whether its by the number of followers on Twitter, domain, or date. If you feel like you need even more help at
locating influencers, we advise you to try out Followerwonk and Buzzsumo as well.
2. Do Some Influencer Research
Once you have discovered who your influencers are, take the time to get to know them. The most efficient way of doing this would be to check out their previous posts, and see what they are all about. In addition to that, you can also follow them on social media, such as Twitter, and like their posts. Also, make sure to find a way of contacting them, whether its via email, social media messengers, or through contact forms on their website or blog.
3. Contact Influencers
Whether you are a well-established company or an individual, the process of contacting influencers is pretty much the same. Get in touch with them, be polite and to the point, commending them on their content. Specify a post that stood out for you personally. After that, you should ask them to make a contribution to the project you are working on with just a simple comment, as you would consider their input on the matter extremely valuable. The example below shows us contacting Neil Patel, who is one of the most established digital marketers out there.
4. Ask Away
If their answer is yes, go straight to the point. And remember, be sure to follow in line with your original email. If you
had asked for an answer to just one question, dont ask for two or more. Also, if you had asked for just 5 minutes of their time, make sure its just 5 minutes or less. Respect their time and their willingness to contribute to your cause.
5. Come up with a Killer Post
Make sure to do an awesome job of writing a post featuring your influencers comment. This applies to the way you write, and the quality of the information you share. Visuals are equally important, so if you can, enhance your post with some appropriate images and custom infographics. Keep in mind that your influencer is putting their reputation on the line by contributing a comment, a blurb, or a quote to your post. If you do it right, we are sure your collaboration wont end at just one post.
6. Promote Your Post for All Its Worth
- Promoting your post doesnt end at just posting a link to it on your Facebook page. Make sure to promote it across all your social media accounts, but each time in a new and creative way. If you are having trouble keeping track of all of them and keeping them regularly updated, you can make use of an effective social media editorial calendar right here.
- Let your influencers know they have been published. All it takes is sending them a short email informing them that your article is online, and that their comments are there for your audience to see. If they are happy with the post, rest assured they will share it with their own audience and promote your content in front of their readership.
Even if you havent reached out to a particular brand or influencer, but they have received a mention in your post, let them know anyways. They might respond positively to it and share it through their online outlets. Here is an example of how we reached out to the creators of Befunky, which is an online image editor.
7. Develop Relationships with Influencers Even after Your Campaign
Dont just end contact after youve gotten the influencers to go along with your campaign. Follow up with them regularly, like their posts, follow their social media accounts, send them greeting cards, share and promote their content, and so on. It doesnt have to be a one-time deal if you play your cards right.
You are already familiar with the importance of striking up and maintain long and fruitful relationships in real life, and it is exactly the same online as well. Nowadays, its not just what you know, but who you know, as well, which is evident by the rise of influencer marketing. Make sure you never lose sight of that.
About Author:Antonio Tooley is a hopeless optimist who enjoys basking in the world’s brightest colors. He loves biking to distant places and occasionally he gets lost. When not doing that he’s blogging about marketing, business and education.