Chances are, you’ve seen a plethora of articles telling you that you should implement influencer marketing for your brand.
And these articles probably had some vague strategies on how to implement influencer marketing.
But, they aren’t enough to keep your influencer marketing strategy innovative and effective.
Because 84 percent of brands report using this valuable strategy, you’ll need to have a solid understanding of influencer marketing to stand out.
That’s where hacks come in—to help you implement strategies that give you results.
Take Mid-Level Influencer Power Seriously
The definition of a mid-level influencer is someone who has 10,000-100,000 followers on a social media channel or monthly visitors to a blog.
These people are valuable assets to brands because their rates are budget-friendly.
They have higher engagement levels and can bring as much ROI to a brand as an “A-list” influencer.
The theory is, because they have a smaller following, they can keep a pulse on their readers. And this allows them time to engage with them more frequently.
An average article from a mid-level influencer costs $150-$500.
So be sure to keep that range in mind when you start planning your campaign so you’ll know what you can afford.
The average ROI from working with these awesome content creators is $6.50 for every dollar spent.
While mid-level influencers typically have 100,000 followers or less, influencers with under 50,000 followers can also get great results for clients, without breaking your budget.
You can negotiate rates by offering a higher value of product from your clients, so keep that in mind as well.
Engage Before Providing All the Details
Some influencers get hundreds of emails a week from brands wanting to partner with them.
Therefore, an outreach email loaded with content often gets deleted.
In this case, you’ll want to use a creative subject line, keep your email short, and give them necessary links to your brand.
Pitches that get the best response rates seem to have a balance of enough information, but leave the influencers curious for details.
Don’t get me wrong, you want to be clear about your “ask,” but you can provide more detail in later emails.
You can use a drip to give your influencers a little bit of information throughout the campaign and keep them engaged without overwhelming them.
You can also ask an influencer what their rates are before you discuss the budget.
It’s good to know this information so you can negotiate and find out if they fit into the scope of your project before getting talking about the campaign.
A key differentiator when pitching influencers, as opposed to traditional PR contacts, is that influencers are paid per post (article, social media post, etc.) and have built their business by catering to their audiences.
Influencer marketing is so hot, in fact, that they tend to get more pitches than many traditional PR contacts.
And that’s why your emails should be engaging and explain why your brand’s niche aligns with the niche they write about.
It’s also important to note influencers get paid per post. So it’s crucial to stress what your brand is willing to give them for their post.
After an influencer responds to your initial pitch, spend time giving them campaign details and talking through their rates.
Once they’re engaged, influencers will be more receptive to learning more about your brand and campaign.
Become an Expert
If you’re going to implement influencer marketing, know it like the back of your hand. And stay up-to-date on strategies that work.
If you want to get to an expert level, check out this influencer marketing basecamp to sign up for emails that can help you get there.
Often, being an expert happens from experience.
Luckily, if you’re just starting out with influencer marketing, there are many posts and case studies to get you up to speed.
Find out what those brands which align with yours have done in the past.
Look at what tactics brought them strong ROI, and apply those strategies to your brand.
Knowing what motivates an influencer to choose your brand can put you ahead of the game.
Influencers tend to specialize in niches instead of verticals.
So it’s important to think of your buyer personas, and then create influencer personas.
Not sure where to start with this?
This influencer identification worksheet enables marketers to identify influencers for their brand.
Aside from being an expert, it’s good to have a strong understanding as to how like-minded brands are working with influencers.
Searching for blog posts about a competitor can help identify influencers to partner with, and give you some creative ideas about how to work with them.
Many brands often ask if they should reach out to bloggers who talk about their brand’s competitors.
The answer is “yes!” This identifies the influencer as having an affinity for your brand.
Leverage Travel Influencers When Applicable
Next is a valuable tip. When a brand partners with travel influencers, they will often see a higher ROI.
Travel influencers make sense for a lot of brands including clothing brands, beauty products, nutritional brands, and more.
These types of influencers are so powerful because they have a variety of people following them, not just people who are planning a trip.
The theory is people follow travel influencers to live vicariously through them while enjoying their dimensional and engaging content.
Therefore, travel influencers can reach a large audience and recommend brands in a new and exciting way.
So, if your brand can find a way to work with travel influencers, START NOW!
Know Their Birthday
Try and find out personal details about your influencers.
Whether it’s their birthday or their clothing size or their favorite holiday, this helps your brand engage with your influencers on a personal level.
They’ll feel special and like they’re a part of your brand.
Influencer marketing works best when it is an ongoing strategy as opposed to a one and done campaign.
Using CRM software or a spreadsheet allows you to note personal details about your influencers so you can send a surprise package of your brand’s best products or simply wish them a happy birthday.
It may seem like a small thing, but this level of personalization goes a long way.
Use the “Contact” Page
Using the contact page can help increase the number of influencers you contact and increase response rates.
Be sure to keep your message short and provide links to your brand so the influencer has all the information they need.
Because many brands don’t think to reach out via an influencer’s contact page, you may have greater success getting your pitch heard.
It doesn’t take much time and is well worth a try.
Use Their Content on Your Brand’s Paid Social Efforts
If you find consumers aren’t listening to your brand, try changing tactics.
You can do this by switching up the content you put on social and using content your influencers generate for your brand.
Ask their permission first if you’re going to use their content in your paid social campaigns.
When consumers see your Facebook ad demonstrating an experience someone has with your brand, it will get a lot more engagement than a self-promotional ad.
Equip Yourself with the Right Influencer Marketing Support
It’s almost impossible to implement influencer marketing without the help of an influencer marketing tool.
There are now many new tools as the rise of influencer marketing becomes an effective strategy.
And these tools almost always offer a free trial so you can take a few for a test drive to see what works best for your brand.
Before you start demos, determine which features speak to your goals.
There are tools which have more powerful influencer identification engines. Others have strong CRM features, while some tools excel at tracking and monitoring earned media.
Tools like GroupHigh have powerful influencer identification features. And Traackr has a great reporting mechanism.
If you have a small budget, Ninja Outreach may be your answer.
Doing a simple Google search will help uncover the tools which are right for your goals.
