Influencer marketing provides local businesses with access to an untapped pool of new potential clients, but in order for this strategy to work properly it must first find authentic content creators that deliver results.
Start by reviewing their social media platforms, audience reach and engagement credentials before selecting influencers who can meet the metrics you wish to attain – such as link clicks, website traffic growth, new followers or leads.
1. Know Your Target Audience
Influencer marketing often conjures images of celebrity endorsements or major companies with enormous budgets; however, this tactic can work just as effectively for smaller businesses just getting started. Knowing your target audience and crafting strategies tailored specifically towards them will lead to more cost-effective and less time consuming strategies for influencer marketing campaigns.
There are various ways to identify your target audience, but the most crucial one is by considering which specific needs your product or service fulfills. This will enable you to better determine which channels and forms of content will reach them most efficiently and will garner their interest.
Analyzing existing data can also help you discover more about your target audience. This may include information such as who purchases your products or services and their age, location, interests as well as which channels they are using to consume your content such as social media or your website. By understanding who customers are and their interactions with your brand you can better comprehend their pain points and desires.
Studying competitors is another effective way of understanding your target market. By evaluating their ads and messaging, you can gain insight into what works and doesn’t work for them; this can provide ideas for campaigns you create yourself as well as give insight into influencers you should expect to encounter.
Ubersuggest is an invaluable tool that allows you to observe which terms your potential customers are searching for online and where they’re spending most of their time online, helping you focus your efforts on channels most likely to convert.
Once you have an accurate grasp on who your target audience is, the next step should be putting that knowledge into action. Begin small by finding one or two content creators who share an affinity with your brand and can deliver high-quality, authentic posts about it. In the early days, offering something of value such as free product or experiences instead of cash as payment may help build long-term trust between audiences and businesses alike.
2. Know Your Influencers
When selecting influencers for your business, it’s essential that they’re the right match. While this may seem obvious, keep in mind that not all influencers are created equal – some have larger audiences while others might excel at producing specific types of content more easily than others.
One of the best ways to identify an influencer who’s an ideal match for your campaign is by exploring their social media profiles. Doing a quick search of their name will reveal much information, including occupation and location details as well as any pertinent details that will help narrow down the field and find someone suitable.
Once you’ve identified some potential influencers, the next step should be reaching out. Just be mindful not to engage via comment on their posts as this can come across as spammy and unprofessional; always use email or direct messages instead for communication with an influencer.
Setting clear goals for your campaign is also important; these should include both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Quantitative goals like link clicks or website traffic are easy to track; qualitative targets could include brand awareness or customer acquisition.
Locating influencers can be challenging for smaller businesses. A good place to start looking is social media platforms and looking for people mentioning your business; then check their profiles to determine whether they have a large following in your region. Once you’ve identified some possible influencers, it’s essential that you reach out and explain how their support could benefit their campaign.
Though you could pay an influencer to promote your brand, that doesn’t have to be the only option available to you. Many are happy to work more personally with small businesses by providing free or discounted products in exchange for honest reviews – an effective way of reaching a broad audience while still reaping all of its advantages.
3. Know Your Content
An influential marketing campaign relies heavily on high-quality content. Influencers have various platforms at their disposal – YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat are just a few examples. When selecting platforms for your influencer marketing campaign it’s crucial that the chosen platforms match up well with both tone and style of influencer’s posts.
If your brand aims to target outdoor recreation enthusiasts, for instance, you could partner with an influencer who regularly shares videos and images related to hiking, camping or fishing. Or if your target market comprises fashion enthusiasts instead, perhaps consider working with an influential blogger who frequently posts looks featuring your latest clothing line.
As soon as you decide to partner with an influencer, make sure that communication between both parties is clear regarding your expectations and needs. Outline the timeline for delivery as well as any deadlines related to content production such as posts or stories being written; in addition to these specifications it would also help if payment terms are made clear such as flat fee or performance-based agreements.
Be sure to communicate any guidelines for how the content should appear, such as including your logo or a certain amount of product mentions. This will help your influencers stay on track and produce genuine and useful posts for their followers.
As you negotiate with influencers, it’s essential to keep in mind that they often represent multiple brands at the same time and may receive requests from agents or managers about collaboration opportunities. With that in mind, it may be beneficial to start out small and expand as results emerge – this will prevent overextending budgets or overwhelming influencers with too many partnerships at once. It also pays to focus on engagement metrics such as likes, shares and comments rather than conversions or revenue as these will give a better picture of campaign impact.
4. Know Your Goals
Before embarking on any influencer marketing campaign, it’s essential that you outline your goals. Whether your goal is to raise brand awareness or drive sales, knowing your expectations is essential in working with the appropriate influencers and designing campaigns that match up with them.
Establishing clear expectations with your influencers will also make tracking the success of your campaign easier. For instance, including tracking links in posts from influencers or creating a unique hashtag to measure performance may help. Tools like Sprout’s Social Smart Inbox enable you to tag posts by influencers easily before comparing performance among them to determine which perform better.
As always, being adaptable is crucial when crafting your strategy for each campaign. For instance, if one influencer brings more sales than expected it might be worthwhile exploring ways to partner with them again or exploring alternative promotional channels.
Consider what kind of advertising experience you want to provide influencers. Would you prefer traditional sponsored content, or something more subtle like story video ads? Keeping these things in mind will ensure your influencer marketing campaign works effectively and efficiently.
Finalizing, it is also beneficial to share your insights with influencer partners. This can help them better understand what works and why, while strengthening future relationships. If an influencer brings in more sales than usual, this could indicate their content is resonated well with followers; so reach out and see if anything they can do to keep momentum alive.
Influencer marketing can be an excellent way for local businesses to increase visibility and drive sales. By taking the proper steps, it’s easy to identify influencers with large audiences that align with your target demographic and buyer personas. Doing your research will allow you to form long-term relationships with these influencers that will build stronger businesses over time.