Authenticity is one of the cornerstones to successful influencer marketing (i.e., obtaining actual outcomes).
But what exactly does it imply?
Being genuine in your influencer marketing efforts entails taking the time to learn all you can about each influencer you want to contact and then connecting with them in a tailored way that aims to develop, and then grow, a genuine connection.
More Detail: Digital Marketing Agency.
Influencers get a slow of emails requesting something from them, most of which are basic, template emails that can be detected a mile away.
Consider that these influencers, like you and me, have an inbox full of spam and junk mail in addition to getting a large number of these (often impersonalized) influencer requests. Is it any surprise that they seldom respond?
If you’re approaching an influencer. The chances are stacked against you, regardless of how wonderful the business opportunity you’re presenting is – unless you can figure out a method to make your request stand out, grab their attention, and entice them to learn more.
In this essay, I’ll discuss seven critical tactics for making sure you stand out in your chosen influencer’s inbox, laying the groundwork for a long-term, mutually beneficial connection.
1. BE AWARE OF YOUR OBJECTIVES
When dealing with influencers, it’s critical to be succinct and to the point.
It’s difficult to achieve something if you’re unsure about the purpose. In fact, how can you be confident you’re reaching out to the right influencers if you don’t know what you’re attempting to achieve?
The first step is to determine precisely what you want to achieve with the support of influencers.
The following are some examples of objectives:
- Increase the number of visitors to your website
- Getting the word out about a new product
- Brand recognition
- Increase sales (such as affiliate marketing or promotions)
- Attract a new market for your product or service.
- Boost your social media following
- Customer retention is important.
- Knowing your objectives is also important since it will help you establish how to assess the effectiveness of your efforts, which will help you determine how to improve your influencer marketing in the future.
2. SELECT THE PROPER INFLUENCERS
Now that you know what you want to do, you need to find influencers to help you achieve it.
Can assist you in reaching your targeted target market (demographic) and achieving the objectives you’ve set.
Begin by examining the population to whom they cater. Is it a comparable demographic to the one you serve or one you’d want to expand into?
Then take a look at how they connect with their audience and the information they provide. Do they upload videos to YouTube or Instagram Stories? Do they submit articles on LinkedIn or live-stream on Facebook?
Your selection will be greatly influenced by the social media channels they utilize and the sort of material they publish. It won’t be a successful partnership if they utilize a platform that your clients don’t use or provide material in a format that they don’t appreciate.
Consider how that influencer might utilize your product or service most effectively. They’re probably not a good match for you if you can’t envision them getting value from your product or service and being able to share it with their network.
3. INFORM YOURSELF ABOUT THE INFLUENCERS
After you’ve chosen the influencers you want to contact, be prepared to devote as much time as you need to do extensive research on each of them.
Make your research as detailed as possible, as this will aid you in determining not just what is significant or of interest to them but also the best approach to reach them.
Influencers are thought leaders in their fields that engage with audiences regularly and provide useful information and advice. When picking your influencers, keep these criteria in mind.
Check over their biographies, images, videos, and most recent postings on social media to get a sense of who they are. If they have one, have a look at it. Please spend some time getting to know their material.
Please take a peek at their neighbourhood as well. What kind of fan base do they have? What is their community’s reaction to them? Even if they have a smaller group, approaching them might be well worth the effort if they are well-liked and have a big influence on their community (which is your target market).
On the other hand, if they have a large following but minimal involvement with their community, they could not impact their audience and aren’t worth your time.
4. PREPARE THE SCENE
As previously said, influencers’ email boxes are often overburdened, so even if you create a compelling subject line, your email may be lost in the shuffle.
By setting the stage, you may improve the likelihood of your initial email request succeeding. This is accomplished by familiarizing them with your name and the name of your company.
So, what’s the best way to get on their radar?
Based on your study, you already know which social media sites they use and what kind of material they produce. Begin by connecting with them on each platform, using the relevant platform-specific methods.
Follow them on social networking sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (but don’t attempt to friend them immediately). Send them a customized LinkedIn connection request or subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Make relevant comments on their posts after you’ve been acquainted with their material and community. Ideally, it would help if you tried to start a conversation. While the odd “amazing” or “excellent article” remark is acceptable, these sorts of comments are unlikely to bring you to their attention.
Your main aim for these conversations is for people to recognize your name when it appears in their email box. When combined with a compelling subject line, they will be more inclined to open and read your email.
5. SEND YOUR REQUEST BY EMAIL
The effectiveness of your influencer outreach might be determined by the subject line of your email request. Even if they recognize your name, if your subject line is useless, they’ll discard it along with the rest of the spam in their inbox.
Make sure the subject line of your email jumps out
Keep it brief and informative, so they know what to anticipate, whether you decide on an attention-grabbing subject line or one that recalls some of their previous work.
Your email’s body should be as brief and to the point
Etiquette is something that never goes out of style. Begin your email with a customized welcome that includes the recipient’s name. Compliment them on their job to add a personal touch.
You may say, for example, that you read their blog entries regularly and find them to be highly interesting and well-written. Mention your favourite article and why you like it.
After that, you’ll want to look into your goal. Could you explain why you’ve written to them? You don’t want to get into too much detail here, so keep it to a phrase or two. Your objective isn’t to set out your whole idea but to see whether they’re intrigued and if you’re a good fit.
Continue by stating in a phrase or two what you expect from them. The clarity in this phase might assist both parties in avoiding wasting time.
Then you must explain how this collaboration will benefit them. Explain why they should agree to your request in a few words.
Add an appropriate ending salutation to your email and let them know they may contact you if they have any queries. It’s generally beneficial to add links to your social media profiles in your email signature so that people can readily study you and your company.
The message should be no more than five to ten phrases in length. Make it simple to read and understand.
Wait a few weeks before writing again if you don’t hear back immediately away. You may have to attempt multiple times before getting a response. Remember that they get hundreds of emails every day, so be patient.
6. STRENGTHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP
When they say they’d want to work with you, the task doesn’t stop there; now, you have to focus on really creating a connection with them.
This requires time and work, just like any other relationship. Being fast to respond to any contact with them and taking the time to address any questions or concerns they may have are two ways you may accomplish this.
When it comes to creating connections with influencers, reciprocity may be a useful strategy.
Look for methods to make your connection with them more valuable. Is there any free present or offer you might provide them to share with their network, for example? Make sure the present is something their community will appreciate and isn’t gimmicky or sales.
7. TAKE MEASUREMENTS OF YOUR SUCCESS
While it may seem like a success only to locate and develop connections with the right influencers, measuring how well each one contributes to the objectives you set for your influencer marketing campaign is critical.
You can only make timely decisions to adjust your influencer marketing plan to obtain the greatest results and with the appropriate individuals if you measure and analyze the effectiveness of each of your influencers in achieving your objectives.
WRAPPING IT ALL UP
If done right, influencer marketing is one of the most powerful and efficient methods to engage with and acquire trust with your target market. Influencer marketing, if done poorly, may waste a lot of time and money, as well as harm your brand’s reputation.
The key to successful influencer marketing is to engage with people who share your general beliefs and ideals. Furthermore, you want to develop a mutually beneficial connection and collaborate in ways that benefit both of you. The goal is genuine and personable, just like you would in any other significant connection.