How to Use Influencer Marketing for Your Business

Should you be using influencer marketing for business?

In the coming years, influencer marketing is projected to rake in $10 billion as an industry.

As an account manager, I’ve run influencer marketing campaigns for actors, fashionistas, life coaches, weight loss aficionados… you name it.

Here are my top tips for using influencers to market your brand.

• Find influencers relevant to your audience
• Contact them through social media 
• Create clear expectations for content & campaigns
• Keep influencer content authentic
• Create relationships, not transactions

Find Influencers Relevant to Your Audience

We all know the pain of being bombarded by ads on social media that have nothing to do with us. It’s annoying. ????

You can create brand distinction by striving to resonate with your audience.

After all, that’s the audience that’s most likely to convert.

It’s on us, as marketers, to create an enjoyable buyer journey. That starts with providing a more customized message.

[Tweet “Create an enjoyable buyer journey with #influencermarketing. ????”]

Start By Defining Your Target Audience

Your first step in using brand influencers should be to determine your target audience.

 Ask yourself these questions: 

• Who is my ideal customer?
• Is it more than one kind of person?
• What do they like & how do they spend their time?

Building out a complete target audience that includes age, location, what they do for work, hobbies, interests, dreams, and more sets the foundation for selecting a relevant influencer.

For example, if I sell comfortable work slacks to career-driven females, it doesn’t make sense for me to hire a male influencer who posts about music festivals.

Contact Them Through Social Media

When it comes to contacting an influencer you’d like to work with, it’s really a no-brainer.

Contact them on the platform they use most!

For most influencers today, that means Instagram. In the future, it could also mean up-and-coming platforms like TikTok.

Pro Tip: Be sure to vet your influencers prior to contacting them! Don’t accidentally hire a “fake” influencer who has purchased the majority of their followers. As a general rule, choose influencers with an engagement rate of 3% or above.

Create Clear Expectations for Influencer Content & Campaigns

A strong brand has brand guidelines that indicate things like logo variations and what colors you use. This also includes things like your brand’s voice and personality.

When a customer connects with your product or service, your brand generates emotional responses that build brand loyalty. The point of brand guidelines is to create a consistent customer experience.

Likewise, if you plan on using an influencer to market your product or service, it’s important to define what that looks like.

Using a Creative Brief allows everyone to stay on the same page. In your Creative Brief, be sure to include the overarching goal of your campaign.

Keep Influencer Content Authentic

While you define the expectations of your influencer marketing campaigns, be sure to leave room for authenticity.

Don’t ask an influencer to do or say something that they wouldn’t normally.

This makes the fact that they’re promoting a product or service all the more obvious, which will frustrate their audience. That’s bad news for the influencer, you, and your potential customers.

Remember: As marketers, we always seek to alleviate pain points, not create them. ????

Create Relationships, Not Transactions

In any form of marketing, it’s important that you create relationships with your clients, not transactions. The same goes for influencers.

Don’t be so focused on business goals that you forget about the goals or aspirations of the influencer you’re working with.

Remember, they grew a following because they are passionate about what they do and why they do it. They’ve worked hard to build their image and are trusting that it won’t be damaged.

As you develop a working relationship with influencers, treat campaigns as a collaboration.

Make sure that both you and the influencer you work with, find value in the process.

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Ready to use influencer marketing for your business?

Our team already has a million ideas for you. ????