How to Work with Influencers: Four Simple Strategies
Still wondering how to bring influencers on board to support and boost your business? It might be easier than you think – try the following four simple strategies as a good starting point:
1. Free goods and services
First up, the easiest and most effective way of getting influencers to talk about your products or services is to put them in their hands. If the influencer in question isn’t already familiar with what you do, you cannot expect them to simply reach out and grab what you have to offer with genuine enthusiasm. It’s not a case of bribing them with freebies, but instead giving them the opportunity to review your work by providing them with ‘samples’. Just as game developers routinely hand out all manner of software to the most influential YouTube reviewers, so too do everyday product manufacturers to their own key influencers.
2. Sponsored posts
This one could be considered a little more like buying approval, but it’s hardly a rare strategy these days. The long and short of it being that the influencer in question is paid an agreed amount of money to publish a piece about a product, service or brand on their own blog or website. It is written in their own voice and at least should be as honest as possible. But given the fact that the post is sponsored, there should be a footnote indicating as such. The only time sponsored posts become questionable is when they are passed off as organic posts. But once again, it’s not as if this is a rare occurrence in the slightest.
3. Guest posts
This is a similar approach, only in this instance it’s you who scripts the post, rather than the influencer. In many instances, influencers are more than willing to accept guest posts on their own websites and blogs. That is, just as long as they fulfil certain criteria – it may also be necessary to pay an agreed price. Nevertheless, not only can guest posts help generate awareness of whatever it is you do, but the fact that you have been featured in the first place can also help build brand authority. Just don’t be surprised if the price of guest posting with some of the most successful influencers out there is rather on the high side!
4. Impress them
Last but not least, there’s nothing to say that it is ever 100% necessary to buy the approval or even the assistance of the biggest influencers. The reason being that if you impress and appeal to them enough, they should be more than willing to support your business and your products/services naturally. After all, influencers exist for the sole purpose of guiding their followers in the direction of whatever’s hottest at the time. Get in touch with them, give them every reason to believe you’re the real deal and you might just end up with them on your side for the long haul.