If you follow the world of internet marketing – or even marketing in general – you know that influencers have become a popular trend. Basically, brands use people with influence in a given space to directly communicate with their target audience. This is a great model, but it is only successful when deployed correctly. Let’s take a look at four steps which can help the influencer brand relationship become mutually beneficial.
#1 – Be Authentic
This relationship is not going to be successful if it is fabricated. It needs to be authentic in the sense that the influencer needs to truly believe in the product or service being promoted. Ideally, the influencer will have been a user of the brand’s products prior to even having a professional relationship, although that isn’t always going to be the case. Your audience will be able to tell when something is not authentic, so don’t put anything out that isn’t believable.
#2 – Influencer Activity
A good influencer, and one who can make a difference for a brand, is one who is active in terms of blogging and social media on a regular basis. It isn’t going to work to just ramp up activity in order to promote a brand – there won’t be an engaged audience ready to receive the message. The promotion of the brand should be only one part of the influencers ongoing activities.
#3 – Clear Communication
Just like any relationship, a strong influencer brand relationship is going to need to be built on communication. Make sure that both sides understand each other, trust each other, and have a similar vision for the future. It would be a mistake to get too far into this process only to learn that one side was not expecting the same thing as the other.
#4 – Measurable Objectives
As is the case with everything you do in your business, you should have clearly established goals that can be tracked over time to make sure you’re on the right track. When it comes to this type of relationship, be sure to have some measurable objectives established right from the start. What is going to indicate that this relationship is working out nicely? What can you do to improve performance if you seem to be falling short of your targets? You’ll never get anywhere if you don’t have a plan and a way to determine whether or not that plan is working.
Finding the right influencer for your brand is not necessarily an easy task, but it can be extremely rewarding. Whether looking for an influencer or using content marketing services, the idea is always the same – connect with your audience and convert that audience into customers.
