Marketers need to tap into the concept of FOMO if they want to promote their products and services on the digital medium.

But how do you do that? 

The answer is influencers. 

The world of internet is full of potential buyers, and influencers are the best way to reach that audience. The idea is simple enough to understand but difficult to execute. 

Though the power of influencers is known to every marketing professional, there are a few questions which still need some clarity like-

How to work with influencers? 

How do you approach them? 

How to find influencers? 

Fret not! In this blog, we’ll tell you everything about how to work with influencers. But before that, let’s understand influencer management in brief. 

What is Influencer management?

Before collaborating with influencers it is necessary to understand influencer management. Brands often make errors when dealing with influencers.

It is important to note that managing your interactions with influencers is very crucial for a successful campaign. Remember, they are going to represent your brand in front of a large audience! And hence, it is important to maintain a healthy relationship with your influencer.

Here are a few things you can do to strengthen your influencer collaborations.

1. Approach an influencer only if you have an intent to work with them
   Brands often approach numerous influencers only to realise later that most of them are not apt for their campaign. Avoid this!
   Take some time to research and approach only those influencers you intend to work with.
2. Not trusting their content
   There are bound to be creative differences but it is necessary to strike a balance. See to it that you convey your campaign brief in detail. Once that is done, you can surely give inputs of your own to the influencer but make sure not to overdo it. Every influencer has his/her own style of creating content. Let their unique way of curating content blend with your strategy.
3. Give realistic deadlines
   Brands obviously want quick output for their campaigns but with influencer marketing one needs to have patience. Give your influencers some time to curate content, this will directly help your campaign. Additionally, one cannot expect massive results in a few hours! See to it that you are focusing on quality and not quantity.

Building an effective influencer relationship is not a herculean task. All you need is clear communication and the ability to give the influencers their creative space! 

How to Work With Influencers

1. Decide the platform for your Influencer Marketing Campaign

Before you start searching for influencers, it is necessary to decide which social media platforms you will be targeting for your campaigns. Not all influencers are present on all platforms and hence, you need to decide the platforms. If you are looking for influencers on Instagram proceed with that approach! It is also important to note that every social media platform is meant for a varied content style so the platform you choose will also have an impact on your content strategy.

2. Find niche influencers to work with

Find niche influencers to work with on an influencer marketing platform. With so many influencers out there, it can be difficult to make a decision about which influencers to partner with. Keeping your brand, product and social media goals in mind, you can zero down on the influencers relevant for your brand.

See whether the influencers you choose have a good follower base and whether they align with your brand niche. 

3. Conduct an in-depth analysis of your shortened influencers

Once you have a few influencers in mind, it is crucial to conduct a thorough research on them. By now, you obviously have information on their followers count and niche but that’s not enough. 

Do a thorough check-up of their content to gauge their content consistency and quality. This will help you understand their content style and engagement level. 

Is their content up to the mark?

Are they engaging with their audience?

What kind of reaction their posts are getting? And so on. 

Also, don’t forget to check their past brand collaborations and followers’ quality. 

4. Decide your budget before you approach Influencers

Depending on the scale of your campaign you shall decide the budget of your influencers. See to it that you are well-versed with the market before quoting an amount to your influencer. Most influencers have their prices set beforehand, but it can alter depending on your campaign requirements. The budget also depends on the kind of influencers you choose ( Celebrity influencers will obviously charge more than nano influencers). It is always best to bucket influencers from different categories. This not only gives you wider reach but is also apt budget-wise. 

5. Approach Influencers

Now that you have decided which Influencers you want to work with, you need to start approaching them. You need to find out if the selected Influencers are willing to work with your brand.

Make sure to draft a carefully thought out message for every Influencer. Do not send mass mails/messages to Influencers. A personalized message informing them about what you want to achieve through the campaign will be a good idea.

6. Set Campaign Briefs

Once you receive an okay from your Influencer partner, you can start with setting campaign briefs. What kind of content do you want these Influencers to develop? What is the campaign duration going to be? What are the deliverables and targets?

Here are some ways in which you can leverage Influencer relationships:  

7. Giveaways and Contests

Collaborate with Influencers to run giveaways and contests. Since Influencers have huge followings, such contests and giveaways are a great way to generate brand awareness.

You can reward winners for such contests with freebies or special vouchers to your products. Here’s an example of a giveaway hosted by beauty and lifestyle blogger, Blair Fowler:

8. Product Reviews

You can send out your products for reviews by your Influencer partners. Depending upon your social media goals, you can ask them to conduct video reviews, live reviews or in any other format that you prefer.

British lifestyle Influencer and YouTuber, Zoella Sugg conducted a product review video for Glossier.

9. Social Media Takeovers

Let an Influencer takeover your social media account. Your Influencer partner can take over your Instagram stories, and posts, for instance. You can also get them to go live through your account. Or you can have them to take the audience go behind the scenes.

There are many different ways to market your brand. In fact, you can let your Influencer partners unleash their creativity and brainstorm ideas to market your brand effectively.

Here’s an example of an Influencer takeover you can draw inspiration from-

Apart from these ideas, you can explore other ways to market your brand through fruitful Influencer-brand collaboration. Since Influencers are essentially content creators, you can work on creative and innovative content creation ideas that will help promote your brand.

For effective collaboration, you should send detailed campaign briefs to your Influencer partners.

10. Track Progress Through Regular Campaign Reports

It is important to measure the ROI on your Influencer marketing campaigns if you want to achieve maximum efficiency. Knowing how your campaigns are faring, is vital for maintaining your campaign performance.

Employ a good social media reporting tool to generate reports on your Influencer marketing campaigns. Use the information that you attain through the report to build more effective campaigns and tweak where necessary.

You can employ a good Influencer marketing platform such as the Influencer Suite by Unbox Social to aid you in developing end to end campaigns.

Summing it up

Investing in a good influencer marketing campaign comes with a lot of perks. If you want to enter into a fruitful influencer partnership, you need to follow these steps-

• Decide the platform for your influencer marketing campaign
• Find niche influencers to work with
• Conduct an in-depth analysis of your shortlisted influencers
• Decide your budget before you approach influencers
• Approach them with a personalized message explaining your campaign brief
• Monitor progress and performance to measure campaign ROI

Working with influencers can be very beneficial for your brand. Thanks to their wide reach, it becomes easier to connect with your target audience via influencers. Keep these tips in mind for your next influencer marketing campaign.