If you’ve spent any amount of time on the internet, you know it can be a very crowded place indeed. The world of online businesses is no different. Making your voice heard in all this noise can be a real challenge. However, if you can get your marketing strategy right, you’ll find that the rewards for making yourself are truly endless.
This is where an experienced influencer marketing agency can be a game changer for your online business. With tectonic shifts in the digital world, knowing what will work — and what won’t — is imperative. Influencer marketing, in particular, can be quite hit or miss unless it’s executed well. If you’re looking to take a dive into the world of influencer marketing for your business, keep reading to learn more about partnering with influencers — and how a partnership with an influencer marketing agency can help you.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing, like many other forms of digital marketing, functions on the same fundamental tenet of marketing. Ask any influencer marketing agency worth their salt, and they’ll tell you that any good marketing strategy — including influencer marketing — is really about telling a story to the right person at precisely the right time.
More practically, however, influencer marketing involves partnerships with influencers — individuals with large followings on social media — to market your products or services. Many influencer marketing agencies note that one of the greatest advantages of influencer marketing is the strategy’s ability to boost your reach in new audiences through a familiar — and trusted! — face. Influencer marketing agencies can be immensely helpful in identifying the best influencers for your brand.
Why You Should Partner with Influencers
Influencers are, ultimately, individuals passionate about something, whether it’s make-up, stationery, fitness, or even cleaning! In other words, they have a direct, authentic, and intimate connection with their follower base. When you partner with influencers, you don’t just get access to their follower base, you also get access to the trust and relationships they have built with their audience.
According to a study by Google, 70% of teens trust influencers over celebrity endorsements. As a business, influencer marketing can allow you to reach more customers who will be interested in what you have to offer, all the while maintaining a truly personal and authentic style of communication.
How To Choose Influencers for Your Business
Here are a few factors any solid influencer marketing agency will consider while helping you choose the right influencers for your business.
- The Right Niche
The best influencer partnerships are built with influencers who work in and have the attention of a distinct niche. This can be anything as long as it’s related to your product or service. If you sell vacuum cleaners, for instance, lifestyle influencers will likely fit well with your brand. A fitness influencer, on the other hand, not so much.
- The Right Platform
Influencers work all over the internet today, from Instagram and TikTok to YouTube and email! Before you choose influencers, you’ll need to consider where your target customers love hanging out the most.
- The Right Location
If you’re a local business, there’s no point in partnering with an influencer with millions of followers in precisely your niche in a foreign country, right? When choosing influencers, it’s important to consider the location you will be targeting your marketing efforts at.
The Advantages of Choosing the Right Influencer for Your Business
Choosing the right influencer for your business is truly a make-or-break factor in this form of marketing. The advantages of a robust influencer partnership — which an influencer marketing agency can help you achieve — include:
- Far greater levels of trust with your target audience: After all, when the recommendation comes from a person — and one they trust — buyers are far more likely to take the leap of faith and purchase a product or service from an unfamiliar brand.
- Reach and authenticity within your budget: It’s a common misconception that many influencer marketing agencies can help disabuse. However, influencer marketing is not just a strategy for deep pockets. No matter how small — or large! — your budget is, you can find an influencer that fits your needs.
- Lots of versatility in partnership formats: Influencer marketing doesn’t just trade in hard cash. While cash payouts are a nifty threshold, influencer marketing can just as well function on barter if you so desire! Bartering in the world of influencer marketing agencies refers to publicity in exchange for a free sample of your product or service.
- The results are quick and easy to track. Once an influencer marketing strategy is put in place, you can see results in terms of engagement levels almost immediately. Furthermore, you’ll be able to concretely measure just how many sales or engagement metrics you have scored through your influencer partnership.
Setting Up Your Influencer Marketing Partnership
You’ve decided to take the leap. You’ve done your research and found the perfect influencer in your niche. What now? The best influencer marketing agencies often use a specific set of steps to move forward.
- Begin by following their accounts on your social media of choice and engaging a little with their content. This can be a vital step in opening the door to a potential partnership.
- Take a look at the information on their accounts and see if they provide an official channel of communication. Alternatively, many influencer marketing agencies also use LinkedIn as a potential form of communicating with them!
- When writing to them, be sure to get straight to the point. Clearly communicate why you are getting in touch, what your brand is about, and what kind of partnership you are looking for.
The Upshot
One of the most potent advantages of influencer marketing — according to expert influencer marketing agencies themselves — is the close knit and authentic relationship you, as a brand, get to build with potential customers. Partnering with an experienced influencer marketing agency like AdLift can help you get the most out of this strategy while doing none of the work — except running your own business, of course.