The power of influence is at the heart of marketing and branding. You need to get your message out to as many people as possible (and fast). One of the best ways to do this is with the help of influencers.
An influencer has a large built-in audience that you can target with your message. They help build credibility and trust with their followers, as well as yours.
But you need to understand how to build and maintain a relationship with these key players in order to ensure success in your business and marketing efforts.
What is an Influencer?
Influencers are leaders in their industries, and have a high developed a deep level of engagement with their audience.
But engagement should not be confused with size. Many people consider influencers to be those who have a large following. What matters more is the level of engagement.
If you want to build awareness around your business, you must remember to find the influencers who have the most responsive audience—not just the biggest.
But each influencer is unique. You need to find the ones who will best fit the needs of your brand. They have specific platforms where they have the largest reach. And they have their own way of communicating their ideas.
Finding the Right Influencers
In order to find the best influencers for your business strategy, determine which platforms they use with the biggest impact.
Follow them over time in order to get a deeper understanding of their interests, motivations, and communication styles.
If you can integrate these into your content’s message, you’ll have a better chance of aligning yourself with someone who is genuinely interested in the value you provide others.
You should have already outlined your marketing strategy and goals when seeking out influencers.
Determine the audience you want to reach, and establish the goals that you’ll use to measure the results of your efforts.
Developing Engagement With Influencers
Once you’ve found the right people to help you share your content, you need to develop and maintain a relationship with them.
Reach out to them on a regular basis and in a way that provides value to their own goals. Seek input when you need it, but remember that relationships go both ways.
If you provide them with relevant content, insight, or engagement, influencers appreciate that and are willing to help you in the future. You want to establish a long-term relationship built upon creating win-win opportunities.
Give influencers the information they’ll need in sharing your content. It makes it easier for them to communicate your message in the way that best supports your goals.
Provide a summary that gives them a clear idea of what they’re sharing with their community. This will save them the time required to become familiar with your content, products, or services.
Influencers are powerful people who’ve taken the time to build large and engaged communities. You can leverage this reach by aligning yourself with those people who share your values and vision.
Finding the right influencers for your message increases awareness around your brand. Maintaining those relationships ensures that everyone will benefit from the success you achieve.
Let us know how you’ve developed your own relationships with key influencers in your industry, and how it’s impacted the success of your business.
