How to Make Social Influencer Marketing Work for You

Even though it can seem quite complicated, the thinking behind influencer marketing is really quite simple.

An influencer is someone who has a large social following and a big influence on an industry. The idea is that if you pitch your content to an influencer, that person will share your content with his or her followers. Or, they might simply mention your account or your product to them.

When this happens, you get some attention and interest from their followers.

However, things don’t always go this smoothly, since there are other factors involved.

So how can you influence the way that social influencers to respond to you?

Have the Right Target

In order to appeal to a social influencer, you have to have a target that they have an interest in. For instance, if you want to pitch content to your influencer that is intended to sell products on Instagram and other social media channels, make sure that those ads show up to people your influencer wants to reach.

Additionally, ensure that your target is active and relevant to the industry your influencer specializes in. It’s also important to ensure that they don’t have already another similar collaboration.

Build Your Reputation

Naturally, the top names in your industry have hundreds, even thousands, of followers. It follows that they receive bushel baskets full of messages and notifications every single day. If you want an influencer to respond to your messages, you’ll need to find ways of standing out from the crowd.

This all begins with a great online reputation. You won’t be able to accomplish a great reputation in only a couple of days, but if you want to succeed with influencer marketing, you’ll make it a point to invest your time into making a name for yourself.

Use Your Best Social Skills

Imagine how you would feel if some stranger came to you and asked you to share their content on your site. It would be as if someone you didn’t know knocked on your front door and asked you if they could borrow your cell phone. Naturally, you would quickly close your front door. Or, if you were a social influencer, you would simply ignore that stranger’s request.

However, many people make this very mistake. They send direct messages to top influencers asking them to share their content.

Of course, the tweets and the social messages you send need to be on point, but being too demanding can have a different result than the one you wished for. Your influencer will end up feeling used.

Learn to introduce yourself politely to an influencer you wish to approach and find ways to contribute to them. Make comments on their blog posts. Be helpful. Be patient. Eventually, they’re going to want to reciprocate, but you will have earned it by then.

Give a Little, Gain a Lot

Generally, people don’t like doing favors for other people, especially if they know they’ll get nothing in return. Try to establish a friendly, reciprocal relationship with your influencer. Offer the influencer content that his or her followers will appreciate. Everyone will benefit from such an exchange. This is the heart of social influencer marketing.

Honor Their Time

A high-powered social influencer is a busy man or woman. The big names likely receive hundreds of requests each and every day. So if a social influencer is not responding to your messages, don’t take it personally. They might just be busy.

On the other hand, if you polish your influencer marketing skills and keep at it, you just might get your foot in the door with them one day.