Leveraging social media influencers can significantly enhance your online visibility and attract new customers. This approach enables your business to connect with a wider audience through online personalities with ‘influence’.
Influencers can help you foster engagement and help drive both leads and sales by tapping into their dedicated follower base. Compared to more traditional advertising, this method can be cost-effective, Influencer marketing can offer an affordable and effective strategy for expanding your digital footprint and customer reach.
In this article, we outline 6 key steps to help you get started with your influencer marketing strategy.
To learn more about why influencer marketing is growing in popularity for small business, visit What is influencer marketing? An introduction.
Before diving in, it’s important to pinpoint who your target audience is. Taking time to understand who you want to reach through influencer marketing can help set you up for success.
Researching your target market can help you find a social influencer whose followers align with your ideal customers.
It’s also important to consider the demographics of your target market. This can help uncover which social media platform is right for you. For example, according to Sprout Social, the largest demographic on Facebook is people aged 25-34. You want to meet potential customers where they are, on the channels they’re already actively using.
Some social influencers will have a dominant presence on a particular channel while others work across multiple social media platforms. We list some types of social influencers by channel below:
Researching the influencer marketing landscape alongside your target market is a wise move. This can help you map out your influencer marketing strategy. And help you uncover where the biggest opportunities lie.
HubSpot's 2023 Social Media Marketing Report uncovered which social media platforms businesses are using for influencer marketing.
The next step when formulating your influencer marketing strategy is determining which social influencers you’ll shortlist. This is an important decision as you’re essentially selecting individuals to represent your business and what it stands for.
Having more followers doesn’t necessarily mean more impact. Typically nano influencers (under 10k followers) and micro influencers (10k to 100k followers) tend to be a popular choice for small businesses. This is because of their smaller but tight-knit following.
The decision to work with a micro influencer, nano influencer or other type of social influencer depends on your specific marketing objectives, budget and target audience. Different social influencers can offer unique benefits that can compliment your overall business strategy.
When shortlisting social influencers you may want to consider the following factors:
Find social influencers whose content aligns well with your values and offerings.
Look for social influencers with high engagement rates. This generally indicates an active, loyal and invested community of followers.
Prioritise social influencers who demonstrate authenticity and a genuine interest in your products or services.
Find social influencers who have an engaged following in your specific niche or industry.
If you need more support during the selection phase, there are tools available like social media analytics platforms and influencer databases. These can assist you in identifying potential collaborators.
Once you shortlist social influencers, the next step is to engage with them. Remember, social media influencer marketing isn’t just a business transaction, it’s a collaboration between two parties.
Start by building genuine relationships with social influencers. You can do this by interacting with their content, commenting on their posts, and showing them that you appreciate their work. Authenticity is key in the world of influencer marketing and is important for establishing meaningful collaborations.
Next, define your objectives for your social influencer campaign. This could be increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, increasing followers or boosting sales. Setting clear and measurable goals will help guide your influencer marketing strategy.
You’ll need to approach social influencers with a proposal that outlines your goals and expectations of what you want to achieve through the collaboration.
Once you’re ready to start working with a social influencer, you’ll need to agree on the terms and conditions. It’s important that the expectations for the partnership are clear and both parties are happy with their end of the deal. Consider seeking expert advice to ensure you comply with any legal and regulatory requirements.
Below we breakdown some common considerations to discuss and agree upon.
This can include what platforms the social influencer will use to endorse your business. It can also include the post formats. For example, are there any expectations for newsfeed posts, reels, stories or video content?
How much content do you expect the social influencer to create? And how frequently do you expect them to post? Is it a one-off occurrence? Or are you seeking a lengthier campaign? Outlining and agreeing on frequency and delivery dates, can help make sure you’re on the same page.
When communicating the proposal, you’ll also need to agree upon what you can offer the social influencer in return. This could be monetary compensation, free products, or other perks.
Formally agreeing on terms and conditions can help eliminate potential disputes and help define areas of ambiguity. You may want to engage a legal expert or an influencer marketing agency to help guide you through this process.
Once you launch your influencer marketing strategy, it’s important to measure performance. From here, you can determine what works well and what doesn’t. You can track what type of influencer content resonates best with your target audience.
When assessing the success of your social media influencer marketing, you can look at key metrics such as:
By creating a strategic approach to influencer marketing, you can increase brand awareness and engage with a wider and more targeted audience.
To maximise the impact of your influencer marketing efforts, avoid these common pitfalls:
By steering clear of these common mistakes, you can help your influencer marketing campaigns be more genuine, authentic and effective.
Originally published January 2024, updated August 2024.
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