Collaborating with influencers is a great way for small businesses to expand their reach and build brand credibility with different audiences. Influencers have built-in followings, which can help create buzz and drive sales for products. Here are four tips for collaborating with influencers:
1. Determine Your Audience
It all starts with determining the audience or audiences you wish to reach. From there, you can figure out which influencers can reach them. Choose influencers whose followers align with your ideal customer profile. Take demographic factors like age, gender, location, interests, and spending habits into consideration. Decide who is most likely to buy your products/services, what social media platforms they use, and what type of content resonates with them. When you understand your audience, you can be strategic in the influencers you collaborate with.
2. Find Influencers That Fit with Your Brand
It's also important to find influencers that actually align with your brand, not just potential customers. Depending on what you sell, it might be helpful to focus on micro-influencers who cater to specific niches.
"Micro-influencers are a subset of influencers categorized by their follower count — typically spanning anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000 followers — and can foster intimate engagement with customers due to their smaller audience.
Micro-influencers thrive in niche communities by sharing compelling content on social media, including images and videos of products they endorse. This marketing strategy offers value to brands looking for interactions with the micro-influencer’s dedicated target audience,” explains Lauren Kubiak, a contributor for the US Chamber.*
Find influencers who align with your brand’s values, aesthetics, and messaging. Consider their relevance, authenticity, follower engagement, and reputation. Do they create content related to your industry? Do their followers actively interact with their posts? Do they have a genuine connection with their audience? Have they collaborated with brands in a way that feels natural and trustworthy?
3. Build Relationships
Of course, you can't simply expect an influencer to always be there for your marketing needs unless you build a good relationship with them.
"Instead of viewing influencer collaborations as one-off projects, consider building long-term relationships and involving the best influencers in multiple, ongoing campaigns," says SmallBizClub.** "Consistent partnerships with influencers can help solidify your brand’s presence and credibility. Influencers who genuinely love your products or services can become loyal advocates, which is invaluable for small businesses. Moreover, you can negotiate further costs and reduce them with multiple campaigns spread across the year or over different seasons."
To cultivate good relationships with influencers, engage with their content, personalize your outreach, offer creative freedom, and be transparent. Like, comment, and share their posts before you even reach out so they'll already be at least somewhat familiar with you. Avoid sending them generic messages. Show that you’ve done your research by mentioning specific aspects of their content that align with your brand.
When it comes to creative freedom, recognize that they know their own audience better than you do. Let them have some control over how they present your product/service. As you agree to work together, outline your expectations and compensation clearly to avoid any misunderstandings, which could hurt your relationship.
4. Assess Results
Once you've collaborated with one or more influencers, take the time to assess the results so you can get a good handle on whether or not the strategy works to your satisfaction. Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like engagement rates, traffic, conversions, and return on investment (ROI). Use analytics tools, tracking links, and platform-specific insights to analyze data on campaign performance. If you aren't satisfied with a particular collaboration, figure out how to improve it or try a different influencer who might be able to better help you meet your goals.
Collaborating with the right influencers can significantly help small businesses market their products, but you'll need to strategize, research, and build relationships. Know your audience, find influencers that can reach them, and foster genuine connections. Measure your results so you can tweak your strategy as needed.
* https://www.uschamber.com/co/grow/marketing/small-business-micro-influencers
