Negosentro| 4 Steps to Influencer Outreach That Works | Influencer marketing has proven to be an effective channel for promoting brands. It provides marketers with content creation and distribution solutions at a time when 47% of online users use ad blockers.
Influencers produce content that isn’t outrightly promotional, and their followers trust what they say. 95% of respondents in a study pointed to influencer content as credible. Getting influencers to talk about your brand places it in front of the right audience.
So, how do you get the best influencers to work with your brand?
Instagram Influencer Outreach in 4 Steps
1. Define Your Goals
Before you can approach an influencer, define your influencer marketing goals. What are your expectations from the campaign? What are your goals and relevant KPIs?
Having these things in mind can help you choose the right influencer for your brand. Also, ensure that the goals you set are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely).
Some common goals of influencer marketing include:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Expanding reach
- Gaining more followers/ engagement
- Increasing sales
- Raising revenue
- Increasing conversion rates
Based on your goals, you’ll be able to determine which metrics to track for monitoring your progress.
2. Find the Right Influencers
Once you’ve set your goals and established relevant KPIs, you need to start finding influencers. There are several ways of going about this.
Use hashtags to find popular content creators and high performing content on Instagram. Conduct hashtag research using hashtags relevant to your niche and find users whose posts are trending for those hashtags.
Alternatively, you can use social media listening tools to stay updated about the latest brand mentions. This can help you identify popular creators and you can come into the spotlight by engaging with their content. You can also look for bloggers in your niche and see if it’s worth partnering with them to promote your brand.
However, the best way of finding influencers is through an influencer discovery platform like iFluenz.
All you need to do is post your campaign on the platform and interested influencers will apply for it. You can then check all of their engagement and audience metrics before deciding to partner with them.
3. Build Relationships With the Influencers
Once you have identified the right influencers for your brand, you need to forge solid relationships with them. This must be done before you pitch the idea of a collaboration. You should interact with their content by liking, commenting, or sharing it regularly.
You should also follow and analyze their content to verify that it relates to your brand’s message. This will help you figure out if you should go ahead and pitch your idea of partnering with them.
4. Make Your Pitch
Once you’ve established solid relationships with your target influencers, you can pitch your idea of partnering with them. However, you must ensure that you’re thoroughly professional when you’re making the pitch.
Use your official accounts and craft a unique message that provides the details of your campaign. You can also choose to invite ideas for the campaign from their end.
Describe your proposition (what they will get from the partnership) and why you think they are a good fit.
Remember, monetary offers may not be enough and you may have to find various ways to make the offer more enticing. Add a call-to-action and your contact information in case they want to continue the conversation.
For more in-depth tips on how to approach Instagram influencers, check out this infographic by iFluenz.
Author bio – Yann Benichou
Yann Benichou is a software engineer and a tech and social media enthusiast. He recently started to blog about influencer marketing for iFluenz.
