Influencers are everywhere in this day and age, you can’t go online without an influencer promoting a product on their social media channels or doing a variety of influencer marketing campaigns for their own products as well as others.
If you think that an influencer campaign will help you reach out to your audience and bring you the traffic you need to elevate your brand and make a name for yourself, then you will want to know just how to go about that.
Today we will discuss how to get influencers to promote your product and how you can find influencers that will help you achieve your goals.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Before we jump into what a social media influencer is and how you can find the best influencers to promote your product, it would be a good idea to know a bit of background in influencer marketing and influencer campaigns.
Influencer marketing uses influencers online who have a certain amount of followers to sell products and/or recommend your brand to their platform for their listeners, watchers, and/or readers.
Why Have Celebrities Been Pushed Back?
Influencer marketing is a smaller version of celebrity endorsements and caters to young people who use social media platforms a lot.
Youtubers and TikTokers are seen as more trustworthy and are listened to more than their celebrity counterparts.
The rise in influencers has grown more and more now that the majority of us use social media to communicate and get information.
Celebrities are seen as hard to reach and out of our ‘zone’, they don’t really get what the average person feels and acts like, whereas social media influencers are more connected to us, especially as they are not as big and they have a more open relationship with us.
In the dynamic world of influencer marketing, leveraging talent agencies by looking up sites like https://www.endorsco.com/ (and others) can be a game-changer for promoting your product effectively. Partnering with these agencies provides a streamlined approach to connect with influencers who align seamlessly with your brand. By entrusting the talent agency’s expertise, you tap into a network of influencers who possess not only a significant following but also an authentic connection with their audience. This partnership ensures that your product fits naturally into the influencers’ content, building real engagement and trust with their followers. By teaming up with talent agencies, you make your brand more visible and impactful in the online world.
Why Are Influencers Trusted More?
There are a few studies out there that show how people feel like they trust influencers more than big brands nowadays, with 37% of consumers trusting influencers over brands.
This is good news for a new business owner who wants to make their name online but does not have the money to reach out to big brands to help with promotion.
Deciding upon an influencer marketing campaign to promote your product on your chosen social media platform or multiple platforms can help you be noticed and hopefully drive your sales up.
It started out as a $1.7 billion industry in 2016 and has now grown to a $13.8 billion industry as of 2021, and that doesn’t look like it is going to slow down any time soon, so if you think that multiple influencers or even just one influencer can help you grow, it is time to get your influencer pitch ready.
What Are The Different Types of Influencers?
You may be aware that there are different levels of influencers out there.
If you go on any social media platform, you will see that some influencers have more followers than others, so when you are searching for potential influencers and planning your influencer outreach emails, you need to find ones that suit your niche and your level of engagement.
These are only a handful of influencer types below as there are quite a few different ones that are used throughout marketing campaigns, so think about your marketing budget and what your particular influencer (that you have in mind) does when they promote online.
Nano Influencers
These influencers can be classed as everyday influencers, they do not have a high follower count and they typically fall in the range of 100-10,000 followers.
A lot of their content will have family and friends in, or whatever else they would like to post, they are not the most well-known and they don’t have ads or sponsored posts every single time they post, they come across as easy to relate to.
They may not be paid for their advertisements, and will normally just receive free products or product samples to promote in a social media post.
This influencer promotes in their own style and they are not bound by extreme contracts or have to do it in a certain way, there is a little more wiggle room and freedom for expression.
Micro-Influencers
Moving a bit higher up the chain now.
Micro-influencers are not household names like nano influencers, and they can fall within the same bracket at 5,000 – 100,000, but they do have a bit more pull.
They have a specific niche and a good community that follows what they do and they will typically interact with their followers so they can build on their base without looking like they are too far removed.
Watch Out For Fake Influencers
There is an issue with micro-influencers that does need to be addressed, in some cases, they may buy their followers as well as their engagement, so you need to look out for that.
If what they post or how they interact does not match the feedback they are getting, then you know that those followers have been bought.
A good thing about working with legitimate influencers is that they are more relatable and will be able to connect with their community more.
Mid-Tier to Macro Influencers
The range for these is 100,000 – 500,000 and 500,000 to 1 million.
These types of influencers are a bit removed from their community, mainly because they have been able to build on their following a lot through what they do, or they got a boost maybe because something they did went viral or they have become well-known in their niche and have risen to the top.
Mid-tier are still authentic to their brand and they are able to still relate more, however, with that kind of growth, they may have someone running their social media pages.
Macro influencers have a very high engagement rate and they are seen as experts in their field.
Think about Instagram influencers whose every single post is polished and illudes to something that they do, or looks stylized.
Can Be Quite Pricey
Both of these influencers are great if you want your product to reach millions of people and be seen everywhere, however, this does come at a price, and if you are just starting out, then you may not have the money to use them, just yet anyway.
How Should You Reach Out to These Influencers?
If you have decided on how you want to promote your product, then now is the time to contact influencers and see if they are available to do a post for you or multiple ones.
Social media is very powerful for individuals and businesses, so you need to make sure that you have a solid plan in place to compete with others in your field.
Do Your Research
You know what your product is and how you want to sell it, now you need to match the influencer with your product.
You may already have an influencer in mind because you like the way they promote products or you have seen similar products that they have promoted, despite the fact that you have seen this, you need to do your research on them and check out if they are a viable option.
Reach out to others who have used them and ask what their situation was like, how they responded, how quick they were, if there were any issues, etc., this will help you decide if they are worth it and if you are getting your money’s worth.
Reach Out to Them Directly
If you are happy with the fit, it is time to reach out to them and ask if you can collaborate with them for some posts.
Contact them directly and don’t be spammy as this can put them off contacting you, just go into their DMs and send a friendly message to get the conversation started up.
They will be able to see your page when you contact them, but also send them to your website as well so they can get a better idea of who you are.
Whilst being friendly is a must, still be professional with your outreach message as they need to know that you are serious about this opportunity and that you are looking for a real collaboration.
Influencers do get a lot of DMs and the higher you go, the more you have, so you could get lost in the sea of others, that is why your chosen influencer should be one that matches your brand and voice.
It will draw them in more and they won’t see you as someone sending spam or just trying to get their endorsement no matter what.
Be Available to Them For Any Questions
If they do say yes to working with you, be open and honest with them about any questions that they may have.
Get them their answers as soon as possible, or put them in contact with one of your team members that can be their point of contact for everything so they do not feel like they are being pushed aside once you have them saying yes.
It can put them off working with you again if you are not fast with your communication (even if they are slow), and they may bad mouth you to other influencers which could pose an issue when you are trying to find other influencers to work with down the road.
Conclusion
Using influencers to promote your product is a great way at getting your name out there, but you need to make sure that you are doing it the right way and that you are matching their niche.
It takes time to find the right one, always weigh up your pros and cons and remember to take charge of your budget.
Yes, it would be great for a macro influencer to promote your brand, but if you can’t afford it then you need to start off smaller and work your way up.
Think professionally and work towards building on your brand, not sending it up and crashing it down.