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A Great Guide on Starting with Influencer Marketing

Justas Markus
August 15, 2019

Influencer marketing has certainly become more popular recently. Even small businesses are looking for more exposure on social media and other channels. And nobody can help with that as much as influencers.

On the other hand, the lack of information is one of the reasons why some are still doubtful about it. That is why another article about it can only be a good thing.

Methods of Marketing

Think of influencer marketing as something which helps with both sales and brand growth. The most popular marketing methods are:

  • Sponsored content, when you pay or provide free samples for a social media post or a shoutout.
  • Affiliate and discount links.
  • Contests and giveaways.

The Future

Image source:  https://www.oberlo.com/blog/influencer-marketing

Plenty of entrepreneurs believe that influencers will continue to grow. It is still considered to be something new. Since the popularity of social media is not declining, it is not surprising to expect the growth of influencer marketing as well.

It is not just platforms like Facebook and Instagram. YouTube, Reddit, Quora, and plenty of other websites have a fair share of influencers. In fact, any popular website that encourages interaction between users has a fair share of influencers.

What Is Their Purpose?

You might be asking what’s the point of even bothering with influencers? Well, the answer is pretty clear. They make money by providing business with a very important thing – growth on social media.

Virtually everyone has recognized that social media is the perfect place to advertise yourself, grow, and gain more clients. However, starting a page from scratch is difficult, especially in a competitive niche. 

While it might be a shortcut, having someone share about you to hundreds of thousands of people will definitely get things rolling. 

Finding the Perfect Influencer

As you can probably guess, finding the perfect influencer is quite a challenge. There are plenty of self-proclaimed experts who spew as much as they can just so that they can appear smart. It is best to avoid such people.

But how does one go about finding the right influencer? Well, there are a couple of things to take into consideration first.

Choosing Platforms

Before you start the hunt, make sure that the platform of your choice makes sense. Some brands are not suited for certain platforms. These are the top contenders:

  • Instagram is perfect for sharing short content that which tries to catch the attention of a reader. Selling products is easier than selling services here. And it has young demographics.
  • YouTube. It is clear that this platform works best for video content, and there is no limit on their length. 
  • Facebook is a mix of everything, which means that you will not go wrong with choosing it over any other platform.

Create a Plan

It is always a good idea to come prepared, and having some guidelines for influencer marketing will not hurt anyone. Sure, influencers are creative people and should be left to their own devices, but you still need to ensure that they do not go overboard and communicate in a way that represents your brand.

How to Find Them

When you are prepared, you can go ahead and start looking for your influencers. First of all, you will have to decide whether you want to go for the big fish or someone in mid or lower tiers in terms of followers. 

After all, the payment depends on how big their audience is. As for finding them, a quick search on your platform of choice should give more than enough options.

Reaching Out

You can either send them an email or direct message. It is probably better to stick with emails, although not everyone provides such information on their profiles. 

Your proposal should be detailed and reveal what you are willing to pay and what you expect in return. Of course, mention why you are contacting this particular person and that you would like to establish a long-term relationship.

Some businesses like to butter up to influencers first by engaging on their social media posts and get noticed before sending any proposals. This can become a great advantage if you can manage to get the influencer to contact you instead of the other way around. 

In a word, there are still plenty of things that have yet to develop in influencer marketing. As the presence of social media continues to grow, so will people who have the ability to get a lot of followers. And everyone who has a loyal audience is a perfect channel for promoting various products and services.

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