How to Get Top Influencers to Work with Your Brand

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One of the best ways to increase your brand’s reach and boost sales is to leverage influencer marketing. Social media influencers have a loyal fan base and are role models to their followers. If you partner with the right influencers to promote your brand, you are likely to win the trust of their followers too.

Forty percent of users on Twitter admitted to buying a product after seeing a tweet from an influencer about it. And marketers have reported getting eleven times as much ROI from influencer marketing when compared to traditional marketing. These stats prove just how effective influencer marketing is.

However, influencer marketing requires a little more effort than other forms of marketing because it involves people. You need to first find the right people to collaborate with and build a genuine rapport, keeping in mind how you can help them too. A warm outreach and a mutually beneficial partnership can get them to come on board and help you create buzz about your brand.

If you’re not sure how to get the best influencers for your brand on board to help you with your campaign, we’ve got you covered. Here is a guide on how to reach out to top influencers and get them on board to work with your brand.

1. Research Influencers Thoroughly

Before you start to reach out to influencers, you will need to do some thorough research. First, find out who the best influencers are in your niche. Check out their profiles. See how many followers they have, how much engagement their posts get, and who their target audience is.

For an effective influencer marketing campaign, you should choose influencers whose values align with those of your brand. For example, if your brand promotes sustainability, you should reach out to influencers who believe in green living. This will help you appeal to the right audience while exuding authenticity and honesty.

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However, doing all of this manually can be quite challenging. You may need to spend hours searching for influencers on various social platforms, going through their posts, and checking their follower counts and engagement rates. Influencer marketing platforms can simplify the process and help you find the right influencers for your brand and run successful campaigns.

Platforms like BuzzStream or Reelio can provide you with custom curated lists of influencers for your brand’s specific goals. You can also filter your results based on target demographics and budget.

2. Identify How You Can Help Influencers

Once you have identified the right influencers, you need to start working on your outreach strategy. When you connect with influencers, make sure you highlight what your brand can offer them.

In order to make sure that your partnership is mutually beneficial, try to put yourself in the shoes of the influencers. Ask yourself why an influencer would want to work with you.

Keep your campaign goals in mind while deciding on compensation. If you want to boost sales, it might be tempting to strike a deal based on commision but that’s not recommended because it often undervalues the influencer content. Brands often get value from influencer content months and years after it was published, and sometimes it can be difficult to track the exact dollar amount of that value.

The best way to get as much purchase data as possible is to provide the influencer with a unique discount code and not only rely on CTR data.

Image via Instagram

Once you have decided on what you are willing to offer to influencers, you can draft your pitch. Before you approach them, it is advisable to start engaging with them on social media. You could also comment on their posts to see how they respond. This way, you will be able to show influencers that you are not myopic in the way you approach them.

3. Be Specific While Writing Your Pitch

Influencer marketing is very different from email marketing. You shouldn’t use the same content or template when you approach influencers. Each influencer has a unique style of storytelling. You need to gauge their strengths by looking at their social media posts. Write your pitch based on their content.

If you want influencers to take you seriously, you will need to make an effort to personalize your pitches, here are some templates. Avoid using generic terms like “Dear Influencer” or “Dear Blogger.” Address them by their name and then tell them what you like about their work. It’s a good idea to refer to a specific post that resonated with you.

Also, try to come up with a subject that’s intriguing but not vague. If it doesn’t catch the influencer’s attention, your email might just be left unread.

Keep your pitch simple and concise. Talk about why you’re reaching out and how the opportunity can help them. Insert a call-to-action at the end. Here is a simple template that can help you write a good pitch:

“Dear [NAME OF INFLUENCER],

I am [YOUR NAME], [YOUR JOB TITLE] at [YOUR COMPANY].

I have been following you on social media and I especially like [MENTION WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THEM]. I think your content will resonate really well with our audience too.

We would love to work with you for an Instagram campaign that we are finalizing. We’ve worked with [NAMES OF OTHER INFLUENCERS] on similar campaigns in the past [SHARE LINK] and they loved working with us.

I think that our products can greatly benefit your audience.. If this is something that interests you, please reply to this email so we can set up some time to discuss further.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks in advance,

[YOUR NAME]”

4. Make it Easy for Them to Say Yes

When you create your pitch, make sure that your call-to-action is simple. Do not ask them to complete forms or get back to you with some content ideas. Instead, make the whole process easy and quick for them.

Share content ideas around interviews, reviews, tutorials, or anything else that you’d like to see. However, give your ideas as suggestions, not as hard-and-fast rules. Be flexible and ask them if they may have any other ideas in mind.

This way, you can make their job easier and provide them with creative freedom too. Influencers love it when you know exactly what you’re looking for instead of offloading the majority of the creative work on them. Instead, just put them in the limelight.

5. Follow Up With Influencers

In some cases, influencers receive tons of emails from different brands every day. If you don’t receive a response to your email, there is a good chance that they haven’t seen it. Your email may have been lost in their inbox. This is why follow-up emails are an important part of the process.

It is a good idea to wait for a couple of days before you send a follow-up email. You can also send them direct messages on Instagram or Twitter. Be polite and non-intrusive, and ask them if they have had a chance to read your email.

A good follow-up email should be a gentle reminder of your first email. In case they haven’t read your email, you need to inform them again about the proposal. Mention what you have to offer and what you expect from them. Include a clear call-to-action that makes them aware of the next step they need to take.

Are You Ready to Work with Top Influencers?

Influencers receive a lot of emails and messages every day. If you want to stand out among other collaboration requests, you need tailor your pitch to the creator. It isn’t too complicated, you just need to pay attention to the details.

If it takes a while before you get responses from them, be patient, and don’t forget to follow up.

And, if this seems like a daunting list of tasks, but you’re excited to see the ROI of influencer content, consider partnering with an influencer marketing agencies.

What other strategies have you used to get influencers to work with you? Share your experiences with us in the comments section below.

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