8 Stellar Tips to Boost Your Influencer Outreach Campaign
Many-a-times, it may seem that no matter how much time and effort you put into developing "excellent content," it somehow never appears to have an impact.
So, how can you ensure that your content marketing efforts are not overlooked? How can you break into the top tier of marketing experts and finally swim with the sharks?
Your best bet is to follow in the footsteps of those influential people!
In this handy guide, we'll actually share our technique with you so that you may finally make your voice heard, even if you're just getting started.
What is influencer outreach
The basic goal of influencer marketing and outreach is to increase revenue and leads for your brand.
Influencers are people who have audiences that you'd like to market to. They're usually on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or any other social media platform. Influencer marketing is when you work with these people to promote your product.
Influencer outreach is reaching out to those influencers in order to promote your brand.
It is a good approach to adopt if you want to build your business because an increase in leads will result in an increase in revenue. On top of all, you will get immense brand awareness.
According to a Tomoson blog poll, 59% of marketers aim to boost their influencer marketing budget in the coming year.
Influencer marketing was also named the fastest-growing customer acquisition channel in the study, and it can also be one of the cheapest if you use the right strategies.
The next stage is to identify and reach out to the suitable influencers who will deliver you the clients your company desires.
8 tips to boost your influencer outreach campaign
Reaching out to influencers and persuading them to support you is a time-consuming process.
When done correctly, however, it can give your brand access to a large number of people who want to hear from someone they know and trust.
When people hear this influencer's message, they may be encouraged to trust your message and business as well.
Influencer outreach campaign must be done with care and consideration, from selecting the right people to engaging them in the appropriate manner.
Here are eight tips for creating a successful influencer outreach campaign:
1. Brainstorm for a project worth creating
There will be a plethora of data competing with your content, so make sure yours sticks out.
After all, if your project is mediocre, you won't attract many influencers.
So, how do you come up with a fantastic project?
Begin with a fantastic idea, meticulous planning, and the assurance that your project is headed in the right path from the start. To put it another way, be inventive with your efforts.
Begin by generating as many "excellent" ideas as you can.
As this is just the beginning of your planning, leave nothing off the list.
It's fine to look online for inspiration from other businesses if you're having trouble coming up with good ideas. There are dozens of marketing ideas lists available on the internet.
Look through as many as you want and make a list of the ones that stick out as the finest for your business.
Then, once you've built a list, see whether there's a clear winner, or try to come up with new hybrid concepts that can take advantage of influencer feedback.
It's a good idea to set goals that are both attainable and time-bound once you've identified what your project is. The classic SMART technique is one of the marketers’ favorites.
Here are some examples of project goals you may come up with:
- By the end of y date, this influencer marketing strategy should have increased conversion rates by x%.
- For research, design, and distribution, I want to spend $x.
- This campaign will last x days and will be active for y days.
Whatever you choose, make sure it's in line with your project's goals, the needs of your influencers, and your overall objectives.
2. Create a list of the right influencers you want to reach out to
Tracking down influencers can be extremely difficult.
If you're just getting started with your outreach strategy, you've probably been informed which tools to utilize to identify potential leads, but you're still figuring out the details.
Remember that the more you know about your target, the better you can craft a pitch that will engage and sell them on your idea.
Another point to keep in mind while looking for an influencer is that not every project requires high-profile influencers or the ones with huge following.
Today, micro-influencers are changing the game of influencer marketing and they might do wonders for your brand.
According to Markerly, a huge number of followers does not always imply that your chosen influencer is the best option.
The "sweet spot" of comment activity and following is between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.
This means you'll still generate a lot of buzz and conversation with the widest potential audience.
Keep in mind that influencers are approached by a variety of marketers on a regular basis.
Do not attempt to contact an influencer until you have a clear idea of what you want to say, what you want to achieve, and what you can provide the influencer in exchange.
If they agree to advocate for you to their audience, influencers will expect something in return.
3. Build a relationship with the influencer
A sales pitch or a demand for their attention are the last things an influencer wants to hear from you.
Taking the time to create a relationship with an influencer is referred to as influencer outreach. Remember that a negative first impression can ruin your chance to get to know someone, so pick the correct people carefully and get to know them and their approach slowly.
Follow them and their postings on their blog and social media before approaching them. Like or share their postings, and whenever possible, provide thoughtful comments.
The stuff that the influencer publishes should actually appeal to you.
If it does, it will be clear that you are genuinely interested in them and their content. Conversations will become more natural and interesting rather than forced.
Influencers are more likely to want to return the favor as you gradually add value to the relationship.
When you contact the influencer to ask that they endorse your company or incorporate your material on their existing site, they will already know who you are and that you are in a similar niche.
They'll also notice that you've been engaging with them in a non-obtrusive, non-demanding manner and that your business has something to offer their target market.
4. Get the influencer involved in your strategy
You'll reach a moment when you're ready to approach the influencer to assist you to advertise your brand as your relationship with them develops.
This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. You might offer to write material for their blog or ask to be profiled or interviewed on their podcast by the influencer.
The influencer should constantly be involved in your brand marketing strategy and execution.
While you may be wary of advice that deviates from your initial plan, keep an open mind about the influencer's vast knowledge.
For instance, the influencer could radically alter a guest blog post you published for their website. Keep in mind that they already know their target demographic and what works for them.
They understand when and how to promote content in order to get the optimum response from their target audience.
Because this is what their audience has come to expect, content created by the influencer for their own blog to discuss your business must be written in their own voice and style.
Don't try to stop someone from being honest and detailed in their review of one of your products if they're writing one.
Allow influencers to be involved in, and even help determine, the plan for promoting your brand and increasing your exposure.
Pay attention to what they say. The audience already has faith in them and has a clear understanding of what will benefit you the greatest.
5. Take a spam check for your emails
Many of your requests will land up in the spam filter of the influencer you're contacting, whether you like it or not. Even well-known businesses get caught in the spam filter.
So, how do you spot spamming tendencies?
There are seven major blunders that many people who tap into an influencer's audience make:
- There will be no "1-2 punch."
- There was no follow-up or there were too few emails.
- There are far too many emails.
- Having a vague request (or none at all)
- Taking a one-size-fits-all strategy.
- There is no obvious goal.
- The association was not quantified.
These blunders will send your pitch straight to the spam folder or trash can of your influencer. There is, thankfully, still hope.
There are three effective techniques to affect the outcome of your email marketing and reach your targeted influencers.
- Change your perspective. Rather than using this as a networking opportunity, strive to establish a friendship.
- Make an effort to go above and beyond what your influencer is likely to expect.
- Investigate why they didn't respond or declined your request. This will assist you in improving your angle for the future.
If you feel you've ended up in the spam bin or are simply being ignored, you may need to start over.
While this isn't the ideal solution, it's preferable than launching a low-value project with insufficient resources.
6. Prepare for rejection
Despite how lovely and to-the-point your emails are, most people just don’t respond. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to contact those who haven't responded.
The point is that influencers receive so many emails on a daily basis that your fantastic offer may seem to get lost in the shuffle.
So, what do you do in this situation?
You can either schedule a follow-up email and hope for the best, or try contacting them through other ways. You can take advantage of Twitter or other social media!
The ultimate goal is to get an influencer on board for your project, and persistence is the key to that.
7. Distribute your content to the right platforms
You can't just generate amazing content with the support of your influencers and then not use it in the most effective ways imaginable.
That is a complete waste of time and money for everyone involved.
So, how do you distribute your content? It is debatable.
Blogs and Facebook, according to Tomoson, are the best sites to post influencer material.
However, as you can see, there are other platforms that have shown to be effective with influencer campaigns.
It’s suggested that the B2B players in influencer outreach should put LinkedIn at the top of their list, as it's quickly becoming a market leader.
You can also use a hashtag research tool to find other methods to utilize your content by researching hashtags that are relevant to your target audience.
Overall, we recommend doing some research to determine where you should be posting based on your topic, audience, and influencer audiences. The more information you have, the better your outcomes will be.
8. Measure your results
It's easy to get caught up in vanity metrics like likes and comments when launching an influencer campaign.
You could be impressed by the sheer number of likes that your influencer can rack up if they have a far greater following than you.
However, in order to assess a campaign's effectiveness, you must first comprehend its worth in terms of ROI.
One technique to track the visitors an influencer provides to your website is to use UTM parameters. They can also assist in determining the level of involvement received by the campaign.
You'll get a clear image of the results if you provide each influencer their own unique link with UTM codes. You may then calculate the effect on your bottom line.
Another simple way to track the sales that influencers send your way is to give them their own discount or promo code.
You'll get insights for both feed and stories posts if you use the branded content tools on Facebook and Instagram for your influencer campaigns. These can be accessed using Facebook Business Manager.
You might also ask the influencer to offer you detailed information on their post's reach and interaction levels.
Conclusion
If you've ever had any reservations about reaching out to influencers, we hope you're starting to see the benefits now.
Influencer marketing will assist you in forming new and stronger relationships with people who can be your best companion in expanding your specialization.
These individuals can also assist you in identifying additional potential clients who would benefit from your products and/or services.
You'll be able to successfully tap into the incredible benefits of influencer marketing by developing rich and high-value content that deserves to be read and shared by creating the right project and finding the best influencers.
While you work on your influencer outreach campaign, it’s necessary that you keep marketing automation tools at your disposal, that can assist you in bringing in the most revenue and making the campaign a huge success.
Reaching out to influencers can also be useful to you in creating substantial, high-value material that your target audience will really read. Don't dismiss the clear indicators that influencer marketing is super effective.
About the Author:
Raaquib Pathan is a content marketing specialist having expertise in providing insights into the latest sales and marketing trends. Honing his skills in SEO coupled with content marketing, he helps brands increase their reach and dominate search results. You can connect with him on Linkedin.