Ever thought about working with a social influencer? There’s the misconception that influencers only work with huge companies like Google or Boots, but that’s simply not the case!
We’ve put a quick beginner’s guide for any small business looking to work with social influencers.
Why partner with a social influencer?
Influencer marketing is just another way for you to use social media to spread awareness of your business, and create some sales!
Influencers can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool because people trust them, especially if they’re popular in a particular niche (e.g. influencers who specialise in beauty, tea, or pets). In fact, 92% of people trust word-of-mouth recommendations! Plus, using an influencer will expose your business to thousands of potential customers who may have never heard of you before.
Do you need to work with influencers?
The short answer is no, you don’t have to work with influencers if you don’t want to! Some small businesses aren’t necessarily a good fit for influencers, or just don’t have the time to reach out to the appropriate people.
However, social influencers are a great marketing option for many different small businesses! Even ones that don’t sell products like food or beauty. No matter what stage your business is at, or what you sell, you can work with an influencer. For example, you could:
- Offer a product in return for a review on their social media platforms
- Be featured in a post listing their favourite small businesses
- Have them promote an event that you’re running
- Offer special discount codes to their followers
- Have them help launch a new product
For example, an influencer could show their followers how to use your products in different ways. Here’s @amandafrederickson demonstrating a fun recipe using Thermomix‘s products:
Our top tips:
Interested in working with a social influencer? Here are five important top tips:
1. Do your research – firstly, it is vital to know who you’d like to work with. While it’s tempting to go with big influencers, this might not be the best option for you. Big influencers will (usually) cost a lot more, and you might not even get the best outcome! We suggest looking at micro-influencers (people with a following of 1000 – 10,000) who are known in your niche. Working with an influencer who already uses your products or services is ideal, because you know that they already support you.
2. Figure out what you’d like to get out of your partnership – it’s also important to go into influencer marketing with an idea of what you’d like to offer, and what you expect in return. Many small businesses will send a product or demo to an influencer, sometimes with a special discount code for them to share with their followers. In return, you can ask for a certain number of posts, stories or images on their social media.
3. Start reaching out – if you’ve found the perfect influencer for you, then get in touch with them! It’s always best to do this via email or DM – not in their comments. Write a short, personalised message to them, and explain why you think you should work together! We suggest reaching out to more than one influencer at a time. They’re in high demand, and may not be able to work with you immediately.
4. Ask questions – it is absolutely ok for you to ask your chosen influencer about their engagement on social media and their follower demographics. With this information, you’ll have a better understanding about how you can work together! You don’t want an influencer to post about you in a list of mother’s day gifts if their niche is men’s fashion and their audience is 90% male.
Here are some of the demographics that they can share with you:
5. Follow all social media rules – finally, you need to make sure that everything your chosen influencer posts is tagged appropriately. Basically, various rules and regulations including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) need all paid advertisements to be clearly displayed. Usually this means that the influencer will need to use #ad and state that they received your product or service in exchange for a review.
Would you work with an influencer? Do you have any questions? Contact me today with any of your questions or comments!
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