Are you a business owner or brand looking to reach new audiences, increase brand awareness and boost your marketing ROI?
Then today’s Blog Your Way to a Business Profit Podcast topic Micro Influencer Marketing Campaign Tips might be for you!
Influencer marketing is a strategy that has been used by businesses to promote their products and services by partnering with popular social media users or bloggers. Influencers usually have a large, engaged audience that brands can tap into to build credibility and even drive sales.
When you see products promoted by major celebrities, such as Chris Rock promoting the latest Apple iPhone or DJ Kahlid talking about Geico that’s influencer marketing.
Now some of us may not be heavy hitters like these celebrities, we are however, bloggers and/or micro influencers, who are running a business so we must be treated as such.
I recently had several brands reach out to me with requests to promote their products, some were worth it, others, not so much!
This is why I wanted to re-address this topic which you can listen on a previous podcast episode as well as invite you to read a previous blog post that I wrote in 2019. As we approach the holiday season, it is once again a hot topic for many business owners as well as major companies all over the world who are looking to engage with influencers to help them promote their products and services.
When I started blogging in 2012, DeDivahDeals.com Fashion and Fun after Fifty I had many opportunities to work with major brands such as Verizon Wireless, Jennie-O Turkey, Walmart, Mitsubishi, L’Oreal and others. So when I found an article on influencer marketing outreach tips I wanted to share it with you as it can be helpful to business owners looking to engage with bloggers or micro influencers.
Identify the Right Bloggers
With all the bloggers out there, you need to prioritize. Start your blogger outreach effort by engaging with marketing agencies or simply do a Google Blog search. Once you have selected a few bloggers, check to see if the blogger you’re targeting is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or has a podcast or YouTube channel.
Remember, bigger may not always be better, an influential blogger with a huge following may not be interested in covering a small business so don’t overlook smaller bloggers who may cover niche topics relevant to your small business, too.
Narrow Your List to No More Than 20 Bloggers
To keep everything manageable, create a list of up to 20 bloggers to initially target. You might start with the smaller, more niche-focused bloggers, or micro-bloggers.
To stay organized and not duplicate your efforts, keep track of all communications with your targeted bloggers in an Excel, Google Docs, or other spreadsheet, recording when you contacted them and when or if you received a reply, and so on.
Read their Blogs
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make when reaching out to bloggers is not reading their blogs! Take time to read at least a few months worth of each target blogger’s posts, to get a sense of their likes and dislikes and tone.
Engage the Blogger in a Conversation
The best way to initiate a dialog and get on the radar with a blogger is to add thoughtful, useful comments to their posts. Most bloggers read and respond to the comments others leave for them.
Consider emailing the blogger helpful information, story ideas, statistics, news in your industry anything that’s not an overt sales pitch.
For best results, make sure the email subject heading is specific and intriguing and not addressed “Dear Blogger” or “Hey DelBlogger”
Maintain the Relationship
Once you’ve established a good relationship with a blogger, keep the dialog going. You can reach out with story ideas and anything else the blogger might find useful. Continue reading your target bloggers’ posts, so you can stay up to date on changes in their interests and topics.
A successful blogger outreach is just like any type of business networking, be genuine and authentic. Know your messaging and differentiation, and most importantly, think about how you can help the blogger, rather than staying focused on what they can do for you.
In addition, learn as much as you can about the bloggers you target. By reading their bios and tweets, you might find some common ground that can serve as an ice breaker.
Partnering with influencers is a number one marketing strategy for many brands. The simple answer to why influencer marketing works includes these benefits:
- Reach a bigger audience
- Build trust for your brand
- Grow your social following
- Increase site traffic
- Get more leads/Drive sales
If you would like a copy of the influence Marketing Checklist – please leave a comment and or send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Influencer Marketing Checklist”
