How to Setup Partnerships with Social Influencers

Consider the 3Rs of Influence

Influencer marketing has developed over the past years significantly. Over time, it has become one of the most effective social media marketing strategies. The reason is that word of mouth in marketing is powerful, especially when it comes from a trusted source.

Having zeroed in on a potential social influencer, you should take the next step of making it official. The big question remains, how will you do that?

Social influencer marketing can be quite tricky, as it requires you to build a relationship. Below are some of the tips that can help you set up a long-lasting partnership with social influencers.

• Consider the 3Rs of Influence

A functional influencer encompasses three components. They include relevance, reach, and resonance. Starting with relevance, your potential influencer should be majored on content relevant to your niche. They should have an audience aligned to your target market.

Reach, as the second component, means that the influencer should have a substantial number of followers. With a good following, any information passed on by the influencer will reach a big group. Resonance describes the potential level of engagement that the influencer can create with an audience that is relevant to your niche.

With all the components, bigger isn’t better. Whereas your potential influencer may have thousands of followers, it could be meaningless if the followers aren’t interested in your products and services. A small following can be powerful if they suit your niche.

• Identify the Potential Influencer’s Audience

You should do a thorough background check to ascertain the type of audience the potential influencer has. This is a good way of determining if your influencer is a good fit for your brand. This will help you learn who you are approaching, who they are interacting with and the demographics they attract. You should also be able to tell if the followers are organic or if many are social media bots.

Once you are confident with your research, build a personal message revolving around the followers of your influencer. In the message, explain what the audience will benefit from the partnership. Remember that influencers prioritize their audience’s interest, and wouldn’t participate or commit to a partnership that isn’t authentic.

• Clearly State Your Expectations

Influencers are certainly busy and get approached by several brands. To build an effective partnership, you should be clear with the expectations of your relationship from the start. Inquire on the type of relationship they want. Among the details of your negotiations should include;

• The number of content pieces you expect over time
• How you intend to use their content and with which channels
• What call to actions the influencer should use
• Captions and campaign tags to be used

     • Give an Outstanding Offer

As mentioned before, social media influencers receive a lot of offers from competing brands. As a result, getting attention can be challenging, especially if you are still a startup company. With a huge following, they would want to be recognized and associated with big brands.

Therefore, before reaching out directly and asking for a transactional partnership, begin by establishing a relationship. Interact with their content, tag them in your posts and share their post just to make them notice your presence. This is a great way to have your name recognized such that by the time you would be making your next step, they will be a little familiar with your brand.

• Plan Your Budget

Influencers with a significant following expect to be compensated for their work. Free sample products might convince nano-influencers, but a constructive influencer campaign needs a budget.

You should think about the kind of payment that will make sense to your potential influencer. When doing this, take the needs of the influencer into consideration. For instance, a commission structure can be a good option instead of paying a flat fee. Several factors affect influencer pricing. Among them include usage rights, production fees, agency fees, campaign length, exclusivity, brand fit, and timing.

• Reach Out

This is the actualization stage of establishing partnerships with social influencers. For many, a direct message is the best place to begin. If you can find the influencer’s email address, you can use it. Most brands that fail to establish partnerships send the same message to all potential influencers.

However, you should take time to craft a personal message to each influencer if you are serious with establishing a partnership. This increases the chances of striking a deal. Make it easier for the influencer to identify your brand by providing as much information as you can. Inform them of what your brand is about, what you expect and how they will benefit from the collaboration.

• Don’t Limit Influencer’s Creativity

All social media influencers are expert content creators. While working with your brand, they wouldn’t accept a deal that makes their brand appear inconsistent. Therefore, allow them space to showcase their marketing skills. To understand this, it is prudent if you check their previous collaborations to benchmark how their sponsored content was crafted.

Keep in mind that the influencers are their own authority tasked with their social media following. They know what works for their audience and what won’t. Social media audience are fragile and can easily note when something feels forced and unnatural. Therefore, let the influencer do his/her work and observe the results. However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t set guidelines that will restrict your partnership.

• Keep the Influencer in the Loop

Before working with an influencer, you should have your own marketing goals and objectives. As you establish your partnership, outline what you want to achieve and how you will measure the campaign’s success. This will help your influencer refine their marketing approach based on your goals.

Make it clear to them if you are looking for someone to raise brand awareness, grow your following or convert for sales. Once the partnership is alive and running, give some feedback to the influencer on how their efforts are reflecting. If the campaign isn’t getting any traction, let them know so that they can change their mode of marketing.

Conclusion

Setting up an effective partnership with a social influencer isn’t easy. To achieve this, you ought to communicate your goals, expectations, and progress. This will not only enable the influencer to create authentic content but also reach a new audience and new customers.

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