As a brand looking to grow your audience and customer base, you are likely on the lookout for a myriad of strategies to help you reach your goals. And in today’s digital hungry world, many brands are turning to digital marketing to reach a broader audience. One such method is utilising the help of social influencers.
In an era where our smartphones are never far from our hands, our eyes are constantly glued to our screens, and our thirst for content to consume grows daily. This is where the key opinion leader (KOL) marketing strategy has proven to be a tried and tested method to reach a global audience.
However, it is not just picking the most popular social influencer to promote your brand and calling it a day. You have to ensure the content creator you are working with embodies your company’s values. Once you have found your ideal social influencer, it is vital that you have a good professional relationship with them to guarantee a successful partnership. On that note, let us share five tips on how you can establish the ideal collaboration with your chosen influencer.
Tip #1: Demonstrate that you share similar values
When working with social influencers, you should understand that their career choice is also their passion. As such, you have to ensure your values align with what they do and what they want to do in the future to establish a good connection with them. When you share similar values with your influencer of choice, it helps you connect with them on a deeper level, making it easier to establish a long-term relationship.
Tip #2: Be transparent and straightforward
When you are working with external parties to help you market your brand, you need to practise communicating your objectives as clearly as possible. Let the social influencer know your main goal – are you planning to generate more sales, or do you want to widen your market reach?
When you are transparent and straightforward with your chosen content creator, it will aid them in putting out the best content for your brand, which is a win-win for both parties. Undefined goals and objectives will only obfuscate your messaging, leading to disappointing results.
Tip #3: Recognise their efforts with accolades
One of the best ways to establish a successful partnership with your influencer is by compensating them with extra perks. For instance, if you are a cosmetic company, perhaps you can consider giving the influencers you have worked with a set of your latest products.
Even if you are not engaging them to promote your latest products, giving free samples helps to establish a positive relationship. After all, who doesn’t love freebies? Furthermore, these influencers may be overjoyed to receive the freebie, prompting them to share the product and experience with their followers, allowing you to market your product at no extra cost.
Tip #4: Develop common goals
A collaborative strategy, in which both parties set goals to measure their progress, has consistently proven to be successful. This way, the messaging from your influencer will come through more naturally since both parties have a stronger relationship due to the collaborative nature of the partnership. This also helps you gauge an influencer’s potential by their willingness to regard the connection as a partnership rather than just another paid placement.
Tip #5: Build mutual collaboration
When partnering with influencers, you should prioritise their growth just as much as you want them to prioritise your marketing goals. It is a give-and-take scenario. As such, it is essential that once they upload their promotional content for your brand on their social media platforms, you should also reciprocate the favour by posting on your social media accounts too.
This way, both parties are helping each other increase their reach and promote each other to new audiences. Doing so will strengthen your professional relationship with your chosen influencer and encourage growth for both parties.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, influencer marketing has helped many businesses and brands from various sectors reach their target audience. However, the success of your influencer partnership relies on how both parties work as a team.
Therefore, it is crucial for you to take a long-term view of this partnership and to ensure you establish a fruitful professional relationship with your chosen social influencer. Hopefully, the tips we have shared can help you accomplish that so that you are ready to take the digital marketing world by storm!
