Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that has become increasingly popular among businesses for spreading brand awareness. Think of influencer marketing as being comparable to seeing a soda brand or car model in a movie or TV show i.e. product placement.

If used correctly, this form of marketing can be extremely useful, in particular for small or young businesses. A great example of this is fitness apparel brand Gymshark, who built an empire that is soon to rival big names such as Nike and Adidas though the power of influencer marketing. It is the perfect tool for immediate exposure, and to help you get started, we put together a guide on how to implement influencer marketing as part of your marketing strategy:

The What

Influencer marketing in its simplest form is about utilising an influencer’s social media following to endorse your product or service. This is usually done through a paid partnership or, in the case of small to medium businesses, free samples of the businesses offering. The benefit lies in the organic growth and following of the social media influencer who will be promoting your product. They have put in the man hours to build a community of followers who trust and respect their judgement. Putting your product in their hand offers exposure to thousands of people who may not have found you otherwise, as well as being a positive review coming from what they deem to be a reliable source.

There is also a legal side to influencer marketing that businesses need to be wary of. In fact there is an entire Influencer’s Guide from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). Influencers have a lot of social power and, so as not to mislead consumers, they must clearly identify what is a paid partnership or sponsored content. 

The Who

As you may have gathered, the significantly more important part of ‘influencer marketing’ is the influencer. An influencer can be defined in many different ways. Essentially, they are early adopters, who have a large social media following (across any or all platforms), they are well connected and impactful, and exert a certain level of influence over their following.

Mostly, influencers are seen to be experts in their niche areas. Fashion, beauty, travel, health and fitness and parenting are among some of the most popular categories for social media influencers. In order to gain the most from your influencer marketing, you should be reaching out to influencers who will view your product/service as being ‘on brand’. For example, a skin care brand is likely to see a higher response targeting beauty or lifestyle influencers than say food or travel. Even though those types of influencers will likely use and need these kinds of products as well, it isn’t what their followers signed up to see. 

Typically, an influencer will have a following of 100k or more and are classed as Macro-influencers. This level of influencer is great for guaranteed exposure and reaching a broad demographic. However, there has been a recent shift in the social media landscape which has seen the rise of the Micro and Nano influencers. Micro (1,000 – 100,000 followers) and Nano (less than 1,000) are seen as more relatable and tend to build stronger relationships with their following. They have the friends and family appeal, similar to larger scale word-of-mouth marketing.

Choosing the right level of influencer for your brand shouldn’t be too difficult depending on what your goals are. Just be sure not to base the success of the partnership on the number of followers and you might see the best results from teaming up with a range of influencers with varied following counts.

The How

So now that you understand what influencer marketing is and who you need to get in touch with, one question remains. How do I get an influencer on board with my brand? To oversimplify, you ask!

There is a method of course, as with many aspects of business – sourcing funding, gaining a new client – you will be pitching the brand to the influencer. And as with the other areas, this too will be saturated, popular influencers will be regularly contacted to promote businesses, so you need to make yourself stand out.

Here are a few top tips to keep in mind when pitching to influencers:

• Focus on your goals when choosing influencers. What are you trying to achieve? This will determine the level of influencer you go for.

• Do your research – This is extremely important for Micro/Nano influencers – does your business align with their values? They won’t be willing to sell a brand they don’t believe in.

• Personalise your pitches. You may be reaching out to more than one but don’t copy and paste a mass email. Take the time to make each email specific to the influencer you are contacting.

• Don’t brag. I know you will want to sell your business to them but try not to brag about how great an opportunity for them this will be when in fact it’s your business who will benefit most. Also, as mentioned, it’s a pretty popular concept, so you’re likely one of many who’ve reached out.