Getting Influencers On Board with Your Brand

Word of mouth has always been the most powerful way to get a product elevated to a new status. One way to look at working with influencers is that you’re still dealing with word of mouth, only you’re dealing with thousands of ears, all at once, listening to the same mouth. And they tell two people, and they tell two people… and so on. Dealing with influencers is a little more complicated than hiring a street team to do a whisper campaign, of course. You’re putting your brand in the hands of their brand, and through association, you’re changing both brands at the same time. So you have to understand what that change means to you, and how to get the most benefit from it.

There are four main types of influencers you’ll find yourself working with. Each has its own type of content and reach and manner of spreading the word:

• Micro-influencers: Proven to be, statistically, the most effective influencers. Even with lower numbers, their engagement percentages are the highest
• Celebrities: Huge reach, good engagement, and usually an established brand
• Thought leaders: They are all about trust
• Content Creators and Bloggers: Often looking for collaborations and usually okay with payment-in-kind

Here are some ways you can work with influencers.

Launch a Takeover

Put your influencers in the pilot seat. Let them handle your Twitter, or do an AMA alongside your brand. It’s an instant association and shows mutual trust.

Let Them Review Products

Handing over a sample product as payment-in-kind, regardless of the review itself, makes your product seem approachable and even affordable.

Content Sponsorships

This is where you let your influencers shine. They make their regular content, though usually themed to fit your product or brand. This establishes them as someone to watch, and if they’re someone to watch, the person sponsoring them must be a brand to keep an eye on. It’s mutually beneficial.

Ambassadorship

Allowing an influencer to be a brand ambassador, especially for the long-term, is essentially an extended version of sponsored content. More mutual benefit, and more long-term associations. This is a good argument for using multiple influencers, should anyone start sliding away from your desired brand image.

Collaborations

A collaboration is perfect if your brand can enable creation. It looks more personal than a simple ad, and makes it look like your brand is heavily invested in making entertaining content, on top of what you already do.

Competitions

Competitions engage the competitive part of the brain, as well as the part that wants more engagement. They will keep checking in, tweeting, retweeting, liking, and sharing, just to be a part of it and to get something for free.

Finally

Be careful about the influencers you choose, and make sure you choose more than one. Spread it around to see who is the most engaged with your brand. Whomever you choose to work with, give them creative control – the more fun they can have with your brand, the better.