How can you start your Influencer Marketing journey?

Discover influencers for your marketing journey by researching your niche on social platforms, analyzing engagement metrics, and identifying authentic content creators. Utilize influencer marketing tools, collaborate with micro-influencers for niche audiences, and assess their alignment with your brand values. Establish relationships, foster genuine connections, and prioritize quality over quantity. Your influencer discovery starts with strategic research and a keen understanding of your target audience! 🌟

With all agreements to the above paragraph. One must really be on the platform where you want to find influencers. Liking the platform is not necessary. But being aware of the trends going on and being on the platform as a part of the overall community always helps. Look at the platform from an observation and research standpoint, As you may stumble upon certain potential creators/influencers. Be active on the platform, engage with creators there, build genuine relations, keep an eye out for content trends. If you can create some posts while you are it, then even better.

It’s important to remember that once you find others in your niche you should refrain from comparing yourself to them. It is very easy to get discouraged when you are only seeing their successes, but you haven’t taken into consideration how long they’ve been working at it. Imposter Syndrome can set in quickly, and derail you from your own success. Remember everyone’s journey as an influencer is different.

Finding the right influencers is probably the most painstacking aspect of influencer marketing and so many people do it wrong. Unfortunately, too many companies are obsessed with numbers and fail to see beyond it. If you check the big companies, you will find their influencer strategy is more targetted - example Rare Beauty - and so, it gets more love and attention from people. Be sure to actually thoroughly research the influencers and make sure they are people who align with your values. Also, we do live in the world of bots- so make sure that you can ensure authenticity of the numbers (simple way to do it is checking the ratios of followers:likes:comments) someone with 300k followers should have more than 10 comments at least!

Spend time on the platforms you are wanting to spend on. Once you find one creator that sparks your interest explore the creators in their community, that they collaborate with etc. I can guarantee discovering the creators you want to work with organically is going to create a more meaningful relationship because you actually become familiar with their content and worlds. When you rely solely on platforms to discover creators you’re missing that human connection touch point

Here is an email that I often send: Name, Your recent content on TOPIC is right up my alley. I really enjoyed the discussion around XYZ. It seems as if we have a similar audience and I am wondering if you are open to a content reach collaboration. I have some ideas I'd like to share with you, would you be open to a quick chat to explore this further? If so, please let me know your preferred way of scheduling. If it happens to be via a calendar link, here is my LINK. Looking forward to chatting.

Reach out to them and try to make time for a quick intro call after discussing budget. Give them the space to share their ideas. Remember they are the creator not you.

Apart from AI tools to determine metrics, try influencer marketing companies like Pulpkey where influencers are selected and finalized by humans after analyzing the content and other reliability with the brand. Finding influencers who are in the growing stage is more fruitful than spending tons of money on mega influencers. Macro influencers always give better results.

Authenticity is a key element in developing content. Content should be real, helpful, or entertaining- or a combination of those things. Plus if you’re passionate about your content that shines through every time.

There are many types of content that can be used in collaboration with an Influencer. Here are a few. 1. Sponsored Posts 2. Giveaways and Contests 3. Product Reviews and Demonstrations 4. LIVE Interviews 5. Affiliate Marketing 6. Co-Created Content 7. Brand Ambassador Programs 8. Exclusive Access or Previews 9. Event Collaboration 10. Storytelling Campaigns 11. Educational Content 12. Challenges 13. Guest Blogging 14. Collaborative Webinars or Workshops 15. Virtual Masterclass 16. Podcast Sponsorship or Guest Appearances

Seamless integration of products without being too salesy is the key goal. Create content where the message is clear to the audience that aligns with the brand without being a straight forward ad that people might scroll within the first 3 seconds and the results are zero even if you have achieved the impressions or views.

Maximize your content's reach by leveraging various channels. Share influencer content through your website, blog, social media, and email lists. Encourage cross-promotion by influencers across platforms, tagging our brand for increased visibility. Consider amplifying impact through paid ads, strategic hashtags, and engaging contests to boost overall visibility and audience engagement.

👥 Connect with others virtually and in person. Start by looking for others in the field by digging through brands or agencies you’re interested in. The worst that can happen is they don’t reply! Next, look up different roles within influencer marketing and jot down key requirements; try cross referencing different roles and highlight which bullets continue to show up on each role. Incorporate that into your current job, or build those skills outside of your 9-5! You can build influencer marketing skills by again, connecting with others and learning their experiences, and an even easier way, taking courses on LinkedIn, Coursera or Google.

For starters - Check if there are any Key Opinion Leaders or Influencers who are close to your audiences and prospects? - If the answer is Yes, understand the use cases of Influencer Marketing in your niche, what kind of investments Brands around you are making on Influencers and Branded Content Once you have that clarity, start with a bunch of test campaigns across objectives to see where Influencers fit in your Marketing Mix. You can scale up/down your investments depending upon the test results. Remember just like the old adage, Influencer Marketing is a marathon and not a sprint.

For initial start what can be done is 》Set goals like life depends on it. Marketing life, at least. 》Know your audience – they're basically your BFFs. 》Hunt for influencers: the cool cats of the internet. 》Slide into DMs after a friendly online flirtation. 》Pitch it like you're selling ice cream on a hot day. 》Negotiate terms – it's not a shady back-alley deal, promise. 》Track results like a detective in a crime thriller. 》Stay legal – nobody likes a marketing outlaw.