What is an Influencer?
Influencers are technically anyone with a lot of influence on your target audience. Influencers can be athletes and celebrities , but it is more common to refer to social media influencers. Their job is to engage, attract and retain as many followers as they can.
Influencers with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers can reach a large audience in one post. It’s likely that this audience has some overlap with yours. A influencer campaign that involves the biggest names in social media can result in growth rates so fast you cannot keep up. For smaller businesses, micro-influencers are more beneficial. They reach audiences of 1,000 to 10,000.
How to find influencers for your small business
It’s not difficult to find influencers – there are millions of them on every social networking website. It’s finding the rightinfluencers who can represent your company that is difficult. It’s important that their voice matches your marketing strategy. Each influencer has developed a brand voice in order to appeal to their target audience. Here are some tips to help you find the best influencers.
1. Take a look at your own social media followers
You may already have a following if you have been actively cultivating your presence on social media. Finding influencers is one of the easiest ways for a small business to grow. Browse your followers to find micro-influencers. Check their profiles and determine if they share your interests and voice. You can then ask them to join your influencer campaign.
2. You can find the best influencers for your business.
You should first determine the type of influencers that are right for your brand before you start contacting them. It’s worth investing in the right people to promote your company. These are those who share your mission and values. The wronginfluencer, someone controversial or whose values do not align with your company, could harm the reputation of your business.
Influencers are social media personalities. It’s important to know what you are looking for before you start your search. You should also try to determine how many followers the influencer would ideally reach. Others can create engaging content with as little as 1,000 followers, while some have an audience of more than 1 million. How many people do you want to be engaged by your influencer campaign?
3. Search with third-party tools
There are some tools you can use if your social media presence is not a priority or if you do not have followers who fit the audience size you want. Buzzsumo (r) and Followerwonk (r) are services that can search through social media profiles to find those who match your business. You can sort the results by engagement rate, follower count and other metrics.
4. Find bloggers by searching for keywords relevant to your niche
blogs are a great marketing tool that should not be ignored by businesses. If you give search engine optimization (SEO), a priority when writing your blog posts, you can expect to see long-lasting effects. Paid content or having an influencer write about your brand in their blog can help you reach more people because Google(r), which can identify certain keywords, will recognize the post as authoritative.
Your website’s traffic can increase exponentially if your company is listed on the first page of Google search results for a relevant keyword. The first step to finding the right blog is to search for relevant keywords to your business. You can then find blogs that are similar. You can then determine which blogs have the most followers in order to maximize your marketing budget.
5. Find video creators who work in your field on YouTube
YouTube(r) has also become a hub for influencers. However, YouTubers don’t have the same impact as social media influencers. One of the reasons is that their content is predominantly video-based. This can lead to a more engaged and interested audience. YouTube has a user base that is just as large as Google(r) and Facebook(r). You may gain access to a large audience if you contact YouTube influencers. Search for keywords that are relevant to your business, and then click through to find influencers that fit your brand.
6. LinkedIn is a great place to find influencers.
LinkedIn(r), with its focus on professionals, is often overlooked by businesses as a potential source of influencers. It’s a social media network and has many influencers who are likely to attract a large audience.
Find an influencer who is suitable for your business on LinkedIn can be similar to searching on other sites, but they may not refer to themselves as influencers. You may want to broaden your search if you are not able to find the right person. This includes content creators, bloggers, and YouTubers.
7. Make a good impression
Many business owners look for influencers who can promote their brands. If you want to make sure that your message doesn’t end up in the inbox of an influencer, familiarize yourself first with their content. This will allow you to personalize and describe how your brand could appeal directly to their audience.
8. Find influencers by using relevant hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to sort through content and find people who can help promote your business. They will show you the most popular posts in the category that is relevant to you. You can use them to find influencers who have the right followers and content.
9. Influencers are real people.
Influencers are no exception. You can usually find real-life events to meet some of the biggest names in your field and possibly strike a deal with a brand. Face-to-face is often the best way to convince someone to promote your brand.
Working with influencers has many benefits
Influencer campaigns offer several distinct advantages over other forms of marketing. These results are not exhaustive or certain, but they can give you an idea of what to expect.
Brand awareness
Influencers are able to reach millions of people in a single post. This means that your sponsored content will be seen by a wide audience. By casting a large net, you can increase your chances of finding customers interested in your product or service.
Direct engagement with a highly targeted audience
Marketing is a very expensive business. A lot of money goes into finding the correct audience before marketing begins. This is because if you are going after the wrong audience, it’s unlikely that the engagement will be enough to justify your investment. When you find an influential person in your industry, you can expect a relevant and engaged audience from the start.
Increase audience engagement
Every day, your audience is likely to see sponsored content and ads from a variety of companies. Influencers can help you to cut through the noise and engage your audience. Influencer content is often accompanied by a personality, so people feel more like they are interacting with a person they trust and know rather than an advertisement.
Brand authenticity is important
Influencers have a strong relationship with their audience, and they are often listened to when they recommend products. When they promote your brand to their audience, you will likely appear more credible. You’ll have to maintain that trust even after you make the purchase. However, an influencer will often be able to help you get in the door.
Return on Marketing Investment
Influencer marketing is a great way to save money. It can connect you instantly with a large audience, often without the need for formal market research. Sponsored content can have a huge impact if the followers of an influencer are already interested in your field. If you choose the right influencers for your marketing, you can attract more customers at lower costs.
SmartBiz (r) can help you fund your influencer campaigns.
When done correctly, influencer marketing can help you grow your business and increase your sales. How will you finance your influencer campaign? Sponsorships can cost anything from a few hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the influencer and their content. Small businesses may find it difficult to cover this expense. However, there are loan options available that could help.
SmartBiz will help you locate these loans. Find out if you are pre-qualified* to receive a loan.
