For a small business, it takes more than just traditional marketing to get people to visit your store. We’ve come to a time where trusting another person’s opinion is more powerful than any billboard.
Enter influencer marketing: where focus is placed on a specific key individual rather than the target market as a whole. These influencers have a large online fan base and their audience trust them more than any other marketing tactic.
Data from influencer marketing platform MuseFind shows that 92% of consumers trust an influencer more than an advertisement or traditional celebrity endorsement.
As the number of online influencers continue to rise, here are three tips to get you started.
1. Identify the right influencers
Create a list of influencers who will best engage with your target audience and live locally. If you provide fashion, food/drink or home services, you are in luck as the majority of local influencers focus on these industries.
Depending on your budget, you can ask a digital marketing expert to help or go through the top social networks to discover potential local influencers. Also, services like FameBit allow you to reach out to specific influencers in your market to tweet, share and snap.
2. Reach out to the influencers
Once you establish your list, reach out and get the conversation started. It’s important to introduce yourself and your company plus describe your goals for the partnership. Small businesses tend to provide two different types of compensation: a product/service at a discounted (or free) rate or a payment. Keep your email personal and make sure to not have it sound automated.
Expect to get some “no’s” and politely respond back thanking them for their time. Don’t take it personal and who knows, you may reconnect with them at a later date for a different campaign. When you start getting some “yes’s” in your inbox, keep the conversation going to discuss next steps for your sponsored content.
3. Follow through a strategy
When the agreement is made between you and the influencer, provide them with the appropriate copy, links and any other information that might be beneficial to their post/s. If you are looking for visual marketing, never provide them with an image or video. Rather, have them come in and experience the food or service and chronicle it to their audience.
A few great examples of local influencers in the Indianapolis market would be @EatHereIndy (food) and @TwoTwentyOne (home services). They do an amazing job showcasing dishes or products visually and link back to their appropriate local partner.
Analyze the traction that the sponsored content creates or reach out to consumers that comment or share it. Give it a few days and contact the influencer to get final stats and how they thought the campaign went.
Conclusion
According to the Tomoson Influencer Marketing Study, for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, small businesses typically earn $6.50. The top 13% are earning $20 or more. You cannot overlook this valuable opportunity.
Whether it is a blog post, video, or image, the content will benefit your SEO as potential customers search your small business online. Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing online customer acquisition channel, so get in the driver’s seat and connect!
Create. Consume. Convert.
At Peak XV Marketing, an Indianapolis-based digital agency, our number one goal is to create a plan to help your business digitally own your neighborhood. We help pick the best digital marketing options for people to easily consume on online. When all the parts come together, you will have an effective digital marketing strategy without breaking the bank and see new customers convert.