How To Grow Your Online Business Through Influencer Marketing

For many brands of all sizes, influencer marketing is an integral part of their advertising. In the age of social media, the best way to reach potential new customers is through people and accounts they already trust. According to Single Grain, more than eighty percent of advertisers who use influencer marketing consider it effective.

You don’t need a well-known brand or a huge marketing budget to increase your sales through influencer marketing. In fact, any online business, from personal Etsy shops to major media outlets, can grow through influencer marketing.

Start by researching the influencers your target audience loves.

In order to reach your target audience through influencer marketing, you must find out what kind of influencers reach that target audience. There are several ways to conduct this kind of research.

First, make a list of the influencers companies similar to yours have worked with. Look at brands of varying sizes and the kinds of campaigns they do. For example, if a major makeup brand is creating a palette with a huge beauty influencer, you may follow their lead and offer a smaller influencer the chance to name a lipstick from your indie beauty brand.

You can also go directly to the source—your online following. Post a tweet to ask what influencers they enjoy watching. You can make the specifications as broad or as specific as you’d like. Then, research the most-suggested influencers, their audience sizes, and other influencers similar to them.

If you want more organized results, however, you may consider conducting a focus group. If you’re the owner of a small, independent business, informally ask friends who fall into your target audience about the influencers they follow. Alternatively, if you have the resources available, have your marketing team conduct a more formal focus group with volunteers.

When you’ve determined which influencers you’d like to work with, find their contact information. Check their social media bios and video descriptions for business email addresses.

Set a reasonable budget.

Your social media marketing budget should make up a part of your overall marketing budget, but don’t risk your entire budget on a single campaign. Establish a reasonable percentage based on an estimate of the influencers’ fees, product samples, and any other expenses the campaign may incur.

Consider how much you’re willing to pay an influencer to work with your brand. If you’re starting small by only sending sample products, how much time and money will it take to create those products?

Your budget will help determine which influencers are willing to work with your brand. The more experienced they are, the higher their fees are likely to be. However, if you budget for a smaller influencer with a more niche audience, then you may be able to grow your working relationship with that influencer as his or her audience grows.

Draw up a basic proposal and contract.

Because influencer marketing is part of your company’s advertising strategy, there must be contracts in place. Drawing up a contract will protect both your brand and any influencers involved. Having a basic contract ready to modify for individual influencers makes the process easier and more professional.

However, before you start reaching out to influencers about contracts, have a basic proposal in place as well. Describe the campaign you have in mind, your target audience, and how much you’re willing to pay. For each influencer, tailor the proposal to describe why you chose to work with that particular person.

Recruit brand reps through social media.

Recruiting a few brand reps is a good way to start your social media marketing campaign. Make a post on your company’s Instagram page with the details influencers need to apply.

In the post below, an online candle and tea company invited book-loving influencers to apply as brand reps.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Wick and Fable Rep Search: OPEN 🌟 Surprise!!! 🙈 It’s finally that time again and we’ll be hosting our winter rep search to add on a few candle reps. But first, thank you to all of my amazing and wonderful reps we’ve had this year! Find out below for all the details on how to enter! . . ➖ Open Internationally 🌎 ➖ Rep Search will be open from 11/14/18 – 12/3/18 ➖ Reps will be announced during the week of December 10th 🌟 WHAT YOU’LL RECEIVE: ➖ 2 Candles per month or ➖ 25% off on your own personal orders ➖ Your own exclusive discount code to share with your followers 🌟 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: ➖ Individuals who love our products that are interested in helping us promote and grow our brand. ➖ Must be an active bookstagram account with clear content; follower count is not taken into consideration and we’re mainly looking for those who take creative and unique photos. ➖ At least 4 clear photos per month (once a week) featuring our products. ➖ Provide our exclusive discount code in your bio and include them in any photos of our products. ➖ Share and mention our current promotion/sales as well as new releases in any of your photos featuring our products. 🌟 HOW TO ENTER: ➖ Must be following @wickandfable ➖ Tag 3 friends, candle lovers, book lovers or anyone else that you think may want to enter our rep search. ➖ Repost this photo with the tag #wfrepsearch5 and tell us why you would like to be our rep and anything else you might want to include.💖 If you’re not in the US, please make sure to include which country you’re from. 🌟 Have fun and good luck! We’re really looking forward to reading through all of your entries, and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out! . . 📷: Photo by @bibliophilealley #wickandfable #wfrepsearch5 #repsearch #bookstagram #bookmerch #bookcandle #booklover #bookcandles #bookish #bookishcandles #bookishbox

A post shared by Wick and Fable (@wickandfable) on

After your application deadline closes, sort through the entries with your team. Consider each candidate’s audience size, personal style, and interests when making your final decision. In the end, it comes down to who best represents your company and most appeals to your target demographic.

Launch campaigns on Ogila.

If you want to market through sponsored videos but don’t know which influencers you want to reach out to, turn to Ogila. This platform makes it extremely easy to connect with influencers!

You can choose your target audience and set your own budget. Ogila also enables you to monitor real time results.

Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to grow your online business. Start by researching and drawing up a contract.

Interested in getting your YouTube video discovered by masses of targeted fans? Click this link: www.promolta.com

Kristen Harris enjoys listening to a wide range of music, from Taylor Swift to, on occasion, Celtic instrumental. She also spends her time writing, reading, and baking.

1 Comment

Leave a Comment