Influencer Marketing For Small Businesses

Working with the right influencers can be a great marketing strategy for just about any company. That said, many people also wonder if influencer marketing for small businesses is just as effective.

The short answer: yes. The long answer: only if you have the right strategies in place!

Today we are covering everything you need to know about influencer marketing for small businesses. This includes why it’s important to consider, as well as action-focused tips.

Why Influencer Marketing Matters For Small Businesses

Let’s first cover why you want to take influencer marketing seriously. It can be a great marketing strategy for small businesses, and here are four reasons why:

1) Increased Brand Visibility

Small businesses usually don’t have a huge audience to start with. Depending on what you sell, this can be detrimental to how much revenue you are able to generate. That’s why anything that increases brand visibility is a strategy to be considered. Influencer marketing fits the bill: by tapping into an influencer’s audience, you are able to gain exposure to new potential customers.

2) Authenticity And Trust

Influencers often have a loyal and engaged following who trust their recommendations. If you work at a small business with limited market control, this trust can be a huge asset. Partner with the right influencer, and you have found an effective way to build trust and credibility for all your future actions. 

3) Targeted Reach

Depending on the industry, finding the right customers can be quite difficult for a small business. Perhaps you sell products that most people simply aren’t interested in. Or maybe the services you provide appeal to only a very specific audience. With solid influencer marketing, this ceases to be a problem. Many influencers have niche-specific audiences – you just need to find the right ones to work with.

4) Cost-Effective Advertising

This is perhaps the biggest benefit of all. The fact is, advertising online can be a great way to find your audience, convert leads to customers, and increase revenue. Unfortunately, small businesses usually don’t have a ton of money to do it. Compared to traditional advertising channels, influencer marketing can offer a higher return on investment.

3 Steps To Influencer Marketing For Small Businesses

Below you will find the three-step process we recommend for influencer marketing if you work for a small business. We have broken down each step into specific tips.

Follow these and you will maximize your chances for effective campaigns.

Find The Right Influencers

Finding the right kind of influencer for your marketing campaign is the first (and absolutely essential) step for small businesses. Fail here and nothing else matters.

When selecting influencers to partner with, small businesses should consider the following factors:

• Relevance to your audience. What are your brand values? What about the typical demographics of your audience? Look for influencers whose content aligns with these for maximum effect.
• Engagement and authenticity. It’s not enough for an influencer to have a large audience. More important is the level of overall engagement. Prioritize influencers who have an engaged and authentic following, as this indicates a higher level of trust and influence.
• Content quality. It goes without saying, but the influencers you seek out should have a solid collection of quality content. This is one of the most guaranteed signs that this specific influencer aligns with your brand standards. It’s also a good indication that whatever campaigns you create with them will resonate with your audience.

Build Relationships With Influencers

Once you’ve identified potential partners, you need to build relationships with them. This is how you increase the likelihood that they actually want to work with you. 

The name of the game here is prioritizing mutually beneficial relationships. Both parties should benefit from any potential partnership. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you go about building a relationship with them:

• Personalized outreach. Nobody wants to get a cookie cutter email that was clearly sent to hundreds of other people. We have all been on the receiving end of that, and it’s never great! When contacting influencers, send personalized messages that demonstrate your genuine interest in collaborating with them.
• Provide value. You should be offering influencers something of value right off the bat. That’s how you will get them interested in running a campaign with you. As for what you actually give them? This could be anything from exclusive access to your products or services, to actual compensation for their time and expertise. This will depend on your available budget.
• Quick and clear communication. When reaching out to potential partners, you need to ensure that your communication is top notch. Prioritize this kind of communication, and influencers know they are working with a professional. Be clear about campaign objectives, expectations, and deliverables straight from the start. This ensures a good relationship if you do decide to work together. 

Create Compelling Influencer Campaigns

Once you have sought out and communicated with influencers, you will start to get responses. While some of them might not want to run a campaign with you, it’s likely you get at least a few expressions of interest.

After you have agreed to terms, it’s time to run your campaign. Here are tips to follow for your greatest odds of success:

• Develop engaging content. Good content marketing is always important, but even more so with paid campaigns. Make sure that whatever content you are creating for your campaign, it both resonates with your audience and clearly communicates your value proposition.
• Track and measure performance. You can’t improve what you don’t measure. This is why it’s so important to monitor the performance of your influencer campaigns. This will require the use of various tools. Key here is getting a read on key metrics like overall reach, engagement, and conversion rates.
• Adapt and iterate. Influencer marketing for small businesses is not “set it and forget it.” Rather, successful campaigns require continuous iteration. You might consider A/B testing here. This is how you get an idea of what works, what resonates with your audience, and what you should be changing!

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