How to Reach Out to Influencers as a Small Business
Marketing for your small business is not without its challenges. Small marketing budgets that inevitably pair with small businesses can create barriers for effective marketing strategies. One way to market your products is to reach out to influencers, and often you can work with them without a large budget. Here we will discuss how small businesses can work with influencers.Not Just For Big Business
Don’t be under the impression that just because your business is not well known that you cannot work with influencers. Influencer marketing campaigns can give your brand significant exposure to those in your niche. There are many cost-effective ways for small businesses to work with influencers, allowing you to get the exposure that your brand needs, without going over-budget. One strategy often used by several companies is to offer influencers a product or service free of charge. In exchange you can have them create content on Instagram, TikTok, or a blog post.
Find The Right Influencer
When you are considering using influencers to market your product, first compile a list of high quality influencers with an engaged audience who you feel would best represent your brand. They should have a following similar to your target audience. To begin doing this, you can start by going through your followers. This is the perfect way to build a relationship with an influencer. They already have shown interest in your brand, and will be more likely to want to work with you. More importantly, they are more likely to work within your budget. Another method for finding influencers is to search hashtags related to your niche. These are most likely the hashtags you frequently use in your own posts. Keep in mind that everyone has the potential to be an influencer, so finding influencers is easy. Finding the right influencers can be a bit more challenging. If you’d rather get some help rather than going the DIY route, consider working with an influencer marketing agency that has experience sifting through the mountain of potential options and negotiating the best rates. When considering influencers, you will first want to take a look at their follower account. Next you will compare that to their engagement rate, and make a note of the accounts that look good to you. It’s important to note that while going through this process, don’t pay attention solely to numbers. Social media is much more than the number of followers or likes. Take a look at their account’s aesthetic. Would you trust their style to represent your brand? You will also want to take a look at the comments on their posts. Are they responding to questions, or interacting with people engaging on their posts?
Research Their Style
Once you have a list of influencers that you want to reach out to, follow their accounts and get to know their style a bit more. It is more likely that an influencer will work with you if you already follow them, and get to know them before you reach out.Check out Twitter’s guide – The 7 biggest secrets of social media influencersWhen you are ready to reach out to them, write up an email introducing yourself, as well as your business or brand. It helps to make this initial outreach personal. In your email you want to be specific. Describe what kind of collaboration you are looking for, and why you are interested in working with them specifically. Influencers receive many collaboration requests each week, so we can’t stress enough how important it is to make your request as personal, and as positive as possible. Even when going taking these steps it’s possible that you may not hear back, or that they decline your request. But don’t take it personally. There will be someone who wants to work with your brand, you just have to try again.
