In an era of adblockers and advertising fatigue, more and more companies are looking for collaboration with relevant influencers, influential people who have a high reputation among their target audience.
Today, influencers can work across a variety of digital channels, from blogs and Youtube to Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Unlike people who are known from other public contexts, an influencer is often someone who has worked hard and consciously to build a relationship with their followers, and someone whose opinion the followers also trust.
We think you can find influencer collaborations in all industries; those people who have a special position. Then it can look very different from industry to industry. In fashion and interior design it may be a relatively young woman with blog and Instagram, while in advanced technology it may be a journalist with a large Linkedin profile. But the basic principle remains, it is a person with a large target group that is relevant to one’s company.
Influencer marketing is not about sending out free samples to a blogger and hoping to be rewritten, but rather about creating collaborations. An influencer who built his profile in a niche area runs a business where they spend time on target group analysis, communication and nurturing the relationship with their readers.
If an influencer writes about a product they like, it creates a higher credibility among the target audience than advertising because it has a close relationship with their followers.
It is the best thing that can happen to a company that the right influencer associates positively with their brand.
For a company, it is important to find influencers to work with who have an influence with the target group the company wants to reach. However, it does not necessarily have to be about finding the person with the highest reach. A micro-influencer is someone with a loyal following, who often works in a niche area.
Today, it is becoming more common for companies to build campaigns around several smaller collaborations with micro-influencers rather than going to the biggest blogs and YouTube stars.
Everything is about context and finding someone who reaches a relevant target group. For a home insurance company, a 14-year-old YouTube star with 100,000 followers may have completely the wrong followers, while an interior blog with 10,000 followers may be just right, with a target audience that is a bit older and cares about their homes. Look at the impact rather than the range in pure numbers.
As a compensation in an influenza collaboration, companies should pay in money and not in products, especially as free samples today should be taxed favorably by the influencer.
When compensating, consideration should be given to the strength of the influencer’s brand, potential impact on the target group and scope. In addition, one should also count on the time it takes for the person to produce the content for the collaboration – photography, editing, writing texts, disseminating in social media and so on.
It is important for companies to do their research and find out which influencers reach the target group the company wants to reach. Then get in touch with a personal offer and explain why you want to collaborate with that particular person. The most boring thing influencers know is getting a copy paste email from someone who has not even checked the influencer’s channels or social media presence.
It’s a person you write to. It is important to be aware that an influencer’s greatest capital is the strength of the brand and its credibility. An influencer is often concerned about who you work with, she continues.
Defining and setting clear goals is then important at the start of a collaboration. It must be measured in more than just clicks and sales of a product, and rather based on the more long-term goal of building a close relationship with its target group. Being seen with someone they see as a friend, and in the long run can lead to conversions.
Influencers are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs. See them as that too. You get paid to write an email and ask the influencer about a collaboration, why shouldn’t the influencer also get paid for the business relationship you are building?
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7 Tips for Finding the Right Influencers
Today, there are a number of different influencer networks you can target to ask questions and get tips on relevant people.
Keep in mind that the influencer has often worked hard to build a relationship with his target group and will be concerned about how a collaboration is designed so as not to lose the confidence of his readers.
Think about collaborating with several smaller influencers, so-called micro-influencers, instead of going to the biggest ones.
Inquire personally about the influencer you want to collaborate with – do your research and explain why you want to collaborate with them.
Think long term in the collaboration – have several steps that can include text, video, pictures, maybe events and co-creations of different kinds.
Remember that all blog collaborations and influencer collaborations under the Marketing Act must be clearly marked with the influencer’s financial gain from mentioning the company. Whether it’s a blog, YouTube, Instagram or other social media.
Set common goals and guidelines for the collaboration so that both the company and the influencer know what the expectations are.
