How to Create a Killer Influencer Outreach Strategy
This post provides a detailed guide on the best influencer outreach strategies and ways to build long-term brand-influencer relationships.
When done right, influencer marketing can help your brand gain more credibility, increase reach, and acquire new customers. It also helps influencers to gain new followers and build their brands.
However, this totally depends on the influencers you choose to work with. Your selection of influencers can either make or break your influencer marketing campaigns.
That’s why you need to discover influencers who are relevant to your brand and niche. You should look for influencers who are experts in your niche and whose values align with your brand’s voice and messaging.
Once you have created a list of potential influencers, all you need is a strong influencer outreach strategy to get started.
Influencer outreach is where you first reach out to the influencers who seem to be a good fit for your brand. This is your chance to capture their attention and garner their interest in your brand.
Want to reap maximum benefits from your influencer marketing campaigns? It starts with building strong influencer relationships.
Let’s take a look at how you can create a killer influencer outreach strategy for your brand.
1. Find Relevant Influencers
4 out of 10 marketers report that finding the right influencers for their campaigns is a major challenge. But it is extremely important that you identify and collaborate with the right ones.
The influencers you choose to act as a deciding factor for the success of your influencer marketing campaign. When looking for influencers, keep your campaign goals in mind.
Also, analyze and evaluate your potential influencers based on the following factors:
Authenticity
Usually, marketers look for authenticity in the content created by influencers. So, you should pick influencers who create high-quality, authentic content. Their posts should appear to be genuine, not promotional or salesy.
Authentic content will help you win the trust of your target audience.
Activity
Influencers help you develop relationships with your target audience. And it depends on how active an influencer is on social media and how frequently they post.
You should also see that your potential influencer takes the time to engage with their followers. They should respond to comments and interact with your target audience by asking questions or creating polls.
Engagement
It is important that you analyze the engagement rate of your potential influencers. The higher the number of shares, likes, and comments, the higher the engagement rate.
Higher engagement means the influencer has an engaged audience who is interested in their posts. Such an influencer is more likely to get their followers to trust your brand and products.
Expertise
You should not select an influencer who is a jack-or-jane-of-all-trades and the master-of-none. It is important that you choose influencers who are experts in your niche.
It can be quite challenging to find relevant influencers manually.
Platforms like Grin can help you find the right influencers. You can search for influencers who meet your explicit requirements. And use filters like category, reach, and engagement to narrow down the list.
2. Build Personal Connections with Them
Before you reach out to an influencer, it is important to get yourself on their radar. You should interact with them as a person first, and then as a brand.
Here are a few effective ways to connect with your potential influencers and build relationships with them:
Follow and Engage with them on Social Media
You should follow your potential influencers on social media. This will help you understand their values, quality of content, and style in a better way. You’ll also get to know who their loyal audiences are.
Try to engage with their posts. You could comment something thoughtful and meaningful on some of their posts. If you really like a particular post, you can also share it on social media.
Comment on Their Blog Posts
Along with their social media profiles, you should also follow their blog. Whenever you come across a post that is relevant and informative, don’t forget to leave a meaningful comment on it.
But don’t comment anything spammy just to get their attention. This might have a negative impact on your influencer outreach program.
Mention Them in Your Posts
Also, try to mention the influencer or add links to their posts on your blog or social media profiles. When done right, this will have a long-lasting impact on your relationship with the influencer.
3. Draft a Compelling Proposal
Once you have built a personal connection with influencers, it will be much easier to approach them as a brand.
All you need is to draft a compelling, win-win proposal that they can’t deny. When writing your pitch email, consider the following:
- Firstly, introduce yourself and make sure that you refer to some of their recent post or work. Show your admiration for their work and then explain your reason for reaching out to them.
- Ensure that you clearly mention your goals and expectations from the partnership. This will help your potential influencer to understand what they need to deliver.
- Mention what you plan to offer them. Basically, you need to give them a reason to consider your proposal.
- Along with monetary compensation, highlight how the partnership will benefit their personal brand. Talk about how the opportunity is relevant to their niche and expertise.
- And lastly, don’t forget to include a clear call-to-action. Ask your potential influencers to schedule a one-on-one meeting or call to discuss further.
You can use the following email template to start a conversation with your potential influencers.
Hi [Name],
I am [your name] from [company’s name]. I have been following your blog for the past [realistic duration]. And I really appreciate the time you take to craft each of your posts.
I loved your recent post about [blog topic]. It included insights that can provide great value to my audience, so I have shared it with my social media followers.
I’m reaching out to you to check if we could collaborate in a way that benefits both of our audiences.
If this interests you, we can schedule a telephone or one-on-one meeting this week to discuss further. Please let me know a date and time as per your convenience to get started.
Thanks in advance,
[your name]
4. Follow-Up
A solid first email is a great start. But influencers are usually busy people, especially the good ones. There is a good chance that your potential influencer may not respond to your first email.
However, that doesn’t mean that they’re not interested in your offer.
To grab their attention, you need to plan a series of follow-up messages in advance.
Follow-up emails can help you stand out from the crowd. Make sure that every email provides some additional value to them.
At the same time, don’t bombard their inbox with back-to-back emails. Give them some space. You should wait for a couple of days after your first email. Then, if you still haven’t gotten a response from them, send a follow-up email.
Give them another 3-7 days time to respond before your next follow-up.
Here is a follow-up email template for your reference:
Hi [Name],
This is [your name] from [company] again. I’m sure you’ve been very busy and probably haven’t had the time to read my previous email. It was about [refer to your previous email].
I would appreciate it if you could check out my proposal. I really think this collaboration is a win-win deal for you [share reasons].
It would be great if we could connect over a call to discuss further. Please let me know when you can be available for a call this week.
Have a great [day]!
Thanks again,
[your name]
Final Thoughts
Influencer marketing is here to stay and can deliver exceptional results for brands and marketers. If you want to grow your brand, you need to find relevant influencers and approach them for mutually beneficial collaborations.
To ensure the success of your influencer campaigns, it is crucial to build strong influencer relationships. And the first step to a beneficial partnership is influencer outreach. For successful outreach, follow the tips we’ve discussed above.
Can you think of any other tips to create a killer influencer outreach strategy? If so, please feel free to mention your suggestions in the comments below.