In today’s digital era, influencer marketing has become an integral part of brand promotion and product advertising. Collaborating with influencers who resonate with your product and target audience can — and I emphasize can — yield impressive results, boosting brand visibility, credibility, and sales.
However, not all influencers produce the results you think they will.
If you are a small business just starting out, with a small budget — just like I was — you will quickly learn that influencers want you to pay them up front to promote your product. Which makes sense because that is their job and they’ve worked really hard to build their following.
The problem is, there are no guarantees that your products will actually sell when they promote them. So you may pay them, get excited to see the sales roll in, only to face extreme disappointment when not a single “ching” is heard on your Shopify app. (It’s my favorite part of making a sale.)
Yes, this is exactly what happened to me.
I have worked with several influencers over the years to try to get the word out about our family keepsake journals and to be honest the only one that actually worked is the one that I did not have to pay or reach out to at all!
Sure, there are many people with much bigger budgets than myself to throw at influencers and ads but I had to get a little creative with my approach and it paid off big time.
The first thing I recommend that you do is find influencers that align with your product.
Simply choosing influencers with the highest number of followers may not be effective if they don’t resonate with your target audience or niche.
Instead, focus on finding influencers whose content, interests, and style align with your product and industry.
Utilize social media platforms, influencer discovery tools, and keyword searches to find potential influencers. Pay attention to their content, engagement rates, audience demographics, and past collaborations to ensure they are a good fit for your brand.
Once you’ve identified potential influencers, pay attention to the places they travel and the stores they shop in frequently.
If your product is physical and can be sold in brick-and-mortar stores, try to get your products stocked in those locations. This way, when the influencer visits the store, they might discover your product organically and genuinely express their excitement about it.
I believe this is the best way to get influencers to promote your product.
That’s exactly what happened to us. We knew where our demographic liked to shop and we put our products in those stores. Then out of the blue, one day a BIG influencer picked up our product in the store, loved it, and shared on social media and it increased our sales by more than 800%!! Take a look below:
Allowing influencers to discover your product naturally, without direct intervention, can result in more authentic and compelling endorsements.
Instead of pushing your product on them, let them discover and explore it on their own terms.
If (and when) this happens for you, don’t forget to thank them in a big way and continue to foster that relationship with them. Building long-term relationships with influencers can be immensely beneficial for your brand. As they become more familiar with your product and values, their endorsements will carry more weight and authenticity.
Additionally, long-term partnerships can create a sense of loyalty between the influencer and your brand, making them more willing to support your future product launches and initiatives.
If you have had any success stories with influencers, let me know your best tips in the comments so we can help people navigate the challenging world of influencer marketing.
