You’ve decided it’s time to work with a brand influencer as part of your marketing strategy, but you’re not sure how to go about it. After all, influencers are somewhat new to the marketing sphere, and they don’t follow the traditional marketing methods.
Instead of putting an ad up for people to view, you’re asking someone to use your product and show their audience how it works. This concept isn’t exactly new as radio broadcasters and live television show hosts have promoted their sponsors prominently for decades. So, let’s take a look at some of the best ways to work with brand influencers and how to use proven techniques for modern media.
Make Sure the Influencer and Your Product Work Together
Your product and the influencer of your choice should be harmonious. In other words, your product needs to be something the influencer would use regularly in their daily lives. Think about how household cleaning products are advertised on afternoon TV to housewives. The same is true of the product you send to the influencer to promote. Someone who restores old tools won’t fit with beauty products. But if you’re selling lubricants and rust removers, you’ll find a good fit with a tool restoration expert.
Figure out What Product(s) Are to Be Promoted
You don’t want your product promotion to get stale by promoting one product only. Discuss your product line with the influencer and determine which ones they would like to use the most. Have them rotate the products after using them so many times in a video, or mix up the products from video to video to keep it interesting.
Another option is to send products to the influencer at random, and let them go through the effort of using the product as if they were someone buying it off the shelf. It adds a layer of honesty to their promotion, something that audiences appreciate. And the audience gets to watch how the influencer handles the product from the moment they unbox it to the moment they start using it. That allows the audience to get a feel for the product and the experience of using it.
Have Faith in the Influencer
It takes a lot of trust to give a product to someone and ask them to review it in their own style. You’re hoping that the influencer will naturally promote the product without much input from you on how to promote it. Consider why you came to the influencer in the first place: you like their style and how they present to their audience. Chances are good that the influencer will stay consistent when reviewing your product in their video. Take a deep breath and let the influencer do their job so you can benefit from their efforts.
Influencers are a new method of marketing products, but working with them isn’t much different than hiring a celebrity to promote a product in their own way. Find a rhythm that works with them, and reap the benefits that come from working with an influencer.