Although the term “influencers” has arisen only recently, the concept behind it is as old as celebrity endorsements of products.

To define it as simply as possible, this type of marketing uses influencers—that is, people with a substantial social media following—to influence your target audience to buy your product or service.

The idea is, if you the consumer hear someone you like or trust recommend a product or service, you’ll be much more likely to purchase it than if a company tells you how great its products are.

The reason this type of social media marketing is so popular is because it works. Studies show that people are much more inclined to buy from someone they know and trust.

So here’s how to engage and work with influencers to help boost your brand. 

Hierarchy of social media influencers

Influencers could be bloggers, social media “stars,” or even loyal customers of a type of product or service. These are the types of people you want to promote what you have to sell.

Not all influencers are at the Kardashian-Jenner level. Which is good news for you because, unless you run a large corporation with a substantial marketing budget, you couldn’t afford them.

There are several categories of influences, based on their number of followers. While there are different ways to break them down, they can typically be clustered into three to five main categories:

  • Micro-influencers with 1,000-4,000 social media followers who are knowledgeable within a certain niche
  • Macro-influencers with 40,000 up to a million followers, who may or may not be well-known celebrities, but are famous within their industry for their expertise
  • Mega-influencers with over a million followers, who are typically big-name celebrities

More good news: A micro-influencer with a dedicated reach is more likely to produce the results you want than a mega-influencer with millions of casual fans.

Do your homework first

Before you begin looking for influencers to work with, you have to know what you want from them.

Do you want an influencer to help you:

  • expand your reach?
  • build brand awareness?
  • increase trust in your product or service?
  • boost sales?
  • generate leads?

And review your marketing budget. The more followers an influencer has, the more they will be able to charge for their services.

How to find influencers

Then you can begin your online search. When looking for an influencer to work with, you’ll want one who fits comfortably with the product or service you have to sell. 

You can check Google for industry-related marketing terms, or Twitter for hashtags that mention your type of business. LinkedIn, of course, is a professional networking site that can help you find industry experts related to your business.

BuzzSumo is a great tool to focus your influencer search, because it allows you to find trending content and search for specific influencers. 

Other popular influencer search engines include:

How to work with influencers

There are many ways to approach an influencer you’re interested in working with.

Reach out to the influencer through social media, an online chat they participate in, or some other informal means. Like their posts, comment occasionally. Let them get to know you.

It’s important to establish a relationship that’s mutually beneficial, and not just based on using them to promote your product or service. If you approach the relationship with respect, you are more likely to gain the influencer’s attention and assistance.

Remember, this is a business relationship. Be friendly but not overly intrusive or aggressive. If they’re local to your area, monitor their social posts to see if they’re attending an industry event in your area. Or see if you can find any mutual friends who might be willing to perform an introduction, either in person or online.

Finally, have a proposed strategy ready to show them. Introduce them to your product or service, and suggest ways you could work together.

At the same time, however, don’t try to force your ideas on them. They have the number of followers they do because they know what their audience wants and likes. Let them take the lead in creating a campaign that works for their fans.

These valuable partners can make a major difference in the success of your overall marketing strategy. The social media management experts at 101 Management, Inc., can help you find, evaluate, and engage social media influencers to help optimize your investment.