The phrase, “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” has never been more true than in this age where it’s becoming necessary to use online influencers to raise awareness for most brands. Word of mouth used to be enough. Advertising used to be enough. Social media marketing used to be enough. Not anymore! Now, marketing strategies need to include blogger outreach or “influencers.”. What are digital influencers, exactly? We’re showing you what you need to know below.

Who They Are:

Who are these so-called “influencers” we speak of? They’re bloggers, Instagrammers and YouTubers! Influencers specialize in product reviews, they host events for your brand, blog about their favorite items, and some even post photos with your product or service to their Instagram profiles. Typically, when looking for an influencer, you want someone with a big fan base or following as a general rule. Perhaps you own a brand of chic & trendy clothing, Arielle Charnas of SomethingNavy, with almost 1M followers, would be an influencer in your market. Keep in mind, the bigger the fan base usually means the bigger the fee!

What They Do:

The ultimate job of an influencer is to bring awareness to your brand, product or service via their social network or blog. Whichever platform that influencer thrives on, that’s the one you want them using to promote your product. Fans of influencers usually trust their opinions and products that they use, and that’s what makes them an influencer.

How They Do It:

In exchange for your product (sent at no cost to them) and most likely some type of monetary compensation (depending on the influencer you choose), the influencer will promote your product on their blog and/or social platforms. A lot of influencers will accept your free products, at no additional cost to you, and if they like it enough, you might get lucky and see a post featuring your product.

Why This Is So Important:

Let’s say that you own a new local gym. Since you’re new, you only have 500 Instagram followers who see your daily posts. Your goal is to spread the word about your new gym and how amazing it is, ultimately bringing in new clients, more revenue and even more exposure. The next step is to raise awareness! By reaching out to local fitness & lifestyle influencers who have thousands of Instagram and blog followers, your gym is being put into the feed of all of those fans and exposing them to your brand. So while only 500 people had the chance to see your content before, now thousands are seeing your gym pop up in their feeds from someone whose opinion they trust. When someone is looking for a new gym, they’ll now think of you!

How To Find Them:

Influencers can be found by extensive research to find the perfect influencers for your brand, goals, and budget. It is also important to have knowledge of the different markets and who makes the biggest splashes in those markets. Here at 101 Management Inc., we specialize in blogger & influencer outreach and have regularly updated lists of the right influencers for your brand.