The Ultimate Guide On Reaching The Right Influencers Effectively

This post was originally published on Shane Barker's Influencer Marketing blog.

Influencer marketing certainly is one of the most popular marketing strategies these days, if not the most popular. And rightfully so.

There are several reasons why everyone is going gaga over influencer marketing. Airbnb has been able to reach over 966 million people on Instagram with the help of influencers. Beauty brand, Glossier was able to increase their sales by 600% with the right influencer marketing campaign.

Most influencer marketing statistics are compelling enough to make you want to start using it right away. However, some marketers still struggle to get their strategy right. For example, connecting with influencers is one of the top three challenges faced by marketers today.

If you too are struggling to figure out how to reach influencers, worry not. In this post, I’m going to run you through the 5 essential steps of reaching influencers effectively.

How to Reach Influencers Effectively

Follow these five steps for a successful influencer marketing campaign.

Step #1: Do Your Homework

If you’re sending random emails to every influencer in your niche, you’re wasting everyone’s time. The very first step in figuring out how to reach influencers is to analyze the characteristics of your ideal influencer. People who share the same kind of values, messaging, and brand image. They are the ones who can put you in front of your target audiences.

However, many a time, brands have very specific requirements. For example, let’s say you’re looking for lifestyle influencers whose target audiences are aged 50+. That would require some extensive search which definitely won’t be easy.

The good news is – you can easily find your ideal influencers using influencer marketing tools while saving a lot of time and effort. Platforms like Grin, BuzzSumo, or HYPR can be really useful to help you find and connect with relevant influencers.

Grin, for example, includes filters to sort influencers by followers, location, and social media channels.

Image via Grin

These platforms help you make an informed choice to ensure the success of your influencer campaigns.

Image via BuzzSumo

Image via HYPR

Key Things to Keep in Mind While Researching Influencers

• Does your potential influencer have a solid engagement rate?
• Is your potential influencer relevant to your industry?
• Does your potential influencer deliver quality content that influences their followers?

Step #2: Build a Personal Connection

If you’re wondering how to reach influencers effectively, you should definitely focus on building long-term relationships with them. Understand that they too, are people like you and me who prefer warm introductions and a personal touch. Here are a few things you should do to familiarize them with you before you actually reach out.

Comment on Their Blog Posts and Share Them

Your comments need to be valuable, thoughtful, and interactive. Check out these comments on a travel blog post below. They sound sincere and genuine enough to get the blogger’s attention.

Image via Spirited Pursuit

Follow and Engage with Them on Social Media

Are you retweeting your influencer’s tweet? Sharing their Facebook posts? What about commenting on their YouTube and Instagram posts?

One of the first things to do before planning how to reach influencers is to follow them on social media. You’ll learn a lot about the kind of engagement they get and you’ll get them to notice you too...

Read the full post on Shane Barker's Influencer Marketing blog.