If you’re trying to build a brand in a new market then you need to leverage influencers. This isn’t a matter of opinion. They have the audience and you don’t.
If you were putting on an event and wanted 1000 people that didn’t know you to show up, what would you do? Would you promise to everyone that you’d be super interesting? Or would you ask a small number of people that everyone already knows are super interesting to come along and speak for you?
Well your content strategy is an event, and if people are gonna show up you need to think about your guest speakers, because if you’re the headliner then you’ll be talking to an empty room.
Here are some ways to involve influencers in your content. And a quick tip – the more intimately you involve them in the creation of this content, the more likely they are to promote it, and that’s what this is all about.
1. Interview them
Everyone loves talking about themselves, god knows I do. It blows my mind how easy it is to get in front of awesome people if you approach them politely and explain (sincerely) that you’d love to share their awesomeness with the rest of the world.
You can see a small example of that in action here – http://bdln.co.uk/head-education-sgh-martineau-generated-12-new-business-opportunities-via-twitter/
2. Get quotes
They may not have time for a full interview (although you’d be surprised) but at the very least there is no reason why they can’t contribute a short quote.
The other advantage to this is that you can have multiple quotes from multiple influencers, increasing the potential reach of the piece even further! Here’s a nice example here – https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2015/05/boosting-conversions-11-experts-share-their-secrets/
3. Talk about them (nicely)
Perhaps you could include their work as a case study or even just briefly reference something awesome that they’ve done. Guess what, unless they’re a) kinda rude and b) not interested in their own PR, they are going to share the piece for you!
4. Give them stuff
If all else fails, give them some stuff for free. This obviously works best for product based websites, so if you sell gym clothing, find a couple of meat heads that are all over social media, send them each a tight vest and ask that they share a couple of selfies on Facebook. Not only will that provide great imagery for your social but also get you in front of their networks who are highly likely to share their same interest in the gym.
Influencer marketing is nothing new, but where I believe most people go wrong is that they spend too much time engaged in meaningless natter with influencers and not enough adding actual value. You’ll find you build relationships a hell of a lot quicker when you’re actually giving something, and these are people who, by definition, understand the importance of good PR, so what are you going to do that will get them a bit more exposure?
Cheers,
Dan
