To become a successful blogger, you need to find different ways to grow your blog’s following. And there’s no better way of doing this than to promote your blog.
From content marketing to SEO, you can increase your reach and authority. You just have to choose the most suitable tactics for your brand.
One of the most effective ways to draw traffic to your blog is influencer marketing.
According to this St. Josephs Communications infographic, 67% of marketers believe that influencer marketing helps them reach out to a more targeted audience. In the same infographic, it also states that influencer marketing has the potential to generate 11x higher ROI than traditional forms of advertising like print and TV ads.
When it comes to social media platforms, Instagram proves to be one of the most potent for influencer marketing.
In fact, the platform is expected to host 32.3 million sponsored posts by 2019. And that only includes posts that have the hashtags #sponsored, #ad, #sp or #spon.
Given these figures, it would be foolish of you to not get help from Instagram influencers!
Therefore, below are five tips that you must follow to extend your blog’s reach, no matter what your niche is.
1. Don’t skimp on the research
One of the most important steps to running any type of marketing campaign is to do your research.
Explore your influencer options and reach out to those who are a good fit for your brand by looking at their core values, aesthetic style, and personality/tone.
Check out their profile and see
Look at the type of collaborations they have worked on in the past and see what kind of publicity it these sponsored posts have generated.
Some influencers buy automatic Instagram likes organically to boost engagement. Objectively speaking, there’s nothing with this approach as long as the influencer delivers the results.
You might also want to consider how often they post sponsored content. You wouldn’t want to work with an influencer who is all over the place.
2. Make first impressions count
Once you’ve narrowed down your influencer options, your next step is to make the initial contact.
Write a short pitch that clearly communicates what your brand stands for and how you’re interested to work with them.
You can introduce your brand via DM. But if you want to stand out, send them an email instead. This way, your proposal won’t get lost in the sheer number of DMs the influencer receives every day.
3. Compensate your influencers fairly
Even if your product or service has amazing benefits, that doesn’t mean that influencers will be clamoring to promote it for free.
Building up a following on social media takes effort on a consistent basis. Therefore, you need to make sure that you compensate your influencers fairly.
Also, creating a social media content strategy takes days – if not weeks. So you should be willing to pay your influencers what is due to them. You can even offer your influencers a commission for every sale they send your way.
Of course, you need to approach compensation with 20/20 hindsight.
Don’t promise an amount that you’re not confident with. At the same time, don’t expect the influencers to deliver beyond their capabilities.
You must make informed decisions to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth.
4. Let go of some creative control
You may have brilliant ideas for your brand content. But at some point, you need to let go of some creative control.
Keep in mind that influencers are masters in their niche, so they have the know-how to promote your brand to their audience. This reason is why you hired them in the first place.
If you’re going to micromanage how influencers present your brand on Instagram, then you shouldn’t have hired them in the first place!
The idea of influencer marketing is for them to do the dirty job for you. Interfering with their process won’t bode well for your business.
Therefore, it is very crucial to research on the influencer – the type of posts they publish, what other brands say about them, how professional they are – before hiring the,.
Of course, you have the freedom to share your style pegs or visual references. At the end of the day, however, you need to let your influencers do what they do best. And that is to use their creativity to promote your product and services without resorting to outright selling it.
5. Don’t forget the stories
Instagram stories are a great way to interact with followers. It helps tell a much complete brand story and can also show the product or service in action.
Most influencers know this and will be more than happy to give you a mention in their stories if you ask nicely.
To help you find the best Instagram influencers to hire, make sure that they do the following on their Stories:
- Knows how to use stickers effectively – Stickers on social media aren’t simply just for making the posts cuter. A great influencer employs stickers to elicit a response or reaction from his or her followers.
- Uses videos – Unlike images, videos allow influencers to create more layered storytelling for their audience. The best influencers use videos to leave their followers wanting more or connect with them on a more personal level.
- Tracks and measures results – Some Instagram Stories are a hit or miss. Thanks to Insights, influencers can determine which Stories worked so they can engage more with their followers. If the influencer know his or her way around Insights, then you now have someone who will promote your brand!
Conclusion
Tapping into Instagram influencers teaches us a great lesson about growing an online brand.
Sure, it’s fun to generate more traffic and qualified leads to your blog with influencers promoting your content.
However, the most important thing about influencer marketing is that it’s all about building relationships.
Let’s face it: all successful brands and businesses are founded on relationships.
You are not only developing a connection with your audience through Instagram influencers. You are also fostering partnerships with high-level influencers in your field.
Without these connections, you won’t enjoy the level of success necessary to grow your blog. Therefore, you need to learn how to nurture your relationships from all levels to sustain your brand.