Actionable Tips for Approaching Instagram Influencers

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Marketers and brands are embracing influencer marketing like never before. But in their rush to get the “influence” advantage, brands are adopting flawed influencer outreach strategies.

Although Influencer marketing isn’t complicated, it’s still relatively new. So newbies need direction for making their influencer campaigns productive.

To get noticed and accepted by influencers, you need to approach them strategically.

These practical tips can help prevent wasteful effort and investment:

Tip #1: Define Your Audience

How well do you know your customers? If you’re dubious about the answer, you need to backtrack your influencer campaign a bit and define your customer personas first.

Only then you can identify what your customers need (content) and who they listen to (potential influencers).

You can use your CRM metrics or audience interaction data to understand your customers better. You can also leverage tools and automation for optimizing processes in your influencer campaigns.

Tip #2: Identify the Right Influencer

Instagram has more than 500,000 active micro-influencers. Brands need to be selective while picking their partner influencers.

Focus on the 3 Rs – Reach, Relevance, and the Return on Investment of every influencer on your short list.

Scan an influencer’s social feed and past affiliations to understand if they align with your business values and content. You can use Instagram explore or Google Trends to zero down on influencers who are most active in your domain.

Tip #3: Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

Nano-influencers and micro-influencers drive better engagement and charge less. They are also more accessible and keen to work with brands.

These content creators are committed to their niches and causes and post regularly on social platforms. Their follower communities value their opinions and are loyal to them.

Check the amount of engagement on a potential infleuncer’s posts. How often do they post? Do they have genuine relationships with their followers? Are they active on social channels relevant to your business and audience?

Tip #4: Make a Good First Impression

Have a detailed campaign plan and convey it directly to your potential influencers. But remember that 77% of influencers rank their creative freedom even above monetary compensation while vetting proposals. So keep your expectations reasonable.

Influencers are getting extremely picky about who and what they promote. Pitching your proposal via DM or a comment is unacceptable. Your message will most likely be dismissed without a skim. Emailing is a safer bet and follow-up may be required.

Check out this infographic by iFluenz for more tips on influencer outreach, pricing, and etiquette.