Building Long Term Influence on Influencers

Influencer marketing is a staple practice for marketing teams of all shapes and sizes. Marketing teams that achieve the best results from these programs have an ongoing process to keep their influencers involved. Ask yourself, “How can I regularly leverage the benefits of borrowed influencer stardom?” Consider these best practices when launching or fortifying an influencer marketing program.

Look Beyond the Most Prolific Social Media Mavens

Writing for a niche audience is an effective strategy for growing a loyal audience. To that end, influencers with large social followings typically appeal to a more general audience. Working with them may yield quality, short-term traffic results, but may not help significantly increase your targeted following.

Mo’ Money, Same Problems

As with most paid efforts, when the cash flow stops, so do the returns. A pay-to-play influencer strategy can be circumvented in a few ways. Ultimately, the key is to avoid ad-hoc “Can you help me?” interactions with influencers. (More on this in the next tip.)

Think of an Influencer as a High-Value Sales Prospect

Working with influencers should never be a “flash in the pan experience.” To build a more fluid relationship, consider this advice from Emily Hinderaker of Top Rank Marketing:

“Keep the communication channel open and use an ongoing approach to your influencer marketing program. Share the co-created content and send pre-written messages to your influencer so they can share it with their networks on various platforms including social media. Thank your influencer for their contribution and continue to nurture the relationship, even after the campaign is over.”

To learn more best practices for an ongoing influencer marketing strategy, check out Hinderaker’s original piece below.

Read the source article at CMO.com