5 Ways to Build Genuine Relationships with Influencers
An example from an influencer campaign for Carve client Educational Insights. Photo courtesy: mamas.little.village on Instagram
Published August 10, 2021
Building relationships with social media personalities means collaborating with real people who will do more than influence a purchase decision. They should advocate on behalf of your mission and campaign. That’s why we prefer the term “advocates” over influencers.
Creating advocates starts with building relationships. Here, we gathered the best practices for creating genuine connections to impact your brand the most.
5 Ways to Build Genuine Relationships with Influencers
Know Who You’re Targeting. Everyone wants to feel special. In your initial outreach, focus on what makes the influencer a great fit for your campaign by referencing specific examples of their work. For example, an influencer on our target list posted about her struggle to find gardening tools designed for her child’s tiny hands. This provided the perfect entry point for our educational toy client, who had the product and the mission to encourage outdoor family fun.
Be Clear with Expectations. Be as direct as possible when it comes to all aspects of the campaign -- pricing and promotions, creative guidelines, timelines, and steps for success. This leads to smoother execution and quicker approval processes.
Let Personalities Shine. Each influencer has their strengths and strategy on how to reach their audience best. You don’t want to get in the way of that. But don’t be afraid to ask thoughtful questions on how they plan to communicate the message and resonate with their followers. Ask questions like: Which engagement tactics work best for giveaways? Is your audience accustomed to sponsored Instagram stories? Let them take creative freedom, as long as the main requirements in the brief are met.
Think long-term. Instead of one-off campaigns, consider striking longer-term relationships with your best-performing partners. Advocates tend to over-deliver when they understand brands are in it for the long haul. At Carve, we have made this practice a habit by securing advocates for multiple campaigns at once; this improves our success metrics and helps with overall efficiency.
Interact in real life. Making connections outside of work can provide additional value over time. Follow your advocates on your personal Instagram or LinkedIn so that it’s easy to engage and stand out from the crowd of potential brand partners. Ask about their weekend, talk about your plant-sitting plans, or simply catch up for virtual coffee - these are real people with lives! Building these connections with advocates can lead to a more authentic voice when they’re promoting a campaign.
Pro Tip: Find ways to work with diverse advocates across industries, ethnicities, and backgrounds. It leads to broader audiences, awareness, and reach.