How small businesses can collaborate with influencers

Engaging with online influencers is the way of the future.

Think about the last product purchase you made – what motivated you to buy? Chances are it’s because the product was recommended to you by someone you trust, you read good reviews of it, or you have been seeing the brand around for a while.

Make no mistake – your customers are no different.

Before they will purchase your product, they will look for message that reassure and encourage them to invest. And they would prefer to absorb these brand messages from others who they can relate to, trust, or identify with, as opposed to carefully constructed brand advertisements. Many of these “others” they turn to for guidance are bloggers and social influencers; influencers who attract a community of thousands of readers who follow and read their recommendations.

If engaging with online influencers is the way of the future – how can small businesses tap into this network to forge key connections while building brand awareness and cementing credibility. Here are five tips to get you started:

  1. Do your research and create a list of influencers who are a perfect reflection of your brand
  • Influencers each have their own niche, target market, tone of voice, positioning.
  • Research and create a wishlist of influencers well aligned to you brand.
  • Keep in mind, it’s not just about the reach of the influencer you need to consider, but the engagement of the audience.
  1. Personalise your approach
  • Research your contact to better understand what they do.
  • Respectfully use their name in conversation and perhaps mention something you both have in common to encourage a bond. Don’t contact these people with a generic email that lacks thought and personalization.
  • Treat each contact like a new, valued connection – because they should be.
  • This will take more time– and it’s more effective. If you don’t have time or resources, there are agencies willing to do this on your behalf.
  1. Establish your objectives
  • Have a clear idea of what the over-riding purpose is. Some small business want to drive sales to an online store. Other small businesses are looking for content.
  • Ultimately, by having an idea of your purpose, it will help you shape your approach and achieve fantastic results.
  1. Be flexible
  • While you might have a strict idea of how you would like to work with the influencer, the influencer might have her own ideas, too.
  • Invite the influencer to come up with an alternative approach that would draw attention to your brand, in a way that her readers would respect and appreciate. Simply ask for feedback and see how the conversation evolves.
  1. Step out of the online clutter with a face-to-face experience
  • The most carefully crafted press release or email doesn’t compare to meeting a brand representative (you!) truly obsessed and passionate about a product.
  • The 2016 Victorian Telstra Micro Business Award winner, Little Innoscents, recently exhibited at the Bloggers Brunch event. The Bloggers Brunch is a live, vibrant, interactive event where bloggers and brands meet and mingle in person. Bloggers and influencers attending have 2M connections collectively. Watch Little Innoscents in action at a live influencer event to see how a face-to-face catch up for your small business too.
  • Little Innoscents showcased products for influencers to try and answer questions directly – #nofilter.

Founder of Little Innoscents Ms Antonette Golikidis agrees meeting with influencers is an opportunity for small business to establish a stronger connection that leads to an ongoing relationship.

“We had a fabulous time at the event and enjoyed the high engagement with bloggers and other exhibitors. I’m sure we will be up for it again soon.”

Christie Nicholas, Kids Business Communications