In the realm of social media, there are several things to consider such as followers and influencers.
A follower is someone who “friends” or likes your brand, yet rarely does anything else, whereas an influencer is someone who actively takes part in discussions and reviews, thereby spreading your brand message. Generally, influencers are a very small percentage of your followers. One study shows that only about 1 percent of followers are actually influencers (on average). However, as the old adage goes, “it’s quality, not quantity, that counts.” In fact, that 1 percent generates approximately 20 percent of all traffic to your website. There are several things to consider that are important such as identifying and targeting those specific members of your audience who are influencers, rather than amassing thousands of followers and trying to persuade all of them. In fact, targeting your influencers eventually reaches a great percentage of your other followers.
But how do you engage with that select number of people who are influencers? It is easy to send out a message about your company to all of your followers, but it is more difficult to create a successful marketing campaign targeted to a select group of people. A recent article published by Fresh Networks provides a list of things to consider before engaging with your target influencers.
The first thing a business needs to do is to get to know their influencers. Listening to the conversations taking place in blogs, forums, and social media platforms is a great way to learn what your influencers are saying about you. This information can help you define the correct content and tone when you are ready to engage your influencers.
The next step is figuring out the right arena in which to engage your influencers. Instead of trying to engage every one of your influencers, the better approach is to target the most important conversations taking place. If a conversation about your brand isn’t relevant or appropriate for the topic you want to address, it’s best to ignore that conversation and move on to another. Essentially, it’s best not to waste time and resources on conversations that aren’t on point.
Another important item is the relationship with your influencers. A company must build a solid relationship with its influencers. Every interaction must be seen as a way to strengthen that relationship because influencers have a key position in your market. They both speak to and represent your target audience.
Of course, it’s also important to make sure the interaction is not a sales pitch. Your influencers understand you have a commercial interest in them, so it’s not necessary to bombard them with sales. Instead, widen the conversation beyond your brand, product, or company.
Finally, it’s important to be realistic with your expectations. In reaching out to your influencers, you are trying to engage and affect them, not control them. You may not see the immediate results you want, but that does not mean your efforts aren’t working. Just like real life relationships, online relationships take time to develop.
