3 Ways to Turn Influencers Into True Fans of Your Brand

In 2022, more than75% of brandshad a dedicated budget forinfluencer marketing, and68% of companies surveyedsaid they planned to increase their influencer marketing spend going forward. Influencer marketing is on the rise, and it's more likely than not that your company will soon engage in this kind ofmarketing strategyif it hasn't started already.

Influencer marketing refers to any collaboration between an online influencer and a company to market their product or service. These collaborations can be very fruitful if done correctly, but if done wrong can be a complete waste of money. At their best,influencerbased marketing strategiescan boost brand awareness, bump up sales and generate buzz and free publicity for your company. However, if the collaboration isn't genuine, the audience can pick up on that, and your influencer marketing strategy could quickly wind up a complete flop.

To ensure you get the most out of your influencer marketing spend, you must take the time to turn these influencers into bonafide brand fans rather than fostering a purely transactional relationship with them. If the content creators you're partnering with are genuine fans of your product or service, it'll come through in their representation of your company.

Ideally, their enthusiasm should rub off on their audience, and you would grow a network ofloyal brand fanswhospread the wordabout your company and generate further brand awareness and sales.

Do these three things to help make it happen.

1. Identify The Right Type Of Influencer

In order to make the most out of your brand's influencer collaboration, it's vital to find real-world influencers who truly align with your brand's mission and audience. If you miss the mark here, your entire partnership could come off as insincere and do damage to your brand and the influencers' image.

True influencers have worked hard to curate their content, organically build an audience base, and maintain a genuine relationship with their followers. You can see it in their content or on their preferred social media platform if you look closely. You should like their online persona. They should be protective over their image and even unwilling to work with a company unless they genuinely believe in the product. Doing your research about the personal brand they've created for themselves improves the likelihood your collaboration is successful. Hopefully, they should appreciate the time and effort you've carved out to consider how a partnership would be mutually beneficial for both parties. Celebrity influencersmight appear attractive at first, but if the audience members they bring to the table don't fit your customer profile, then the potential relationship may not be a match.

2. Turn the business relationship into more of a friendship

When working with an influencer, remember that above all else you're dealing with a person, not a company. Business jargon, tense negotiations and complicated contracts aren't generally a part of influencer culture. Instead, speak in casual terms and behave as if you're nurturing a real friendship.

If possible, put one person at your company in charge of your brand's relationship with the influencer. Having a sole contact person helps bridge a genuine connection between your company and the influencer.

Once you've found the right influencer, give them as much information as possible and make sure they know the story behind your brand. Share your company's mission with them and any othercorporate social responsibility (CSR) initiativesyour team engages in. The more influencers know about your product or service, the more they'll be able to communicate that with their fans.

Keep these partners up to date with new product

By John Boitnott

launches or influencer marketing campaigns. Or, simply check in with your influencer from time to time to keep your connection strong. Your influencer will feel special and cared for if they're kept in the know.

3. Use their input for marketing strategy instead of ordering them around

Quality influencers with loyal followings have put in countless hours to build their niche. It's through a deep understanding of their audience that they've been able to change opinions or drive measurable outcomes through the platforms they use. Because no one understands an influencer's audience better than they do, you should leverage their expertise when devising a collaboration strategy.

Once you've converted an influencer into a true brand fan, you should lean on them for advice about how to steer the collaboration with your company. Instead of telling them what to do, which inevitably comes off as flat to their audience, you should hand them the reins. Get them thinking for you, and be openminded about their creative ideas, even if they're out of the realm of your company's typical operations.

Remember you approached them for a reason, so don't be afraid to trust them when it comes to collaborating. Be careful not to force your company's standard practices onto them if it doesn't make sense for how they interact online. Influencers have a very good understanding of how to create marketable content that is native to their platform, and this expertise shouldn't be undermined or ignored.

Getting them on your team

Influencer marketing strategies can be powerful when your influencer partners are on your team. However, it takes time and sustained effort to turn your influencer into a true brand representative. Once you have taken the time to convert your influencers into genuine fans, your collaboration will yield returns.