On today’s post, we’re talking all about how to get the attention of the top influencers in your industry with our influencer marketing outreach strategy. Let’s get to it.
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Now on today’s post, we’re talking all about the exact tactics that I’ve used in my business to build a multi million dollar network of high impact influencers. But more importantly than the business growth and financial impacts that connecting with these influencers have had is the fact that they’re really good people and they’ve become great friends, good colleagues and good business partners. And that’s what I want for you.So without further ado, let’s dive right into the meat and potatoes of how to create a greater relationship with the top influencers in your industry.
Step 1).Identify and Strategize:
What this means is making a list of the top influencers in your industry that you want to connect with and then trying to figure out the strategic reasons behind why you want to form these relationships.
Now if you’re reading this post,I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the main reason that you want to get involved and start a relationship with some of these influencers is for business growth opportunities.So that’s great and we’re going to cover how to do that and the benefits of it in just a minute.But also understand that there are benefits to connecting with influencers far outside just the normal business growth.Including making a lot of great friends with similar interests and who have already achieved some level of success that you’re aspiring too.
In fact, many of my best relationships actually started this way.And they turned out to be some of my most profitable relationships later down the road.But that early seed was planted by just trying to go out there and be a good friend to these people that I really looked up to and really aspired to be like.Now when it comes to identifying and making a list of the top influencers in your industry,I’m going to suggest you start smaller than larger.Because the last thing you need to do is make a list of 100 plus names and start sending out cold email pitches and just try to kind of weasel your way in there.
It’s not going to come off as authentic and it’s not going to be well received.Rather, if you pick a few, maybe 10 or less of the top influencers that you really resinate with the type of people whose message connects with you.The type of people who’ve built a businesslike you want to build.Or the type of people that create the content you want to create.From there, you’re going to be able to follow the rest of the steps a lot easier and it’s going to be a more authentic and more ethical way to build these relationships.
Step 2). Research and Engage:
Now this step is important because it’s all about building a real and thorough relationship which means that you’re going to need to start engaging and consuming some of their content.The way to do this is to do it unobtrusively by getting on their radar slowly and authentically.Whether this means commenting on a YouTube video,tweeting back to one of their tweets,sending them a message on Instagram, whatever it is find a way to start engaging with the content and then sharing your thoughts and you opinions with them.
Also, for bonus points don’t be afraid to send them a thank you or to share their stuff which really shows that you’re getting behind and promoting it.And I can almost guarantee, it doesn’t matter how big the influencer is, when someone thanks the man and shares their stuff, it’s a real, real support system.And it’s always well received.
Now a quick word of warning.You can go too far if you try and jump in there and just overnight start commenting on everything and sharing everything and posting everything.And just doing that for a couple weeks and then falling off the radar if they don’t respond yet.So understand that you’ve got to do this authentically and you’ve got to play the long game.Real relationships aren’t built on a couple retweets and a couple comments on a post.Rather they’re built over time by providing value and engaging with the influencer.
Also Read: 5 key to building a successful Twitter marketing strategy
Step 3). Invest and Apply:
Alright, so if we’ve talked about sharing and engaging and commenting on their stuff, well that’s a great first step.But to really separate yourself from the crowd, and to really go out there and make an impression, you’re going to have to put some money where your mouth is.And this means to invest in their products, or their services, or their programs, or anything else that they might be selling.
Now the benefit of investing in their programs or services or offerings or whatever it is they’re selling is that it immediately separates you from the thousands, or tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of other people that follow them but don’t put up the cash.But to really take it one step further, just buying their stuff isn’t enough.So you want to leverage this and throw some gas on the fire, but actually using it. But not only using it, using it as best you can.Getting the best results you can possible and then letting they know.
Step 4). Case study and appreciate:
So the key with step four and the key with showing them that you’re actually serious about them and about their message and willing to get behind them and support them is to take what you’ve bought and to put it to the best use possible.And then document the results that you’ve gotten.
So as an example, if they sell a course on how to do Facebook ads, take the course on Facebook ads,run some Facebook ads, get some results and then let them know about what you’ve achieved.If they happen to sell, say a Photoshop package,well, buy the Photoshop package,apply it to the photos and then send them the results that you’ve managed to do with their program.Or if they sell a fitness or nutrition program,well then, buy the fitness and nutrition program.
Actually use it, get some great resultsand then tell them all about it.Again, what you’re doing here is separating yourselffrom the herd of people that just follow them,people that follow them and maybe buy their stuff.But there’s a very few percentage of peoplethat’ll follow them, buy their stuff, put it to useand then tell them about the results they’ve gotten.
When you do that, you really stand out on their radar.And if you do it enough; they really start to pay attention.
Also Read: Signals: A Tool to Track Real Time Google Algorithm Updates
Step 5). Expect nothing in return:
Now this last one is a bit of a tough pill to swallow. But I really want to encourage you to not expect anything backend certainly not, anytime in the near future. After all, again, relationships take time, especially important relationships with busy influencers. And the more popular they know very well the reality is that the more messages they get on a daily basis, the more emails or posts, or anything like that response to their content. So it’s going to be tough for them to make sure that they respond to each and everyone, much less read every single one.
Again, that’s why you’re going to follow all the steps we’ve just covered to help separate yourself from the herd. But it’s important that you don’t approach these relationships with the expectation that you’re going to get something back. Because you’re going to come across as one of those takers or someone who looks fake or someone who’s just out to get what’s theirs. And this is why it’s important to only reach out and only start following influencers that you actually like. Because building relationships, whether it’s with influencers or anyone else in the world, takes time, especially really meaningful relationships.
Alright, so those are the five main steps of this strategy but I’ve got a few more bonus tips for you right now in a lighting round. Rule number one, don’t cold pitch.The last thing anybody likes is an offer or a message in their email inbox that’s selling them something when they have no idea who you are. So don’t do that. Lesson number two, we’ve covered this before, I need to say it again, and this does take time. This is not an overnight strategy, especially if you want to build a real meaningful relationship with the influencer. Point number three, you need to aim to provide value anywhere, everywhere and at anytime that you’ve possibly can. Think about providing value and you really can’t go wrong. Number four, remember, they’re busy. And they get a lot of requests so always be looking for ways to differentiate yourself and help them by supporting their goals and their mission. And number five, and probably the biggest and most important bonus tip I can give you, is to stand out by doing more by caring more and thinking about the things that others are not willing to do. If you can take that extra step and go that extra mile, you’re going to stand out and you’re going to make a bigger impact. Alright, so there you have it.
Let me know which tip you found the most helpful in the comment section below.I’d love to hear it.Also, if you want to let me know who the influencers are in your industry that you want to connect with.Also, if you liked the post,make sure to share it and also subscribe to the newsletter to get more latest post directly to your Inbox and if you have any questions,comments or suggestions for a future post,make sure to leave them in the comment section below.So thanks so much for reading.
