Influencer outreach, often called influencer marketing, is the process by which a company identifies key individuals and uses them to deliver important content to the target audience. Since credibility is often built on word of mouth, influencer outreach can be a successful avenue for many marketing directives. It can be used to build backlinks, capture leads, promote content and a whole host of other marketing objectives. This kind of marketing involves more than just putting the word out, there is a strategy behind it just like conversions. Before you can use it effectively, you must understand the strategy and the pitfalls you need to avoid.

Do The Research

It is necessary to utilize influencer marketing tools to identify those individuals who are most influential in your field. You not only want someone who really understands the industry, but you want a trend setter in your particular niche. An influencer is no good to you if they are in another field, so put in the time to do ample research on the individual you identify.

After you have done the research and determined that you are focusing on the correct individual, you must connect with them before making contact. This is a very important step. Most influencers are active across multiple social media platforms, so this is where they should start seeing your name. Follow them on Twitter, Friend them on Facebook and so on. If you come off too aggressive or weird them out, then they won’t be open to communication.

Be Genuine

Once the time is right, you need to make contact. Reach out with a personal message. It is imperative that you build a relationship with this person, so a general message will not do. It is imperative that you are honest, and you don’t try to hide your true intent. Don’t act like you really just want to be friends if that is not your purpose. A relationship is a two-way street and people typically want something in return. If you have done your research, then you should know by now what makes them tick. Let them know who you are, why you are contacting them and what you can do for them. They need to feel important, so make it about them and what’s in this relationship for them. If you do this, they will be much more open to your proposal.

Create Awesome Content

It is fundamental to this entire process that you are creating awesome content. Your content reflects your brand. If your content is awesome, then it will reflect well on your brand. Besides, nobody wants to share terrible content. You are basically asking to “borrow” someone’s reputation in a given field and they will only want it connected with great content. You should always ensure that you are created the absolute best content you can for your brand and it is vital to this entire process.

Understand Segmentation

Segmenting works with influencers just as it works with the target audience. It can also help identify the best influencer for a particular audience. Some brands have many influencers and segmenting by activity level or expertise can help them to really influence the audience you’re after. Of course, much of this will also depend on the product or service your brand offers. The point is that you must look beyond vanity metrics to get to the real meat and potatoes because it is the only way you can really measure the success of your campaign.

As the business world expands, it is harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. Influencer outreach is a fantastic way to grow your business and reach your target audience, but it must be executed properly to be effective. These steps will get you started and on the road to growth through a successful influencer marketing campaign.