Influencer Marketing – What is it all about?
The word “influencer” comes from the English and means “to influence”. That is why influencer marketing is often referred to as multiplier marketing. With this marketing strategy, various influencers (opinion makers / influencers) are specifically integrated into the brand communication. You use the awareness of these people and their reach to strengthen your own brand.
Marketing is increasingly focusing on digital strategies, which is why social media influencers are popular marketing partners.
Not only large companies benefit from this strategy, small and medium-sized companies can also take advantage of it.
The aim is to achieve the following goals:
- Increase in visibility on Google
- Increase awareness of the company
- Bring visitors to the website
- More social signals (likes, comments, etc.)
- Generate new links
Different fields of application of influencer marketing in the SEO area
Influencer marketing is not only used on social media channels, but also in the
Influencer marketing for the introduction of new products
You have a new product and you don’t yet know exactly how to promote it? The answer is: a collaboration with influencers from your industry.
There are now many bloggers for many different topics, but they all have something in common – they are looking for new trends and new products to offer your users added value and preferably before another blogger discovers them. This is exactly what you can take advantage of.
So if you want to bring a new product onto the market, you should look for a suitable influencer / blogger at an early stage . As soon as you have found what you are looking for, the important thing is to provide the influencer with all the important information about the product and the product itself. This also includes when the product is sold, how much it costs and when you can officially communicate about this product.
But why exactly are influencers best for this? Very easily! One of its greatest strengths is its authenticity. In order for a product to be accepted by the target group and to arouse interest, it should be presented authentically.
As soon as the cooperation starts and the bloggers also distribute the product on social media channels, the next step is the observation phase.
You should check the following points regularly:
- How are the reactions?
- How is the product spreading?
- Do other people now also report on the product?
- Are hashtags used for the product?
Make a brand better known with influencer marketing
One of the most important goals in influencer marketing is to increase brand awareness.
Influencers have a very special influence on their followers. If an influencer prefers a certain brand, this can contribute to the followers’ purchase decisions. But why is it like that?
When a celebrity represents a perfume, a certain amount of attention is drawn, but the distance to the celebrity is simply too great, which is why fans cannot identify with the product. With influencers, followers are just a click away and have the opportunity to react and interact with posts. In the social media channels in particular, they see themselves as “friends” of the influencer.
Even if you can influence your followers, you still have to make sure that the brand is presented authentically and not too promotionally. Otherwise you run the risk of this being noticed and the product and the influencer losing credibility.
For an authentic and credible presentation, it is important not only to give the influencer a certain amount of freedom, but also to let him decide to present products as before.
Product tests and product reviews
In product tests, it is not only important to offer readers or viewers added value, but also to find the right channel for distribution. Instagram is not particularly ideal for this, as pictures often don’t say much. Articles or videos are best for this, so focus on YouTube and blogs and only use Instagram for support.
When looking for a suitable influencer, there are a few important points to keep in mind:
- Is there anyone who is familiar with my product?
- Can the influencer realistically assess my products?
- The more influence an influencer has, the more meaningful its evaluation is.
Once you have found the right partner, the briefing about the product is the most important thing. It is important that the influencer reports freely and authentically about the product and is informed about special properties in advance in order to highlight them. This type of influencer marketing generates higher visibility in the short term, while in the long term it increases the findability of the product in Google search and on YouTube.
Product placement campaign
In the right place at the right time – that is the motto for product placement campaigns. It is not about evaluating the product, as in the product test, but about putting a product in the limelight at the right time. Furthermore, the selection of the influencer is essential, as is that of the created content in which the product is to be presented. For example, the selected product should be placed relatively at the beginning of a YouTube video.
So that you can also benefit from product placement in link marketing, a separate landing page should be created for the product. The influencer can then distribute this URL via the respective channels used. This not only generates interest in the product, but also new traffic for your own website.
Interviews with top influencers (Round Up Posts)
If you want to get new backlinks quickly in influencer marketing, we recommend conducting interviews with various influencers in your industry. The interview can be held on site, but also by video conference, email or telephone. When you have gathered enough interviews, they should be summarized into a high-quality article.
We recommend ending the interviews with one or the other expert council. Since users who are not familiar with this area cannot easily get expert advice, links can be generated for your article.
The easiest way to get links: Send your article to your interviewee. In most cases, the experts publish / link the article themselves, without you having to ask them to do so. Expert interviews bring a lot more to your site than just normal published content.
Influencer Marketing – How do I develop a suitable strategy?
We now know the different influencer marketing strategies. However, before we start contacting various influencers, a proper strategy needs to be worked out.
The strategy should include the following:
- What exactly should the influencer do for you?
- What are your goals?
- Public: Use the reach and network of influencers for more readers and followers.
- Reputation: Benefit from the recognition of influencers.
- Reach: Networking with influencers to draw attention to a brand.
- Advertising: Using influencers to encourage people to buy a certain product.
- SEO: Influence the ranking with valuable backlinks
- What consideration does the influencer get and what does it mean?
- How much budget is planned for the strategy?
- Who takes over the contact with the various influencers and what should this look like (language rule)?
- Comprehensive keyword portfolio for researching the right influencer.
- What are the influencers’ key figures?
How do I find the right keywords for my research?
The right keywords are the most important basis for finding suitable influencers!
Think about your company, your product, your offers and collect different terms that fit best.
- Research what keywords your customers are looking for
- Combines different keywords with each other and also varies the spelling, also paying attention to long tail keywords
- Checks the keywords for their relevance with the Google Keyword Planner
With the finished portfolio you have created a basis for researching the right influencer and their contributions.
Analyze influencer key figures
As soon as an influencer has been found who fits your company and your product, the key figures should be analyzed. Checks whether a cooperation is worthwhile in this regard.
The following quantitative indicators are important:
- Followers, likes, subscribers.
- Comments, shares, views, downloads.
- These numbers are relevant because they show what community engagement is like.
- The number of media channels that are being used.
- Frequency and regularity of activities.
These criteria are important when evaluating quality:
- What is the reach of the articles?
- How many relevant posts are there on my topic?
- How high are the reactions to these posts?
- Is there a thematic focus that matches my area?
- What is the quality of the articles and does it fit my product?
- What persuasiveness and recognition does the influencer have?
- Does the influencer want to be remunerated? Does it fit into the planned budget?
Regulating the establishment of contact – appreciation
There are a few important points to consider for successful communication with the influencer. You enter into a partnership with the influencers, which is why they want to receive a certain appreciation for their work.
Therefore, you should think about the following points in advance:
- What does the influencer get from the cooperation and what added value do I offer him?
- How do I show my appreciation for him?
- Who will contact the influencer and what is the language regime?
- How should the dialogue process run?
The establishment of contact
As we all know – first impressions count. This is an important aspect, especially online, as the other person does not have to react.
This is why politeness and respect play a big role in contacting influencers. This is not about any advertising platforms, but about people who have built up a certain reputation over a long period of time and can quickly lose it again. Therefore, one should also show understanding if a cooperation is rejected if the influencer cannot identify with the product.
You should pay attention to the following points when contacting us:
- Customize and personalize messages.
- So that your conversation gets a personal note, you can address certain points that only affect your influencer.
- Do not fall into the house at the first contact with the door, but first build trust and show interest.
Further tips and questions on how to contact us:
- How did the influencer get on the topic of XY?
- What made him do it?
- Slowly approach through specific questions. (Is he open to collaboration?)
- Ask specific questions about the brand / products. (How does he find the products?)
- Send free product without any obligation for the influencer.
- When it comes to the cooperation request, the influencer must be clearly communicated what he gets from the cooperation and what it looks like. (long-term or short-term, the influencer receives revenue shares)
- Wait for a clear acceptance or rejection.
- If you are accepted, everything should be contractually regulated.
