As an influencer, the brands you work with are your customers, so it makes sense to think about ways in which you can effectively meet their needs. By understanding brands’ needs, you are better placed to offer solutions that you know they are looking for.
Know your unique value proposition
What do you offer that differentiates you from other influencers? Be sure to demonstrate how your offering can solve a client’s challenge and fulfil their needs. One of the main reasons brands like to partner with influencers is to reach a new audience, so create a report on your audience stats including as much information as you can such as age, gender, role, etc.
“The first step is to ensure the audience (big or small) aligns with the brand’s customer base. The second step is to create valuable quality content that reflects the brand’s core values and propositions and then the influencer’s expertise and authority on the topic. Finally, generate some engagement (organic and authentic) to get people’s attention and interest. By working with an influencer early in the brief creation, brands benefit from the influencer’s data, expertise, and information. Implementing a culture of experimentation by testing and learning allows brands to dynamically adjust their campaigns and content to their customers’ expectations regarding influencer marketing.” Cyril Coste Founder & Director Digital and Growth
Create case studies from previous client engagements, that show how you successfully delivered on the brief. Include any stats you have on the campaign (number of posts, engagements, impressions, etc.)
“First and foremost, I believe it’s important to establish a ‘brand’ or an ‘area of expertise. What areas do you feel most comfortable talking about or writing about? It is also crucial to be clear about what you are looking for to help set the right expectations when working with different brands. At the end of the day, it is important to find a brand whose values align with yours. Keep an open mind when it comes to a partnership strategy with brands. And remember, the relationship is a two-way street. Be clear about what you can offer the brands, and what you need from them. I believe authenticity and trustworthiness are two of the most important qualities in this business. Brands need to trust that they can depend on you.” Theodora Lau founder of Unconventional Ventures.
Get discovered. Create content you know brands will be interested in
Position yourself as an authority in your area of expertise with content. Have a plan, be strategic, don’t just create content for the sake of it. Research what the brands you want to work with talk about on their blog. Pick out 3 or 4 key topics and start creating content in those areas. Have a range of content, including blogs, videos, podcasts, infographics, etc.
“It’s not only by posting continuously that Influencers can get more work from brands: it is by offering a complete and focused social media strategy including original content both in terms of videos and visuals, bespoke KPIs and regular reporting, internal employees training and coaching executives as well as an effective matching audience.” Stephane Bureau, Founder, Social 4U and Top Cloud Influencer Onalytica 2020 & 2021
Try writing an eBook then breaking that down into a mini-series of blog posts. Incorporate video into your strategy and post regularly on social around those key topics you have identified.
Include quotes from influential experts in your content and tag them in the posts to drive maximum engagement,
“Although our emotional impulses push us to publish the content that receives the most engagement, sharing our expertise and knowledge helps create a more significant impact for brands because the bond with our followers becomes consolidated by the knowledge translation. That must be our first goal.” Antonio Grasso Digital Business Innovation Srl
Nurture the brands you want to work with
Find out who the key decision-makers are in the brands you’re looking to target. Follow them on Twitter / LinkedIn and start interacting with their content so they get familiar with you and start to notice what you’re doing. If there’s a particular blog they’ve published on your key topics, share it and tag other influencers in the post for maximum visibility.
Sign up to the brand’s newsletter and start sharing content they are promoting. Find out who the content creators are and be sure to tag them in your posts as well.
Send personalized emails to the key decision makers to let them know about your services and to keep them engaged and interested, as well as keep your name top of mind.
Know your worth, set your rates
Letting potential clients know the kind of fees you would like to charge for something is important. If you don’t name your price the client may assume you’re willing to work for free. Setting rates has benefits for both parties. Clients are keen to know what an influencer would charge in order to help them determine their budget. This doesn’t have to be an exact amount, just a rough ballpark figure will do initially as there will no doubt be some negotiation further down the line.
Helen Yu Founder & CEO of Tigon Advisory Corp had this to say about the value exchange:
“When a brand and influencer collaborate, they see the value and interest in each other. The value arises from the influencer’s breadth and intensity of social engagement, along with captivating contents.”
If you’re keen to learn more about what to charge, take a look at our B2B Influencer Compensation Report.
Get your name out there!
Look for opportunities to collaborate with other influencers and brands. Reach out to your peers and see if you could be a guest on an upcoming webinar or podcast. Offer to guest post on their website with an industry-focused article.
Apply to be a guest speaker at an industry-focused event. While there, make sure to network with any brands you want to work with and keep in touch with the contacts you make there.
“Having a personal brand has always been important. What has changed in the past few years, accelerated by the pandemic, is the need to make sure your brand has a digital presence. Simply put, the amount of engagement in digital platforms, especially social media, has skyrocketed in the last 2 years. Regardless of your role, this means you probably get looked up more than you realize. So the question becomes: Does your digital presence reflect the brand that you want portrayed? Whenever someone is looking to build a personal brand, there are three questions I always have them ask: 1) What are the topic(s) you want to be known for? 2) What are the associated skill(s) you want to be known for with those topics? And 3) What personality characteristics do you want to be known for? The answers to these 3 questions should exude through your digital presence. And the easiest way to start to control this is by updating your LinkedIn profile!” Jeff Winter – Industry Executive, Manufacturing at Microsoft
MyOnalytica members are often the first people our success team would refer to clients, as we know they are open to collaborations and we know what services they offer, how much they charge and have examples of previous content they have produced.
Through our experience of helping brands run thousands of influencer campaigns over the past 10+ years, and conducting interviews with hundreds of influencers, Onalytica are perfectly poised to assist brands when it comes to introducing brands and influencers.
If you are an influencer looking to collaborate with brands, click here to signup up our B2B influencer marketplace, MyOnalytica where you can create your free profile which will be visible to Onalytica clients which include many of the world’s largest brands.