By Ava Duvernay, film director. She uses her social media influence to talk about the issues that people of color face in their day-to-day lives. Visit her profile at @ava

WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?

Influencer marketing leverages the audience of key leaders to spread the word about a brand. By hiring or inspiring influencers to promote your business, they are able to spread your message to a larger market. Influencer marketing typically works in tandem with social media marketing and content marketing. The influencers share the brand’s message through content posted on their personal social media sites.

SHOULD I COLLABORATE?

Social media occupies a large portion of marketing, and influencers occupy a large portion of social media. Influencers have the power to affect the purchasing decisions of their direct audience. This tactic is useful to build social relationships and leverage social media audiences as a way to promote your brand. With the rise of influencer culture, their expertise in specific fields, and the variety of trends influencers create, small business owners may benefit from utilizing influencer marketing.

WHEN DECIDING WHICH INFLUENCERS TO COLLABORATE WITH, HERE ARE 3 THINGS TO CONSIDER:

1. INVESTIGATE THEIR AUDIENCE

   Each influencer has gained the audience they have by specializing in a field they have a lot of knowledge and experience in. Research what this specialization is, how relevant it is to your small business, and what platforms they are most effective on. Looking at which platforms have more content available will inform you on how to get noticed faster.

2. CREATE BRAND AMBASSADORS

   There are thousands of influencers, big and small, the goal is to find one that has a genuine interest in your product/service and is willing to learn about your brand and work together with you to promote your business. Influencers who have an interest in helping your business grow and becoming an ambassador for your brand are more likely to go above contractual commitment. Once this connection is established, it will be easier to collaborate with an influencer to develop marketing strategies as opposed to simply paying someone to promote your product or service.

3. FOCUS ON ENGAGEMENT 

   Although the follower count is important and useful to understand how influential your chosen promoter would be, it is also important to look at the engagement of that individual through their comments and shares. It could be that smaller, local influencers with a lower follower count could produce higher engagement actions because they are more actively engaged with their audience in comparison to influencers with larger audiences.

Resources to help find Influencers:

Finances Online is a great comparison tool to help research pricing and other general information about each platform to help you choose the best website for your business. Others include Buzzsumo; Klear; Izea; Grin; HubSpot Marketing; Social Blade