There was a time when influencer marketing was considered an alternative to traditional online marketing channels. But in 2022, marketers and brands that aren’t collaborating with influencers are hard to find.

Whether you’re looking to skyrocket brand awareness, bolster your reputation, and drive sales for a new product, your digital marketing campaigns will be incomplete without influencers.

With their loyal and devoted community of followers, influencers have the power to shape purchase decisions and consumer behavior. They can even change the way consumers perceive your brand.

But collaborating with an influencer isn’t as simple as asking them to post a standalone review of your product on Instagram. Nor is it as easy as getting a shoutout from them on Twitter or LinkedIn.

If you want to build your brand in 2022, you must focus on building long-standing relationships with influencers. In the following sections, we’ll outline a few tips to help you attract influencers to your brand, and build lasting relationships with them. Let’s dive right in.

1. Understand Brand-Influencer Fit

Influencer marketing isn’t as simple as partnering with a social media icon who has millions of followers. If the influencer’s audience doesn’t match with your target consumers, even the most well-defined campaign is destined to fail.

So, before you reach out to an influencer with a pitch, take time to analyze whether they’re a good fit for your brand.

For instance, if you’re launching a range of vegan meat substitutes, your first choice would be to partner with food bloggers and chefs. The only catch is that many of their followers may not be interested in embracing a vegan lifestyle.

Instead, you’d be better off collaborating with climate and environmental activists with a strong presence on social media. You can even work with fitness bloggers who could educate their audience about the benefits of a vegan diet.

Develop a clear understanding of your target demographic, and find an influencer who will help you connect with the right market segments. Also, it’s important to collaborate with influencers whose work ethics, values, and style align with that of your brand.

2. Initiate a Conversation

Cold emails are a thing of the past. Today, if you want to make influencers fall in love with your brand, you must show that you value their work.

The best way of doing that is to engage with their content. Comment on the Instagram and Facebook posts, congratulating them for the work they’re doing. If you find a discussion about a current affair or social cause in the comments section, don’t hesitate to dive in with your opinions.

Also, avoid interacting with the influencer as a brand. Instead, get someone from your team to engage with their content on social media platforms. Make sure they’ve developed a rapport with the influencer before sending a pitch.

3. Personalize Your Pitch

The last thing you want is to send a mass outreach email to multiple influencers with the same, cookie-cutter pitch. You need to understand that influencers are consistently flooded with proposals for collaborations from several brands.

So, unless you reach out to them with a personalized pitch, your email will never manage to grab eyeballs. It emphasizes the importance of learning how to write a pitch that captivates the recipient.

Start by articulating a subject line that’ll immediately resonate with your target influencer. Highlight a problem their audience might be facing, or a cause they’re passionate about. Make the first paragraph the best with an interesting hook that compels the recipient to continue reading.

Next, highlight the values or social issues that your brand is trying to address. Also, list a few campaign ideas you’d like to explore for the collaboration. Keep your pitch concise, snappy, and focused on how the collaboration will benefit both parties.

Make sure you tailor your pitch according to the interests and preferences of the target influencer.

4. Ensure Creative Freedom

Now that you know how to write a pitch and motivate an influencer to work with your brand, you must be eager to get started. It’s worth keeping in mind that influencers have a deep understanding of their niche and audience.

So, make sure they have enough freedom to create content that they think will appeal to their audience. Be open to their campaign ideas, and provide them with the resources and tools they need to create the content.

In Conclusion

Influencer marketing offers numerous benefits for brands, including improved awareness, reputation, and customer trust. Instead of jumping in with a paid partnership, brands should focus on building strong relationships with influencers. While it’ll be slow and time-consuming at first, you’ll end up reaping the benefits in the long run.