{"id":11755,"date":"2017-07-18T15:46:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T13:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mention.com\/blog\/?p=11755"},"modified":"2017-07-18T15:46:11","modified_gmt":"2017-07-18T13:46:11","slug":"influencer-marketing-as-a-small-business-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mention.com\/en\/blog\/influencer-marketing-as-a-small-business-owner\/","title":{"rendered":"How To: Influencer Marketing As a Small Business Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Influencer marketing is a hot topic for\u00a0everybody these days. Major businesses all over the world engage recognizable stars to help them promote their products.
\nBut what about the small business owners who don\u2019t have the money to pay an agency<\/a> to start an influencer marketing campaign? Or those who can’t offer big sums directly to well-known celebrities.
\nIn this post, I’ll show you how to put together an influencer marketing strategy\u00a0without<\/em> shelling out big bucks. For small businesses, this can be one of the most rewarding steps they take.
\nBut first, let’s start\u00a0by defining influencer marketing. What is IM and in what way is it different from other types of marketing?<\/p>\n

What small business owners need to know about influencer marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say you want to advertise your new product – a juicer for example. You can promote it through the classic channels by hiring a popular spokesperson. A model, an actress or even a sports star.
\nThis will cost you a lot<\/em> and the results may not be as good as expected. Not all their fans will be moved by your products, and it’s possible that most of them will not even look at the commercial spot.
\nAn influencer marketing campaign is entirely different, because the spokesperson you’re hiring is powerful\u00a0in a specific niche<\/strong>, one that your products is\u00a0suited\u00a0to.
\nIn our juicer example, why not hire\u00a0a fitness specialist who is active on a blog or social media? They often come with with hundreds of thousands, or even millions followers on their blog or social media accounts.
\nThese followers are specifically interested in fitness and a healthy lifestyle and therefore, more likely to buy a juicer<\/strong>.
\nMoreover, a blogger or social media star will be less costly than a movie star, a pop singer or fashion celebrity. In other words, the influencer marketing campaign is more affordable and delivers better results for products or services that can be placed on a niche market.
\nNow, that I\u2019ve shed some light upon this topic, let\u2019s see what a small business owner needs in order to engage in influencer marketing.
\n\"mention<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\nLet\u2019s start with the basics:<\/p>\n

1. Who will do the marketing?<\/h2>\n

There are many entrepreneurs who know the basics of marketing, but their biggest mistake is to think they can do all the work by themselves. I know, when you think you can master a specific domain, you tend to try at least doing all the work and saving some money.
\nIf you really want a successful marketing campaign, you’ll need professionals to do the tasks for you. I am referring to professionals who have enough time to complete your campaign because they are paid to do so.
\nTIP: <\/strong>This is not the time and place to save cash: book the services of a marketing specialist. Or if you think this will be an ongoing work, hire a marketing department guy<\/a>\u00a0who will take care of all these problems, and do nothing else during the time he or she is paid for.<\/p>\n

2. Which channel do you want to grow?<\/h2>\n

First of all, think about your audience. Who are they? What do your potential clients or customers like? Where do they spend their time? Gather as much data as you can and correlate the information with the brand, the products or the services you will offer.
\nThen think about yourself: what is the most valuable thing for your brand? Which channel do you want to grow?<\/p>\n

Website or blog<\/h3>\n

You can grow your website through influencers on specific niches or just through specific bloggers who generate a lot of traffic and write about things similar to your style. For example, if you write about politics and you can capture the attention of an influencer blogger who writes about the same topic, you can drive more traffic or get more conversions without spending money or, spending less than if you were paying for ads or advertising.<\/p>\n

Facebook<\/h3>\n

If you want to grow your Facebook page – the page you\u2019ve set up for your brand or your products – you can try to contact successful Facebook page\/account owners with lots of fans in order to generate more likes or comments.
\nLet\u2019s say for instance that you are selling organic fruits and vegetables. Look for influencers who are advertising the same products or people, or who write about a healthy lifestyle.
\nConvince them to mention your products and reach out to their huge list of followers almost instantly. They have similar interests and as a consequence, they’ll be more inclined to interact with your company.<\/p>\n

Instagram or Twitter<\/h3>\n

You can also use an influencer marketing campaign to get more followers, likes or brand mentions on Twitter and Instagram. The procedure is similar to the one described above for websites, blogs and Facebook.
\nAccording to Smartketer<\/a>, Instagram was ranked in the top 15 most influential and popular websites\u00a0in the world<\/strong>. You could stick to this platform and forget about other influencers, and still achieve good results.
\nFor example, let\u2019s look at the Estee Lauder campaign with Kendall Jenner:<\/p>\n

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On set with @kendalljenner today for a super exciting new launch! Follow along on Instagram Stories for a peek behind the scenes. #EsteeModel<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Est\u00e9e Lauder (@esteelauder) on