There are many approaches to influencer relations. Some PR pros cultivate relationships for months online, and others pitch them out of the dark.
Having built and advised on influencer campaigns for the better part of a decade for brands like Google, the American Red Cross and Vocus, I have learned a thing or two about this delicate practice. Here are six tips for PR pros looking to garner stronger relationships with influencers.
1) Make Them Look Good
Influence is build on the public social web through third party earned media from other influencers and social network communities. Have your brand share influencer content, refer and link to them in blog posts, and generally lavish public praise on them. You may even want to create a public list of your most important influencers.
2) Hire Them
We hired Allen Mireles (far right) to blog here and support Demand Success 2014.
One classic mistake brands make is treating influencers like reporters. They are not, and don’t play by the same rules. Further, many of them are busy building businesses and maintaining their social profiles. One of the fastest ways to get their attention (and their rolodex) is to hire them for a project. Make sure they disclose your relationship publicly to avoid issues with the FTC.
3) Throw A Special Event
Continuing on the theme of influencers are not reporters, instead of adding more important influencers to a media activity, create a special event for them specifically. Host a networking reception for bloggers and online personas with a unique speaker at a great venue (think tweet-up on steroids). Again, influencers tend to be solopreneurs or small entrepreneurs and they Love Perks. Give them a good time.
4) Send Them Some Love
Vocus sent a gift basket with the above goodies to its biggest advocates and influencers of 2013.
Just like any other important business relationship, it’s important to remind influencers that they matter to you. Send them a note or token of your gratitude periodically to maintain top of mind.
5) Develop Content that Features Them
Shel Israel contributed to Vocus’ Branding Rules eBook.
It has been said that influencers a) live on social equity and b) are trying to build businesses. Help them achieve both of these things by creating high end content that rises above the standard blog or photograph. Include them in an eBook, have them speak or keynote at an event or participate in a highly visible online project.
6) Support Books
A Frank Warren book signing for Give to the Max Day.
Most influencers write books as center points of their business and thought leadership pieces to drive influence. Beyond the obvious benefits of writing a book, they also require an enormous investment of time and creativity. Consequently, influencers are more vested in their books’ success than other forms of content and media. Support influencers by buying significant quantities of their books (100 or more). They will not forget your gesture.
What would you add?
