This week I had the pleasure of attending an informative influencer relations lunch-and-learn put on by TapInfluence. It was great to be among marketers and agency peers who understand the value of influencer programs—which can target anyone from popular, niche bloggers to Instagram and Pinterest stars with thousands of followers—as much as we do at GFM, as well as gain new knowledge related to how to find quality influencers and measure bottom line impact.
One section of the presentation stood out in particular—the importance of an “always on” strategy with influencers once value relationships have been established.
In today’s fast-paced world of integrated marketing, it is easy to make the mistake of moving on to the next program once phase one is done. However, by creating a compelling “always on” cadence with influencers you’ve engaged previously, word of mouth marketing can continue and brand loyalties are nurtured.
An “always on” strategy does not need to be as labor or cost intensive as the initial influencer relations campaign. Depending on the brand or product you represent, “always on” might mean quarterly sample mailings or invitations of relevant offline events throughout the year. The strategy might be as straightforward as a monthly e-newsletter to the most engaged influencers with sneak previews of new products and happenings at the company.
But all of these “always on” tactics have one idea in common—influencers remain engaged, rather than forgotten once you have gotten the blog posts and tweets you set out to secure in phase one.
We are still very early into 2015. It is not too late to reengage and turn on 2014 relationships that may have gotten stale.
Send personal emails to influencers. Create a thoughtful springtime mailer with key products and send it out in April. Talk with your events team and determine if a few influencers might want to attend an upcoming expo or consumer event you’re staffing.
The sky is the limit and the long-term potential is too important to ignore when you have already put in the hard work and long hours to build these relationships in the first place. What are you waiting for? Make 2015 the year of “always on” influencer relations for your brand.
