## Why influencers

### Shane Barker's key reasons to work with influencers:

- #### Build a shining reputation
  Endorsement from a well-known influencer can significantly improve your reputation.

- #### Reach potential customers beyond advertising
  People don't watch ads anymore. Influencers have the attention of their followers.

- #### Improve Brand Awareness
  Influencers have a wide reach, and can help to make your brand name famous.

- #### Generate and Maintain Leads
  Influencer recommendations help to convince buyers that your product is worth it.

- #### Follow the trends
  Social media is a vital marketing channel, and influencers help to build your presence there.

## Find influencers

### Build influencer personas
Before researching specific influencers, you need to know the kinds of person you're looking for. Just like you would build buyer personas for other marketing campaigns, build influencer personas for these campaigns.

- 01
  #### Map the influencer landscape
  Are they mostly journalists or social media community members? Bloggers or executives?

- 02
  #### Gather more details
  Understand not only who they are and what they do, but what drives them.

- 03
  #### Look for examples in your industry
  Do your competitors work with influencers? What about other companies with similar profiles?

- 04
  #### Select content types
  They must meet your target influencers’ needs.

Once you know the kinds of influencers you want to look for, it's time to begin your search!

### Choose the right partner
The number one key to a successful influencer campaign is choosing relevant partners. Not just any person with a large audience will do.

### The perfect influencer
- Is relevant to your brand  
- Has an audience that looks like your buyer  
- Can help you achieve your goals  
- Has an engaged following  
- Has a history of influencing purchases

Remember, it's not just about the size of the audience. You can pay huge money to get a celebrity to tweet about you, but if they don't suit your brand, it's probably a waste of money.

### Influence
=  
#### audience reach  
(# of followers)  
 x  
#### Brand affinity  
(expertise and credibility)  
 x  
#### Strength of Relationship with Followers

### Discover influencers online
- There are a few easy ways to identify influencers online and on social media:

- #### Use a tool
  These tools find people talking about specific topics and tell you which are the most influential. Some also make it easy to reach out and make a connection.

- #### Work with an agency
  Many agencies have a strong track record of building influencer marketing campaigns for clients. They'll help you create a strategy, find the influencers, and monitor the campaign.

- #### Pay them directly
  If you know your budget, you can engage influencers directly to share your content. There are directories of influencers (complete with prices) - similar to a talent agent. If you're ready to pay, this can be the quickest way to find influencers.

## Reach Influencers
Once you’ve built a targeted list of influencers that will help you reach your marketing goals, you’re ready to begin your outreach campaign. You’ll need to gather everyone’s contact info, write a few templates for your email pitch, and figure out a way to track the progress of your campaign.

### Make a social connection
Start following your target influencers and engaging with their content. Did they write a great blog post? Leave a comment. Did they write a great Facebook or Twitter post? Like and share it.

You’re just trying to get your name on their radar, not close a partnership in one tweet. Use social media to begin the relationship.

### What to include in the perfect pitch?
A quick email may seem like no big deal, but influencers wake up every morning to new outreach emails in their inbox. To get your pitch opened, read, and replied to, it needs to be awesome.

### Your pitch should include
- Who you are  
- Why you are contacting them  
- The collaboration details  
- What's in it for them  
- Next steps

- #### Write a killer subject line
  Your email’s subject line is your true first impression. If it’s awful, influencers won’t even open your email to see the rest of your pitch.

- #### Prove your credibility
  Add social proof that shows you’re credible and can deliver the benefits you promise.

### Create email templates
You want to personalize each outreach email, but you also don’t want to write each email from scratch. Email templates will be key to efficient outreach.

You have two options:

- 01
  #### Fill-in-the-blanks
  Highlight any place in your email where you’ll need to add customized information by adding a blank (“We’d love to work with ___ on a guest post...”) to create a Mad Libs-style template.

- 02
  #### Information prompts
  If you’d like to add more information about what custom information to add, instead add a prompt in brackets, parenthesis, or a highlighted font (“We’d love to work with [company name] on a guest post...”)