Love ‘em or hate ‘em you have to admit that influencers are, well, pretty influential; and that’s not just the allure talking. In fact, for every $1 spent on an influencer campaign, brands typically see a return of $6.85! That’s an incredible near 600% return on investment! Influencers can have an incredible impact on your audience and brand by simply tapping into their niches and loyal fans, you can collaborate together to create a super audience! But first, you have to turn influencers into advocates.

You might be wondering, “if an influencer isn’t already using our products or familiar with our brand, how can we convert them into an advocate?” This is a great question! While it may seem like a far stretch at first, converting influencers into your brand advocates is actually as easy as 1,2,3. Check out these 3 ways you can convert influencers into your advocates. 

Influencer Stats

Before we get into how you can convert influencers into advocates, let’s take a look at some incredible statistics influencer marketing is known for.

• 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations over traditional brand posts 
• According to FOHR, nano influencers and micro-influencers have some of the highest engagement on their posts 
• MediaKix is expecting a a massive $15 billion to be spent on influencer marketing in 2022
• In a survey conducted by FOHR, 60% stated that they purchased something they saw on TikTok 
• The number of influencer marketing related services and companies grew by 26% in 2021

Now that you have a deeper understanding of just how powerful influencer marketing has been not only on consumers but marketing in general, let’s take a look at how you can tap into this incredible and rapidly growing market

Start a Conversation

Nearly 36% of influencers surveyed by AgilityPR Solutions stated that they only receive 1-3 messages from brands a month about collab opportunities. In 2022, there are over 37 million influencers on Instagram alone. This means there are a lot of untapped influencers in your niche out there! 

The best way to convert an influencer into an advocate is to just start a conversation. Whether it’s a simple, value-driven comment or you want to get straight down to business with a DM, the sooner you start the sooner you’ll find out if an influencer is a good match for your brand. 

Keep in mind that a single comment or lone DM alone may not convince an influencer. 51% of influencers want to know more about the company they may be aligning themselves and their brand with. 

With that in mind, here are some tips for approaching influencers: 

• Be sincere: Sure, their outfit, flat lay, or pet is cute. But a generic comment alone may not sway them. Sharing something that you like about them in a genuine and sincere way. 
• Be upfront: If you’re going to try to start a working relationship with an influencer it’s important to be totally transparent. 59 percent of influencers stated they’d like to see a clear idea of available budgets and expected deliverables and 61 percent of influencers want a clear description of the product or service to be advertised. 
• Be consistent: It’s not totally reasonable to engage with every post, story, and Reel. It is  reasonable to engage with their content a few times a week. Keep in mind though, consistent engagement does result in stronger relationships and can help break the ice during initial contact. 

Outsource Your Content Production 

You know how your user-generated content that you post from your fans and advocates always does really well? Well, influencer created content  can have a powerful effect on your audience as well. Actually, another term for influencer is actually content creator because they excel at creating tangible-feeling content for brands and businesses. Outsourcing your content production to influencers not only helps to establish a strong working relationship, it’s also way more cost effective than trying to hire a creative agency. You can use influencer created content in 2 ways: 

Exclusive Content: Exclusive content is best for an extended campaign. You can utilize nano, micro or influencers with large followings for exclusive content. You will have more creative control over what the influencer is able to create but will need to be mindful of each influencer’s individual aesthetic and how it relates to your brand as this may hinder their creative ability. 

Freelance Services: Freelance services are a great way to utilize influencers that you may have little to no rapport with. Typically, for freelance services, you will want to work with nano and micro-influencers. These are influencers who don’t mind working on one-off projects and seek the majority of creative control but still deliver incredible, high-value, and quality content. 

Invite Them Into Your World 

There is an influencer out there who would give anything to be able to work with you but you haven’t really made yourself available to them. Might we suggest inviting them into your world. Instagram or FB takeovers, TikTok Live, or content series featuring them on your Twitch, Discourse, or blog can help kickstart your relationship. 

Cross-promotional opportunities like takeovers or content series allow you to harness the audience, reach, and expertise of an influencer while still maintaining some control over the content type and distribution. 

Here are a few tips for a successful Instagram takeover: 

1. Use a password sharing app like LastPass 1Password to maintain privacy and account safety
2. Let your followers know when it’s happening and encourage your influencer to share their takeover date with their audience as well
3. Decide on a script. Do you want your influencer to mention specific things, products or dates? Or will you let your influencer have free reign on topics? Decide beforehand to avoid  any mishaps. 
4. Choose a hashtag to keep posts regarding the takeover organized

Ask for Their Feedback

Whether or not an influencer is currently using your product or service, if you’ve got your eye on them then they are probably at least familiar with your niche. So, what’s the benefit of that? They’re going to be a great resource for feedback! 

Asking influencers for their feedback on current and future products  can give you real insight on what a consumer in your niche might be thinking and saying. Here are some feedback concepts you can use with influencers: 

Consumer Reviews: Find out what they think about your product and brand compared to your competitors. These insights can be used to improve your brand’s reputation both on and offline.

Product Development: Ready to launch a new product? Or maybe you want to break into a new market? Influencers can help you develop new products and access new audiences by providing their expertise, knowledge, experience, and authority to help you craft the latest and greatest. 

Marketing Feedback: Are your campaigns not hitting  the marks like they were supposed to? If your campaigns are falling flat for your brand, it might be time to ask an outside source. Influencers can help you figure out what is missing from your campaigns and how to craft campaigns that truly speak to your audience. 

Get Help Turning Influencers to Advocates with Social Toaster 

Need help finding influencers and turning them into rockin’ advocates? We can help! SocialToaster’s proven advocacy marketing platform was created to help consumer brands turn their biggest influencers into brand-promoting advocates! Learn more and schedule a demo today.