In recent years, the term influencer marketing has generated a lot of buzz.
From small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, independent freelancers to CMOs, everyone seems very much interested in influencer marketing. In fact, if we go by the latest influencer marketing statistics, the channel is turning more attractive than other digital channels and paid campaigns.
Check a few below:
- Influencer marketing delivers 11 times higher ROI than traditional marketing and advertisements. (TapInfluence, 2017)
- 73% of modern marketers say that they have dedicated themselves to influencer marketing. (Forrester, 2015)
- In a recent survey by Twitter & Annalect, 49% of people agreed that they rely on influencers’ recommendations when making business decisions.
- 40% of survey respondents made a purchase online after seeing it being used by influencers on social media. (Twitter & Annalect, 2016)
- Businesses are generating a strong return: (an average amount) $6.50 for every $1 they invested in influencer marketing (Convince & Convert)
- Content marketing is 62 percent low-cost compared to traditional marketing and generates 3X more leads than traditional channels. (Demand Metric, 2014)
If you want to read more statistics, I recommend you download the influencer marketing statistics report (2017) by TapInfluence.
Who is an Influencer?
It is generally believed that anyone with thousands of fans on social media or blogs is an influencer as they can offer your brand great exposure. However, this is not the complete – or say, the perfect definition of an influencer.
The simplest definition could be derived from a quote by Jay Baer:
True influence drives action, not just awareness.
While there’s no disagreement that someone with hundreds of thousands of fans can expose your brand to thousands of followers. If they are not the right fit for your niche or industry, they’ll be unable to motivate any action or drive leads to your business.
An ideal influencer is somebody, who is (essentially) from your own industry and has a complete understanding of the buyer journey & customer behavior. They know how to influence a particular segment and hence, can motivate actions in your favor.
One key segment of the influencers belongs to the blogging community – people who are experts in their domain and enjoy subject-expert status. People trust their opinion, and brands aspire to cash that “trust” to their advantage.
What Is Blogger Outreach?
To be precise, blogger outreach is defined as a process where brands/marketers reach out to bloggers or a blogger outreach service provider, in order to build a business relationship. This can lead to a whole lot of things – content marketing, guest posting, linking to your site, brand mention, product endorsement, favorable reviews, and others.
This relationship can be built on monetary exchanges, product/service exchanges, and a range of other models working out there. You should study which model suits your niche and may be beneficial for your business.
Why Invest in Blogger Outreach?
Getting Started With Blogger Outreach
Step 1: Do Your Homework
Doing your homework means diving into available data, and making a refined list of potential bloggers to reach out to. This is a very critical step as it will decide the level of success you may enjoy – therefore, invest a good amount of time into this. Here we are listing down some vital tools that may lead you to the right network.- Google Search – The first tool is obviously the search engine. Make sure to customize the search with the right keywords, timeframe, and result types.
- Industry Publications – Every industry has some leading publications, blogs, and news outlets. Dig into your one, and see who is doing what, and for whom.
- Social Media – You can use popular social media sites to list down the people who have a higher fan following and can be of any help.
- AllTop – It contains a curated list of blogs in a range of industries. You can pick up the best ones from your niche.
- OSE – Open Site Explorer by Moz can provide you with essential information about the site – like domain authority, page authority, etc.
Step 2: Know the Blogger
Now when you have a list of websites and bloggers – the next step is to research the writer and know exactly what their core area of expertise is. Suppose, you’re a Software Development Company, don’t just reach out to general bloggers, find those with a focus on technology, development, design, and related areas. You can map their profiles in Excel Sheet by adding their name, email address, area of expertise, blog’s DA, etc. See if you could find some automated tools to customize your search and profile building.Step 3: Build Connection
As noted above, bloggers receive hundreds of emails a day – therefore, it may take some time to get back to you. You must adopt a creative approach to get visible and build connections. You can build connections with influencers using the following methods.- Direct connection: Write down an email with an excellent pitch. Bloggers are smart, they know why you’re reaching them. Therefore, keep your web copy creative, but simply stupid. Another way is to reach and interact with them via social media and blog comments – but avoid spam as it can be dangerous.
- Reach via Marketplaces: You can have a network of influencers from influencers’ marketplaces. You can hire a wide range of influencers on these portals.
- Hire PR / Blogger Outreach Agency: PR agencies are dedicated organizations with a network of bloggers and influencers. You can outsource blogger outreach and content marketing to them – and they can get you posted on your desired blogs.