These tips for micro influencers can specifically help with pitching and landing brand partnerships. Netanya Trimboli is an expert in working with travel influencers and offers her insights as an industry leader.
Influencers, if you’ve ever been turned down for not having a big enough following, then it’s time to change the conversation.
Whether you’re just starting out or have reached your threshold, there are plenty of ways to drive value for your clients without depending on reach.
But, to change the conversation, you need to come to the table rethinking your deliverables. You need to propose a variety of touchpoints that are customized for your target client.
From a travel influencer expert, here’s how to get started…
Tips for Micro Influencers to Prove Their Value
Read next: Tips for creating a professional campaign report
Own Your Micro Influencer Status
Luckily, the term “micro influencer” has become a buzzword, synonymous with a modest but hyper-engaged audience.
So lead with that in your intro and be proud of it.
This will also help prevent sticker shock when your prospect sees your media kit.
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What really matters to a brand is this:
How many views will my article get and how many people will engage with my content.
Want to know one of the best-kept secrets about travel influencers?
A micro influencer may have the same average number of views per article as a huge blog site.
How can that be?
Some of these sites are so big that their own articles are competing against one another for views. So use this reality to your advantage!
→ Tips for micro influencers: Instead of focusing on unique monthly visitors, focus on how many average views individual articles receive.
You might be surprised how you stack up when comparing apples to apples!
Micro Influencers Need to Think Like Content Marketers
Traditionally, influencer collaborations have involved both blog and social media posts.
But brands have a bevy of other content needs, like their own website and social media, newsletters, an annual report, stakeholder communication, etc.
If you can serve multiple needs beyond exposure on your own platform, you transform from an influencer to an indispensable resource.
→ Tips for micro influencers: Offer some of these highly desirable assets:
- Rights to 5-10 photos, allowing the brand to create the shot list
- Providing rights to content, permitting the brand to share your piece on their website or newsletter – with backlinks, of course!
- Including their product or service in another piece you’re working on that is an organic fit
- Offering to write a testimonial after your experience
- Important: Never offer to give a 5-star review before you’ve even interacted with the product or service – it takes away from your credibility
Make Social Media Work Harder
There is a lot of noise on social media. With the constantly changing algorithms, even a large following does not guarantee eyeballs.
→ Tips for micro influencers: Go the extra mile on social media to boost the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
Ideas for these kinds of bonus features include:
- Pinning a post on various platforms for 2 weeks
- Offering to do an Instagram Takeover or provide additional photos suitable for your client’s own social media channels
- Spending $10-$15 to boost social posts on Facebook or Instagram – a little bit goes a long way!
- Encouraging your client to add you as a Branded Content partner on Facebook so that they can do their own boost, as well as track your metrics in real time.
Always Be Exceptionally Professional
From responsiveness to follow up, this is an area where even many seasoned influencers fall short.
→ Tips for micro influencers: Professionalism starts with a contract, no matter how small the collaboration.
Most brands should have their own contract templates. If not, insist that you put one together and have both parties sign off on all deliverables and timelines.
Read next: 10 Common Mistakes Influencers Make That You Can Easily Avoid
This ensures expectations will be met and establishes you as a trusted professional. Once you have a contract in place, continue to maintain a strong relationship by:
- Returning emails within 48 – if not 24 – hours
- Confirming arrangements a few days or a week out from your collaboration
- Sending an email within 48 hours of your interaction with their product or service to share how it went, as well as let them know when your posts will go live
- Sending links when content is live and be on time – you don’t want your client to have to hunt you down!
- Sharing a campaign report within 4-6 weeks, making sure it’s presented in a way that your point of contact would be excited to present at a team meeting
The last bullet is probably the most important to a brand, yet is typically given the least amount of attention by influencers.
To get budget dollars for influencers now and in the future, brands have to prove their value to other stakeholders in their organization.
A professional-looking report (PowerPoint works great), showing what you did and the results you achieved not only makes their job easier, it makes you the unexpected rock star.
Read next: PR and Marketing Terms Influencers Need to Know
We’re living in challenging times. Now more than ever, every business partnership needs to overdeliver, serve multiple purposes, and have the data to back it up.
For rising influencers, being that business resource doesn’t necessarily mean having the biggest following. It means understanding your clients’ needs and making their lives easier.
If you can do that, you may not be so micro in the future!
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This is such a great piece!! Thank you so much Netanya! Do you have any suggestions of where I can find a good example if the post-collab report? Thanks in advance.