How to Use Influencer Marketing to Impact Your Sales

Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to market your business, to increase traffic to your site and social media channels, and to make more sales. This is due to the fact that influencers have loyal followings on blogs, social media, and podcasts. Here are some tips on how to use influencer marketing to impact your sales.

1. How to Choose an Influencer
Before choosing influencers to work with, it is helpful to create an avatar of your ideal customer. What types of topics, blogs, and social media sites would your ideal customer be interested in? Find influencers that represent 1-2 of these areas. An example is the area of travel. Within that area, find 2-3 subcategories. Some examples of subcategories are: travel to Europe, tips on how to prepare for travel, and best places to visit. When you contact an influencer, mention a topic that they cover sometimes and why working with them would be a great fit for both of you.

2. Ways to Find Influencers
One of the ways to find influencers is through social media monitoring. You can find hashtags that influencers are using and the conversations around those hashtags. You can also set up Google alerts for keywords related to your brand to locate people who are writing about your niche. To find bloggers and blogs in your niche, you can use tools such as BlogDash and Inkybee.

3. Ways that You Can Work with Influencers
Influencers promote niches, brands and impact the awareness and actions of their followers because their followers know and trust them. Here are some ways that you can work with influencers:

♦ Send a blogger products from your store for them to review. The blogger can write about your products and post images of them. They can link back to your site, which will boost your traffic.

♦ Send products to an influencer that they can enter into a contest for their audience to win.

♦ Send a store credit to an influencer (ex. magazine writer, blogger, active social media user). The influencer can use the store credit to purchase something on your website and then review their experience.

♦ Use your social media channels to share and thank the influencer you are working with. Share posts they have written about your business.

♦ If you want an influencer to continue working with you, continue to give them incentives such as discounts from your store. You might also consider giving them commissions if they are bringing in a lot of sales for you.