Influencers are a group of individuals who have carefully crafted their images and have worked hard to gain all of their followers using public platforms.

Therefore, it would come as no surprise that they might not be so quick to jump at the opportunity of promoting just any brand. This is especially true if they aren't convinced that a relationship with the brand will be highly beneficial for them. 

In order to win over their affection, brands must be more conscious of how they approach these individuals and how they go about persuading them to join forces. 

But, if you're not really a pro at persuading, media update's Lara Smit will give you all the information you'll need to become an expert in convincing. 

Let's learn how to perfectly persuade influencers:

1. Make them a fan with flattery

When approaching an influencer, it is essential that you let them know why you have chosen them. By doing this, you will show the influencer that you have a good understanding of what they do and what sets them apart from other influencers. But why is this important?

Openly identifying these key elements shows the influencer that you do not just see them for their follower count. It will also show them that you recognise the:
  • individual facets and goals that make up the entirety of their work
  • effort and intentions that they have implemented, and
  • value that can be found in their respective branding.
So, when you approach an influencer, make sure that you are familiarised with their content and able to discuss what exactly you enjoy about their content with them. Let them know that you have done the research by referencing to some of their earliest work and be sure to tell them what your reaction to their content was and why. 

2. Tell them how it's a win-win

Another key element of your influencer approach should be letting them know what's in it for them

Many brands reward influencers for their efforts by offering them a discount on products, giving them free merchandise or paying them for their services. Now, although these offers are beneficial for influencers, many of these individuals don't want to appear to be 'sell-outs' to their followers. 

What's more is that for people who spend many hours producing and refining their content, having to follow the guidelines of a brand when producing content may not appeal to these individuals. Therefore, they can be quite apprehensive when it comes to producing marketing content for a brand on their pages. 

So, in your approach, you should let influencers know how promoting your product will benefit their content and their pages. To do this, you as a brand must make sure beforehand that: 
  • your product aligns with the type of content produced on their platforms
  • your content can be easily integrated into theirs and does not require the influencer to make changes to the style or format of the content that they already produce, and 
  • their followers won't see the type of content that you require as 'too salesy'. 

3. Be clear about what you want

When you are trying to recruit influencers, you have to be honest and direct about what you expect from them, as well as the goals behind the collaboration. This way, they will know what they are agreeing to from the outset and make an informed decision if they want to partner up or collaborate.

They can also prepare themselves for any expectations that your brand has for them so that they can evaluate whether they can meet these expectations or not.

Therefore, you should tell them:
  • what type of content you want from them 
  • how you want them to mention you in the content
  • how you would like them to talk about the product or brand, and
  • the amount of times (per week or month) they need to create content for your brand.
It is also important for brands to listen to what they want too. Why is that? 

Influencers are great at what they do. They know what their audiences want and how to produce stellar content. For this reason, it would be beneficial to both parties if brands were open to the suggestions that they make too.

4. Remember, persuasion hates a pusher

When a brand is forceful and impatient in its approach to an influencer, it can be extremely off-putting and sets a bad tone for the relationship between these two entities. Therefore, it's important that brands practice patience in all of their communication with influencers. 
Remember, these influencers don't need you, you need them. This is why all communication should be respectful and treated as a proposal — not a demand. 
Additionally, brands should be considerate of an influencer's time and give them a reasonable amount of time to respond before they follow up on communication. Nobody likes feeling chased or pressured to reply — especially when they are making an important decision. 

Brands should also be willing to participate in negotiations regarding contract terms with influencers. This will allow influencers to feel heard and enhance their experience with the brand, which will contribute to building strong working relationships with them. 

What else do you think marketers should keep in mind when approaching influencers? Let us know in the comments.

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Do you want to find out more about obtaining the right influencer for your brand? Then be sure to read our article, How to catch a social media influencer.
*Image courtesy of Yan Krukov from Pexels