Fostering Authentic Influencer Relationships: Building Trust and Credibility
With the nature of influencer marketing to be based on transactional relationships, it can be easy to forget why this strategy works well: authenticity. Viewing the relationship between brand and influencer as one of authenticity and community not only will help your campaign but will continue to make the work fulfilling.
To emphasize the importance, FNBO reports that 40% of consumers trust brands that work with influencers but 63% trust what the influencer says about a brand more than what the brand says about themselves. Influencers are your best source of endorsement. Audiences listen to influencers so building a strong and genuine connection with the influencer is one of the best ways to better connect with consumers. It can be difficult to grow authentic relationships, especially within business so we want to help you discover the best way to build your influencer community.
Strategies for Authentic Influencer Engagement: Building Trust Through Collaboration
Personalized outreach: When beginning influencer outreach, you will be contacting a high volume of influencers and it can be tempting to use templates or automated responses during this step. While streamlining processes are often valuable, so is creating a genuine connection with the influencer. We recommend utilizing personalized messaging when reaching out to influencers. Research the influencer before sending a message so that you can find some common ground from the start. Whether that be connecting through a love of dogs, yoga practices, or maybe you like one of their outfits, coming from a place of conversation is important.
Clear Communication: Along with personalization, your communication should stay clear and respectful throughout the collaboration. Displaying mutual respect, shared values, and open communication with influencers helps to build authentic relationships during campaigns. Starting from a place of trust will benefit your campaign and could potentially grow the partnership into a long-term collaboration.
Disclosure and transparency: Just as your brand wants to know the influencer is being authentic and honest in the collaboration, the influencer wants the same in return. Being transparent from the beginning will add another layer of trust during the campaign. Mistakes happen and sometimes unexpected issues arise but as long as you’re transparent about what is going on, it won’t disrupt your influencer relationships.
Try a Face-to-Face Meeting: Aside from outreach on various social media platforms, another way to build an authentic relationship with the influencer is through an in-person meeting. Grabbing coffee with the influencer and learning more about who they are and why they create content will help the collaboration be more authentic. You’ll also learn about some potential roadblocks in creating the campaign in terms of access to equipment and scheduling. Any questions you may have can be answered without a never ending email chain.
Bring Value:The influencer is providing a service to the brand and while they are compensated either monetarily or through free products, it can be beneficial to bring non-tangible value to the collaboration as well. Business.com recommends introducing the influencer to other industry professionals to help build a larger network or by providing a platform for the influencer to showcase their talents. This step isn’t necessary but is one way to build an authentic and collaborative relationship with your influencers.
The Power of Authenticity: How Trustworthy Influencer Relationships Drive Brand Loyalty
Customer Retention: Many great products never gain traction because they aren’t well-known to consumers. With the help of influencers, now audiences everywhere are exposed to products that have incredible benefits. Once the consumer buys the product from the initial influencer endorsement, they are likely to continue buying that product for the foreseeable future because of the quality and benefits they see. Followers are more likely to try the product as well because they trust the influencer’s opinion.
Brand Loyalty: When consumers continuously purchase a product from a specific brand and “shun” competitors, this is called brand loyalty as defined by Investopedia. Since the consumer is now loyal to the brand, they are more likely to buy other products produced by the brand. This is a huge return on investment through influencer marketing because not only do you see an increase in customer retention but also an additional increase in brand loyalty.
Stronger Reputation: Combine influencer endorsement with brand loyalty and you have a stronger brand reputation. Now you have positive product reviews online and through word of mouth from the consumers. As brand awareness increases, influencers with higher followings will want to endorse your product as well which will boost reputation yet again.
There are many benefits to building authentic relationships with influencers but it can be hard knowing where to begin. Reach out today so we can help nurture these relationships and help build your influencer marketing community.
