Each and every day, our team fields questions about the world of ‘micro-influencers’ and how to best incorporate them into social media strategy. While Kim Kardashian and Logan Paul are often thought of as key brand ambassadors in the social media world, there are hundreds of thousands of micro-influencers throughout the US that can add value to your marketing mix. Today, we take a look at our top tips for working with micro-influencers.

1. Get Them on the Phone

In today’s day and age, it’s not abnormal to think that you can get all of your work sitting behind a computer. However, it’s important to keep in mind that creators are people; they are not billboards or digital advertising spaces on websites. When first connecting with a micro-influencer, schedule a time to chat on the phone or meet in person for coffee. This step helps ensure that both you and the influencer understand each other’s wants and needs when it comes to content styles, goals, and campaign execution specifics.

2. Ask Them About Their Story

When building a relationship with the influencer, make sure to learn about them. Ask them about their background, what inspired them to first share content around their topic of expertise, what their aspirations are for their personal brand or if they have a full-time job. Again, creators are people and people love chatting about themselves. The information you gather the information you learn about them is laying the foundation for a desirable long-term relationship with that individual.

3. Interact With Them Over Social Media

Digital influencers, big or small, all have one thing in common: they value relationship-building over social media. The reason that they have acquired a community of followers is due to their activity on social platforms. One element of an influencer strategy that brands often forget is to interact with their creators on their preferred social platforms. By engaging with their content, you can align your brand with the influencer while bringing them value and show them that you are genuinely interested in them.

4. Involve Them In Your Digital Strategy and Business Decisions

One huge benefit that micro-influencers can provide brands is their expertise in digital strategy and branding. As a brand or product, you should be sure to leverage your influencers to help with strategic marketing decisions as you build a relationship with them; ask them what you can do better on social media, what types of content is missing from your channels, how can you better organically connect with your followers. These are all simple, yet very productive talking points that can add value to your brand. Another way to incorporate influencers in your business is to give them exclusive access to products you are testing. If you are a restaurant or bar that is looking to create a new recipe, have them taste test the dish or even bring them into the kitchen to see how the dish is prepared. Finding ways to give exclusive access to influencers only strengthens your relationship with them and can even give them new ideas for content in which they can authentically incorporate your brand.

Julius is an influencer marketing platform that provides marketers with rich social data, advanced search capabilities, and the campaign management tools required to organize a successful influencer marketing strategy.

Request a demo of the Julius influencer marketing software, or read more about digital creators on our influencer marketing blog.