Finding the right influencers to promote your brand is a crucial step in building an effective influencer marketing program. From leveraging existing relationships to cold outreach and product seeding, this guide provides actionable steps to identify, engage, and nurture influencers who align with your brand.
Start with Your Existing Audience
Your most valuable influencers may already be engaging with your brand. Begin by looking within your current community:
Search Social Media Followers: Identify followers with large audiences or verified profiles on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter. Use tools like Modash to pinpoint your top fans.
Review Customer Lists: Comb through your email subscribers and customer data using tools like Gatsby to find potential influencers.
Analyze Past Engagement: Look for users who have commented on or liked your social posts—particularly those with a following.
Once you’ve identified potential influencers, organize them in a spreadsheet. Include details like their social handles, follower count, and engagement rates. Begin outreach by sending personalized direct messages (DMs) using your brand voice. Keep it lighthearted and engaging. If you don’t receive a response after two follow-ups, try reaching out via email.
Cold Outreach and Product Seeding
When you've exhausted your current audience, move on to cold outreach, focusing on product seeding:
What is Product Seeding? Product seeding is a strategy where brands send free products to influencers, celebrities, or key individuals without asking for anything in return. This approach fosters goodwill, builds relationships, and leverages the Reciprocity Principle—the natural tendency for people to reciprocate kindness.
Why Seeding is More Effective Than Gifting While gifting programs promise guaranteed posts and impressions, they are often one-time transactions. Product seeding, on the other hand, focuses on long-term relationship-building and can act as the “top of the funnel” for your influencer marketing program.
Steps for Seeding Success:
DM Influencers: Reach out, introduce your product, and offer to send it with no strings attached.
Send Products: Once influencers accept, ship your product promptly.
Leverage UGC: Collect the content they create organically and use it in your paid and organic campaigns.
Evaluate Results: Identify influencers whose content performs well and consider engaging them as affiliates or paid influencers.
Finding Influencers for Seeding
Followers of brands similar to yours.
Influencers already promoting similar products.
Hashtag searches relevant to your niche.
Hiring freelancers (e.g., on Fiverr) to create influencer lists.
Searching for niche Facebook groups or political activists, depending on your audience.
Volume is key: expect responses from about 20% of outreach efforts, and approximately 25% of those who receive products will post content.
Build Relationships with Key Influencers
Focus on influencers who align with your brand values and have an audience you want to reach. To identify these individuals:
Look for existing connections—followers, podcast guests, or mutual contacts.
Compile an exhaustive list and carefully evaluate each candidate. Consider benefits, potential risks, and desired outcomes for the relationship.
Before Reaching Out
Define your goals: Are you looking for a one-off post, ongoing engagement, or professionally produced ads?
Develop ideas to excite the influencer and align them with your brand vision.
Nurture Core Ambassadors Your first few ambassadors will become the backbone of your program. Assign someone to manage these relationships, ensuring they feel valued:
Celebrate milestones: Send gift cards, thoughtful messages, or small gifts when they experience significant life events.
Stay connected: Regularly engage with their social content to show genuine interest.
Real-Life Example: Building Relationships at Groove Life
At Groove Life, I built an influencer program by fostering meaningful relationships with key ambassadors. By staying attuned to their personal milestones—whether celebrating wins or offering support during challenges—we created a loyal network of influencers who went above and beyond to promote our brand. These relationships weren’t just transactional; they were partnerships rooted in mutual trust and respect.
Finding influencers requires a combination of leveraging existing relationships, strategic cold outreach, and nurturing long-term partnerships. By focusing on relationship-building and utilizing product seeding, you can create an influencer program that not only boosts brand awareness but also drives meaningful, measurable results.