~Claudia Kwantini
In case you live under a rock and haven't noticed, we live in the digital age. We spend most of our time on the internet, so going through the influencer marketing route would only make cents. Get it? Studies revealed that 70% of teens trust influencers more than they do celebrities. And 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations. So, what exactly is influencer marketing, and how can you use it to promote your books?
You're probably wondering why you should even go with influencers in the first place. Influencer marketing has proven time and again to be effective in brand building and sales. But it provides more benefits, benefits most authors aren't even maybe thinking of yet. It can improve brand advocacy, expand your brand, help you reach new and more audiences and increase your share of voice.
Influencing is their job, the same as how your job is to write. So leave the marketing in their hands. Influencers have built their audience from the ground up using their skills, knowledge, charm, and creativity. Their followers fell in love with their authenticity and trusted them. Choosing the right influencer means that they have struck a chord with you, they already share your likes and interests and are on-brand for you. And chances are that their followers are thinking, “same”. That means that working with the ideal influencer means that you have already found your target audience, so whatever the influencer promotes already resonates with their audience.
When deciding to collaborate with someone, always make sure that you have something in common with them. The moment you collaborate, they become a part of your brand and image. Make sure you share the same beliefs and values and that you're both excited about your book. Because the biggest seller has always been the truth. That's why people are turning to influencer marketing in the first place, they want something familiar and something they can trust. So, your collaboration should feel like a normal everyday post instead of an advert. And the only way to ensure that is to select someone who already walks down the same path as you.
Influencers play the bridge between you and your audience, and they know this. That is why they tend to know exactly how to influence, working with them can be great for research. Marketing is their expertise, and often times they can advise you on the pros and cons of your marketing strategy. They know the people more than the average internet user does, so they know how to get through to them and how to connect with them on a deeper level. Which means that they could take what you have and make it 10× better. Isn't that amazing?
Another great thing about influencer marketing is that influencers are good at generating high SEO-quality posts (if we're working with other writers or bloggers). I mean, how else do they go viral? As an influencer, knowing the best hashtags and correct words to use is vital. That's their main goal, and it is yours as well. Being in the game for years (or even a short while) means that by now they have found the best way to ride the algorithm wave and have figured out easier ways to get noticed or to go viral. That's a key point in being successful. I mean, the more people hear about your book, the more likely you are to get more sales.
Have you ever wondered how there are so many influencers? Like the competition is high, yet their brand is still thriving? That's because influencers are strategic with how they move. They tend to know which angles to sell certain things, what's working for others and what's working for them. So, even if hundreds of influencers are advertising the same thing, each individual influencer has a niche that they use, and it works for them. They know it's important to stand out with what they're doing or else they will soon be forgotten and it's on to the next. Keeping up with trends, and adding their individual touch, is why so many followers trust their influencers.
Finding the ideal influencer can be a long-term investment, and it tends to be a lot cheaper than advertising. Branding with nano and micro-influencers (influencers with 50k followers and less) means paying a smaller fee than what you would with a macro or mega influencer. Now I know people think that numbers are essential and that it would be better to go with mega influencers, and that is kind of true. Are numbers important? Yes, but again, nano and micro-influencers are special because they relate with their audience on a personal level. They reply to comments and are directly involved with them. They feel human because they are more available, and often times that's what people prefer. Familiarity, safety, and trust. Mega influencers find it impossible to bond with their followers as there are too many.
And just because nano and micro influencers have fewer followers, doesn't mean they're less skilled. They tend to get hundreds of thousands of views. Sometimes millions. So, I would say it's safe to go with them but do what you want to do.
Influencer marketing is an incredible way to diversify. In this new era of inclusion and togetherness, it is essential as a brand to represent everyone, including minorities. Influencers are another way you can reach diverse audiences. As a brand, you want to build a brand that speaks to yourself as well as others. Including others and their differences can be overlooked and that's why when minorities find a brand that speaks for them, they instantly resonate with it. It brings nothing but positivity to them as well as your brand. So be diverse when seeking influencers because it speaks volumes about you and your brand.
It is also excellent for reaching a new demographic as a whole and those who don't want their work to speak to people from different ages, religions, and countries.
Involving yourself with influencers opens the door for you as a whole. Since influencers' followers trust them and see them as worthy, they will see you as worthy too. Their followers become your followers, and so you begin to grow. Chances are they even bring new followers to you themselves. So, in other words, they boost your engagement
So now that you know a few of the benefits, you're probably asking yourself what influencer marketing is. Influencer marketing is when a brand collaborates with an online influencer, but to be able to benefit from it, you first need to know who your target audience is. Once you have identified your target audience, it's time to find your influencers.
As brand because as an author, we need to approach our online life as a whole brand. So as a brand, you have to engage with your community. You do that by following trends in your community. Using the proper hashtags, being active and supportive towards other authors. Take part in challenges in your field and build your own brand.
Once you're established as a brand, it's time to branch out. Finding influencers to help build your brand could do wonders for your success (or lack thereof if you choose wrongly). Before you can even begin to dive in, there are things to consider. You have to think about the people you decide to network with because you want to gain people's trust and have a beautiful reputation. Avoid influencers who constantly attract negative attention, or who don't conduct themselves professionally.
Two. You have to make sure that their audience is the people you intend to sell to. Don't just take an influencer because they're a book lover, pick someone who loves your content because chances are their audience does too. After all, they're the people who will be advertised to, and you have to make sure that the book you wrote, is for this demo graph.
Three. Have a look at their review format. Perhaps it's not your style? Perhaps they don't sell their goods well enough. Some book reviews written by these influencers are just their rating and a summary of your blurb. Maybe that's not what you want, perhaps you want them to write an in-depth review, or perhaps you aren't too bothered by that. Check their past content and see if this is the style and tone you're going for. Make sure that it's the way you would want to have your work represented and showcased.
TIP: Many influencers fake their following and engagement. Before selecting your influencer, you might want to find out if they have real followers or if they're bots. There are many free software programs that can sort this out for you.
But another way to check if they have fake followers is to compare their following with their engagement. If they have thousands of followers but only get a few likes, the followers are bots. Or if they get plenty of likes and comments, but the comments are redundant or just emojis, chances the comments are from bots.
So, how do we find these influencers? Easy, there are loads of free and paid influencer databases that sift out people for you to work with. They are designed to find the perfect influencers for you. Places such as Klear, Traackr and Influence.co are spectacular sites, and they do most of the work for you. Ha! That's marvellous.
Another way is to go on the platform that you want to advertise on and search for a trend or theme in your book or something similar. Find the latest results and reach out to the poster. Obviously, you're going to select the poster that posts the content you're looking for and who gets the views.
To advertise, ask them if you can send them a free copy of your book. Another way is to send them a shirt or bracelet with a quote from your book or to post your book trailer. To work with an influencer, you must always think about what's in it for them. How will they benefit?
You can follow hashtags on Instagram. Instatok is huge, it's a community filled with book lovers from all over. Use hashtags such as #bookgram or #bookreviews or #booklover to find your ideal match. These people adore books and cannot stop talking about them. And their followers (who are also mega bookworms) don't want them to stop. A not-so-relevant tip is trying to find an influencer whose page feels connected to your brand. Their account design should align with your work as a pleasant atheistic.
Facebook groups. You could link up with other writers or bloggers in writers' groups, or find them in book review books. The fantastic thing is that they tend to be cheap as well.
Or find them in influencer groups where there are lots of up-and-coming influencers willing to work for free. But, do choose someone who at least has a following and who gets a ton of engagement.
So in this post, you will have learned what influencer marketing is, how to find the perfect influencers, the benefits of influencer marketing and where to find influencers. As technology advances, and we do almost everything online, influencer marketing just keeps on getting stronger and proves to be the way to go. It is in this modern day the best way to advertise as social media is slowly killing radio, billboards and other means previously used for promotion and marketing.
The main goal of influencer marketing is to reach new target audiences and increase brand awareness and credibility through the endorsement of a trusted face. And we have seen how easy and cost-effective that is whilst working with influencers. Influencers see themselves as a brand and building and marketing that brand is what they do best, that's why working with them (if you're doing it right) you will always get the best out of it. As authors, we have done a lot to work hard on our book, and marketing plays a major role in generating sales. And social media plays a greater role in everyone's lives, and that's why working with influencers to market your book is your safest bet.