Most marketers agree that using social influencers is essential for a successful marketing plan. The return of investment on influencers can be as high as 650%. The catch is that influencers are to be compensated for their services. Hiring an influential InstaStar will jack up your marketing budget, no doubt. Businesses that don’t have large budgets for influencer campaigns need not sit out of the action. The answer? Organic influencer partnerships!
Because organic influencer marketing is more akin to a personal recommendation from a respected authority, followers find it far more reliable. An organic connection at the heart of your relationship adds excellent value to any influencer marketing plan, whether you’re asking for content in exchange for a product or agreeing to pay for social media promotions.
We’ll outline the steps you can take to grow your company organically via influencer partnerships. Let’s take a look at the basics first:
What Is Organic Influencer Marketing?
Organic influencer partnerships occur when influencers of any size discuss or advertise a brand without signing a paid campaign contract. These influencers may already support a brand or try a new one, then tell their followers about it without first getting in touch with the company.
A brand, product, or service will appear incredibly authentic if an influencer says anything about it because they genuinely believe in it. They are effectively serving as brand advocates in this sense. Hence, organic influencer partnerships are all about turning influencers into brand advocates.
Figure 1: Organic influencers are a blend of brand advocates turned into influencers. Source: Mention
Benefits Of Organic Partnerships
The genuine excitement of the influencer towards your brand
The ideal fusion of marketing, celebrity endorsements, and word-of-mouth creates a significant opportunity for sales. And the best thing is that organic influencer marketing works with all tiers as long as a person has actual influence over their audience. Because they love your product, achieving your desired results becomes even easier.
Cost-effective
Giving an influencer exposure to a product or service through organic influencer partnerships only costs brands a small sum of money. The only expenses for the company are the product and delivery charges. By sending a gift box or sample to an influencer, they can mention you in their Instagram stories or on their blog for free.
It’s authentic
Organic influencer marketing is not only a cost-effective solution but also a high level of sincerity. Also, the influencers are not bound by brand guidelines, resulting in greater creative freedom while talking about the brand. This promotes follower engagement and authenticity.
How To Cultivate Organic Influencer Partnerships
Developing an organic influencer marketing strategy is necessary before you get started. Don’t worry; with these six ideas for creating organic influencer marketing, you have a starting point:
Interact on social media
It is the first place you will notice self-motivated brand advocates talking about you. Don’t ignore such signs if you see someone repeatedly mentioning your company. Instead, follow them and interact with their posts! We advise employing a social listening tool to locate the top organic brand promoters.
Invite them to special events
Take the relationship one step by organizing meetups and turning the relationship serious. Inviting them to special events shows your brand champions that you are ready to take action further than social media. Although face-to-face gatherings are the best method to fortify these connections, hosting a virtual event can also bring similar results.
Send them products they like and use
Being acknowledged by a brand you love is the best feeling for an influencer. They want to work with your brand if they already buy your stuff. This is not only an accomplishment for marketers but also a terrific approach to establishing a lasting bond with your genuine brand supporters. Seeding products that consumers don’t genuinely desire is a waste of money and inventory and shows that you didn’t invest time in researching the influencer.
Allow for creative freedom
We recognize that specific brand rules are very rigorous. However, remember that an influencer’s audience follows them for a reason. They find inspiration in them, like their sense of style, and value their individuality. Establish trust and understanding with influencers who naturally fit your brand’s aesthetic and beliefs before allowing them to work as a genuine creative partner for you. You’ll likely be pleasantly pleased by what they come up with.
Set up real-time alerts to monitor influencers
Time is everything in the digital era. Setting up real-time notifications will alert you as soon as your influencers are mentioned online or they mention you. You can focus your searches on specific subjects to achieve the best outcomes. Use keywords that are most likely to be used by the influencer too.
Also, set alerts to:
- Check whether influencers are initiating or participating in conversations that mention your name, products, or services.
- Check to see whether influencers are speaking about your competition. This can be an excellent chance for you to introduce your brand to them.
- Follow influencers you know to better understand their personalities, communication styles, and brand collaborations.
Think “mutually beneficial”
Establishing a relationship with your target influencer must foster organic influencer partnerships. Consider how you can create a win-win scenario and how the influencer could profit. Consider offering free products or services, special access to new product launches, invites to events, scoops, and free samples of recent developments in exchange for ratings.
Share influencers’ content
What’s the number one factor outside money that is most important for an influencer? Engagement.
Helping them raise their engagement rate will put you on their radar.
To engage their community, follow them on social media, engage with their posts, provide insightful comments on their blog and social media updates, and try to spark dialogues with existing ones.
Acknowledge them
Are any particular influencers already promoting your brand favorably? Recognize them. If influencers are sharing your work, acknowledge their support. You never know when it could lead to brand-new organic influencer marketing collaboration opportunities.
Organic Influencers Are the Best Way to Start
If you want to get into influencer marketing, organic influencer partnerships are the best way to get started. But the takeaway is whether you use influencer marketing now or not, organic influencer marketing is profitable. It is more affordable and has a greater chance of having a significant impact even while you figure out a budget for paid influencer marketing. However, remember that the outcomes you can expect out of organic influencers are based more on goodwill than expectation. Building a robust influencer marketing plan with deliverables and evaluations requires investment to see the gains that more than 50% of marketers are raving about.
So, start working on your organic influencer marketing campaigns now. Start by choosing the influencers you wish to collaborate with. AtisfyReach is the perfect platform to aid in influencer discovery and a fully automated solution to all your influencer marketing needs. With AtisfyReach, you can shift your focus from tasks done to relationships nurtured. Book a demo today.
