The rise of blogging and social media has created a new star: the social influencer. Situated alongside advocates and super fans, the social influencer is the newest reality star. Many of these highly visible individuals are making lucrative full-time careers out of vlogging, sharing snaps on Instagram and brand partnerships. Asurvey commissioned by Variety in 2014 highlighted that YouTube stars are now more popular than mainstream celebrities among US teenagers.

For brands and agencies, working with social influencers is a vital factor in the success of a modern marketing and public relations strategy.

Here’s how you should be working with a social influencer:

Approachable authority: social influencers hold positions of authority and with followers into the millions; they have the power and the reach to sway their audience.

• Target social influencers with their strength as an approachable authority – research their interests and areas of expertise before contacting them, and be sure to include their standing as a ‘voice of trust’ when pitching potential partnerships.
• Do your research – engagement is just as important as reach. If an influencer has tens of thousands of Instagram followers but gets less than 100 likes per post, s/he probably paid for followers. Take a look at bloggers’ ALEXA rating, Page Ranking and monthly site traffic too.

A proven increase in exposure: research from Burst Agency has demonstrated the power of the influencer, with campaigns featuring these individuals earning $6.85 in earned media value for every $1 of paid media. Influencers are also helping to increase the sales and revenue of the brands they work with, and many influencers go on to create spin-off lines of their own.

• Don’t make any assumptions; ask for influencers’ rates and how they work – some influencers will organically post pics or blog about a product they are gifted and genuinely adore; others place a price on any type of exposure (pins, shares, etc.)
• Work with your social influencer on increasing media exposure, and give them an active role in determining which types of placements should be on your target list.

Reach specific audiences: if you want to reach a niche audience, then working with a social influencer is a good way to go about it.

• Use the influencer’s in-depth knowledge and experience of their audience to tap into precise interests, the best ways to target the audience and any methods of social media or advertising that can capture the attention of a content hungry fan club.
• Pay close attention to your influencer’s feed and content, monitoring for potential new topics and growth. For example, it’s safe to assume a newly pregnant blogger will eventually cover baby products, and a vlogger who just bought a home will most likely start dabbling in interiors/home décor, providing new opportunities for the right brands.

Create great content: working with social influencers is a fun way to create innovative content. Content needs to entertain, inspire and educate its audience, and the development of a strategy and cross platform approach is key.

• Look at other brand partnerships the influencer has done and the impact it had for both the brand and the individual. Design Love Fest did a great post talking about sponsored content and linking to examples of it done well.
• Use any examples as a benchmark, but take your cues from the influencer on what content will work well for them and the target audience.

Rules and regulations: as with any new partnership, you need to be mindful of any regulations. The FTC states that clear disclosures must be made if a blogger or influencer receives product or payment in return for an endorsement, and it’s essential that you check out the detailed requirements before embarking on any potential relationship.

Working with a social influencer is a powerful and fun way to create content and raise the profile of your brand or client. This is a strategy that is here to stay!

Have you used a social media influencer in a campaign? What difference did it make? Share your thoughts in the comments below!