Here’s a well-known fact: You need the help of influencers to help expand your webinar audience in order to increase demand. These influencers help promote, elevate, and spread your message.
Your prospects want to hear about the benefits of your product from leaders they already trust. By tapping into these outside sources, you get the best endorsement you can have to be successful.
However, influencer relations isn’t easy. Getting these “ultimate shares” take time and bandwidth, but if you’re not making this part of your webinar strategy, you’re missing out. So what does it take to build a solid list of influencers? We’ve outlined a few quick ways to kick off your influencer strategy.
First, create a list of the people or brands you and your firm follow. This includes news, bloggers, business journalists, LinkedIn influencers, and industry thought leaders.
Next, research who your customers follow. Importantly, consider media and other influencers in your customers’ industries. You can do this in several different ways:
· Having a conversation with your clients
· Looking at who they engage with on social media
· Asking peers or others in your industry
· Networking at relevant events
Lastly, do some research on your successful competitors.By understanding your competition you may find insights or gaps in your influencer relations. Find the individual who is in your position at your main three competitors and take a look at the following:
· Who they follow on Twitter
· Which groups they participate in on LinkedIn
· Who they bring on to co-present webinars
Now look for overlaps between these lists. The ideal influencer has the following three things:
· Mutual relevance
· Quality audience
· Breadth of reach
After you’ve assembled this list, you can start your targeted outreach. Keep in mind that these efforts take time and require in-depth engagement. The beauty is it’s one to many. By spending time with key influencers, you’re spending less time to connect with the masses.
When you’re ready to pitch to influencers, it’s important to remember that the conversation goes both ways. You are trying to get their attention, but at the end of the day, influencers want and (desperately) need quality content in order to maintain their industry clout.
Influencers talk about products, positions, and important trends all day, every day. They need content ideas — and those can come from your pitch.
Want to develop a pitch that grabs the attention of influencers? Check out PR for Your Webinar: 5 Ways to Win Influencers now on demand.