As great as social media is for sharing content, sometimes you just need a little extra oomph to reach new audiences.
Partnering with influencers is one way to get your brand in front of some new eyeballs. Whether it's for an in-person event or a social media promotion, teaming up with people who already have a large following can help you grow.
So how do you approach this tactic? Here are a few different strategies you can test out.
1. Build a Blogger Council.
Before I started Lumen, I managed the blog and social media assets for a non-profit. And since our advertising budget was basically non-existent, we had to get creative. By reaching out to five people from the community who were already blogging (a few "mommy" bloggers, a school official, a community resource blogger) and asking them to participate as a guest blogger every few months, both parties were able to reach new audiences.
Do some digging and find the active voices in your area who you can team up with to reach new people. Then, make the ask. Outline the expectations and benefits and make them realize you're not asking for much.
2. Partner up for Giveaways or Features.
I also owned a successful online jewelry store before I started lumen. I never paid for advertising and sold more than $40,000 worth of product by using this tactic in tandem with other social media marketing strategies.
Find a few influencers who fit within your target demographic, and see if they'd be interested in teaming up for a promotion (a giveaway or contest) or would just be willing to feature your product. This might mean giving away some product, but it's a valuable exchange.
Track your success for these partnerships by monitoring your Google Analytics and seeing if they are paying off as top web traffic referral sources.
3. Invite an Influencer to Attend Your Event
If you're hosting an event and want to get more people in the door, reach out to the recognizable names and faces in the area that will help encourage others to attend.
For example, many retail boutiques have begun inviting local bloggers to attend special in-store events where they act as the hosts or hostesses. Not only does this help with promotion of the event, but it adds ethos to your brand by association.
There's many other ways you can connect with new audiences by partnering up with established voices within your niche. Make a plan, reach out, and watch people start taking notice.