We will start this post with a small exercise for you. When you are about to try a new thing, especially a mobile app, how do you make this decision? Most of you are looking for something recommended by your friends or family. And besides their point of view, whose opinion counts more? Will you open your social media account? Will you look for impressions from an experienced and appreciated person in the field? Then you rely your response on social media influencers. Let’s expand further this idea.
What is Influencer Marketing?
An influencer is a person who has the ability to convince people about their perspective over things. Influencer marketing is the method of promoting a product through the power of influencers. Social media influencers are influencers that express their ideas over social media channels. If few years ago, only famous people had the opportunity to influence their fans, now we reached an era where ordinary bloggers or not so well known persons make more impact for other individuals.
Image Source: https://medium.com/@andrei.klubnikin88/influencer-marketing-brand-new-way-to-market-a-mobile-app-59a514287839#.sg4tehx2t
Influencers are figures with millions of followers. If you think about the question from the beginning you can imagine the consequences of convincing them to spread the word about your app. Take a look at company owners’ opinions about influencer marketing.
Who Are You Trying to Influence?
Every influencer has his target audience. If you want to create an efficient campaign you need to match your buying persona with his followers’ characteristics. If an authority person agrees to share his contacts with you then your user base will grow and your acquisition strategy is on the right track. The key is to convince him that your app offers something extraordinary for him and for the people who watch his moves every day.
5 Best Tools to Find Influencers Who Fit Your Niche
Let’s see where you can find the right persons who can share ideas about your app.
1. Klout
Image Source: https://klout.com/corp/score
If you want a top for the best influencers in your niche then Klout is the answer. Its Klout Score with values between 0 and 100 shows you how powerful is every influencer in specific domain. The bigger Klout Score is, the more chances are to reach your scope. You just need to create an account and you are good to go. Since we talk about mobile features, you can try Klout app, too.
2. Clarity
Image Source: https://clarity.fm
Clarity is an intermediary between your brand and the influencer who can promote your app. After paying a fee per minute on the site, you will receive professional help. Think about the benefits of this collaboration since the experts you need probably receive tens of offers like yours every day. You can select a skilled person according to your budget.
3. BuzzSumo
Image Source: https://app.buzzsumo.com/amplification/twitter-influencers
BuzzSumo is a platform very easy to work with. As you can observe in the image above there are lots of filters and options for sorting that can help you make the right decision. You can even export the list of influencers for checking it later. After the name and description of the expert there is a button which leads you directly to his Twitter page. You can start connecting with him and discover if he is the person you are looking for.
4. Google Alerts
Image Source: https://www.google.com/alerts#
Google Alerts is a service from Google which can help you set alerts according to your criteria. You have various options according to language, frequency and others. You will receive a list with websites which talk about the apps just like yours. Contact the persons you like and convince them that your app worth to be the topic of their next article.
5. BuzzStream
Image Source: http://www.buzzstream.com/
BuzzStream seams to do everything for you. It helps you with your research, it manages your relationships and it keeps track of all your conversations. Of course, all these features come with a price starting from $24 per month. If you have a budget aimed for influencer marketing, then this is your chance to handle all the tasks without worries.
Social Media Channels
Because we are talking about social media influencers is imperative to mention some of the most popular networks which will make your app go viral.
Twitter Saved Searches
Twitter Saved Searches follows the power of hashtags for bringing you the most influential persons in your domain. The majority of tools described above give you information about Twitter accounts of the experts you are looking for. You can see in the image below the impact of influencers on Twitter for users’ decisions.
Which is the biggest professional platform? That is right, LinkedIn. Search for the professionals you need and read their profiles to see their experience and their past projects. After that it is easy to connect with them and to start building your relationship. Send them personal messages and present the value of your app.
Instagram is more expressive since it is based on visuals. You can use hashtags to look for representative persons in your field and to contribute to their comments and likes. Check their stories and discover if they match your style.
YouTube
How many times did you have the feeling that YouTube has the answer for any of your problems? Well, this is no exception. Here you can find experts that can share videos with your app and they can impress their followers with all those useful features you struggled to add to your creation.
http://thetechnews.com/2016/01/13/facebooks-mention-app-for-verified-users-is-now-available-in-android/
It is impossible not mentioning Facebook when it comes to spread the word about your app. It almost doesn’t need any presentation. Being the most popular social network in the world it isn’t so difficult to find the influencers you are looking for. Mention is an app created by Facebook which can help you connect with public figures. You can give it a try.
5 Don’ts of Influencer Marketing
Now that you know the most important tools and channels for finding suitable influencers you can’t approach them in any manner. You must think your strategy before reaching them.
1. Targeting Wrong Influencer
It is difficult to find the right person, but if you invest time and effort in searching the right influencers you will avoid a lot of troubles afterwards. Half of influencers recognize they receive irrelevant pitches. So, be careful with your approach.
Image Source: http://rockthedeadline.com/tag/social-media-influencers/
2. Ignoring Local Influencers
Start with the audience close to you. Don’t look too far if you want to begin your campaign. The influencers around your zone of actions are the best when it comes to make your app famous. A good technique is to create challenges with them to make some interesting and funny activities related to your app. To understand better, look at “NOC No Wallet Challenge”, produced by YouTuber Ryan Sylvia for promoting Singtel Dash.
3. Jump In Too Fast
Remember, you don’t send a randomly pitch for presenting your app. Instead, you need to connect with specific influencers for creating a long term alliance. And just like any other relationship these ones must bring advantages for both sides. The fact they are happy with your product will resonate in their social media content and viewers/ readers will search for the same experience.
4. Measuring Everything
This is one of those cases when you can’t measure your strategy. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Group High reveals that more than 50% of respondents aren’t able to calculate the ROI of influencer marketing. And this is understandable since you don’t know for sure how many of the followers who saw the article actually used your app. In fact you need to concentrate on gathering brand awareness than counting your app downloads.
5. Not Providing Freedom
Influencers have their own styles. Their originality is the key for the huge number of their followers. Allow them to share thoughts about your app with their tools of persuasion. Remember why you chose them in the first place to talk about your app.
Final Thoughts
We are living in a world where everybody has something to say. But if that person is talking about apps like yours and he is listened by millions of people, then that is the expert you need. Try to create a link between your brand and his social media page and push your app through that bridge. The real value comes from long lasting relationships. And it will be mirrored in the success of your app over time.
