Influencer marketing expands the reach of your brand by using credible individuals to help you spread your message. In some form or another, this type of marketing has been going on for generations. The addition of social media has added a new wrinkle to influencer marketing, but it’s essentially using people of influence to act as spokespersons.

The Types of Influencers

Influencers can be separated into various categories to help you choose the most powerful influencers to align with. The most popular categories of influencers include:

1. Celebrities. These are popular sports figures, TV and movie stars, and even social media celebrities.
2. Experts. This is someone who is a specialist in a field closely aligned to your brand. It may be a doctor, author, scientist or anyone with knowledge of your product or product category.
3. Journalists. News people and reporters can be a powerful vehicle to carry your brand forward. Your news story will need to be scientifically verified for it to be newsworthy.
4. Fans/Activists/Cheerleaders. These are people who are big fans and believe in your product. They are very credible because they personally endorse your brand.
5. Connectors. These people connect their sphere of influence with your brand generally through links.
6. Insiders. Employees, managers and even business owners can serve as insiders. They can connect with a group by offering new information first or by providing details not known by others.

How to Make it Work for Your Brand

Having appropriate goals and tracking your progress is critical in influencer marketing. Sales is often the main goal but it may also include raising awareness and reputation management. To make influencer marketing work for your brand, the influencer must align as closely as possible with your product or service. The audience shouldn’t have any doubts about the synchronicity between brand and influencer.

Once you decide on an influencer or group of influencers, you’ll want to take advantage of their circle of influence. You’ll also want to be proactive in providing additional visible platforms for them to reach new audiences. One powerful way to expand reach is through a Radio Media Tour (RMT). RMTs are a series of pre-arranged, back-to-back 10 or 15 minute interviews between your influencer and targeted radio stations. A tour may consist of interviews on 15-20 radio stations in a single day. RMTs are an efficient, cost-effective way to get optimal radio exposure for your brand and your message.

Established in 1989, the MediaTracks team includes award-winning writers and producers, dedicated to creating and broadcasting the highest-quality audio programming. At MediaTracks, we will support you through the entire RMT process, including preparing the media alert, scheduling the RMT, preparing your influencer for the interviews, and tracking the results. We combine traditional broadcast media with influencer marketing to spread the word about your brand or message. To learn more about this cost-effective approach to influencer marketing, contact us.