Tag: Public Relations

What Is a Byline and How Do I Write One?

by Cori Brosnahan

You may not know what a byline is, but you have most certainly read one.

A byline is an article authored by a thought leader that appears in a media outlet as contributed content. Unlike an op-ed, a byline is less about making an argument and more about providing helpful expertise and advice. Bylines also tend to be more industry-specific than op-eds, appearing in trade magazines rather than general consumer outlets.

That said, the line between the two can be blurry and they ultimately serve the same purpose in public relations. Both bylines and op-eds can establish authors as thought leaders, build credibility and trust for brands, and expand brand awareness. While an interview with a reporter might result in a couple of quotes, bylines and op-eds allow you to exercise more control and develop your ideas fully. As such, they are an excellent opportunity to contribute to the conversation in your area of expertise and build your profile.

If you’re working with a PR agency, your publicists can help you write a byline. If you decide to tackle one on your own, here are a few dos and don’ts to keep in mind:

Do be original

Don’t repeat what’s already been said! This is your chance to contribute your unique perspective to the public discourse. A novel idea or way of seeing things will always be more interesting and memorable to readers.  

Do use your expertise

It goes without saying that to be a thought leader in a certain field, you must have some expertise in it. Draw on your experiences and what you’ve learned to make recommendations or give advice.

Do make it personal

While op-eds are inherently more personal, there’s plenty of opportunity to bring your own experience into a byline. One natural place to put a personal spin on your article is at the very beginning, in your hook. Grab the reader’s attention with a personal anecdote that introduces the topics you’ll explore in the rest of the article.

Do make it timely (if possible)

When choosing a topic, think about current trends and developments in your industry. While a byline doesn’t have to tie in directly to current events, it needs to be useful, and therefore relevant.

Do use data

Using data to backup your points will help establish your credibility.

Do know your audience

If you’re targeting a general audience, refrain from using industry jargon and make sure to explain complex concepts. If you’re writing for a trade publication, feel free to get more technical.

Don’t self-promote

Bylines are not the place to promote your business, and editors will reject your pitch if it’s too self-promotional. Instead, focus on providing useful information and ideas based on your expertise. 

Don’t ramble

Different publications will have different guidelines for the length of submissions. Most consumer publications require a byline to be under 800 words. A trade publication will typically allow longer submissions.

Once you have your byline in hand, you’ll need to identify the appropriate contact at your target media outlet. If accepted, contributed content will usually be published for free, although notable paid opportunities like the Forbes Technology Council also exist.

Let us take your brand’s visibility to the next level. We’re here, ready to help your company showcase your “why” and share it with millions of people.

[email protected]

Should Podcasts be a Part of Your PR Strategy?

by Rebecca Strauss

With 41% of Americans listening to at least one podcast every month, it’s no secret that the industry is experiencing extremely high popularity at the moment. 

If you’re part of the 41% of listeners (or even if you’re not, and you’re just curious), you may be wondering if podcasts should be a part of your PR strategy. We’ll break down all the reasons why you should incorporate podcasts into your media outreach –- and a few key tips for getting started.

For the purpose of this blog, we’ll focus on four main benefits podcasts provide that play into key public relations activities: telling your story, establishing yourself as a thought leader, getting in front of niche audiences, and creating shareable content. 

Tell more of your story, in your own words

While a news story is often limited in words and your comments may be edited down to a few key sentences, a podcast can be anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour in length. If you get the opportunity to participate in a podcast interview, you can tell your or your brand’s story in an extended format. It’s a great chance to let potential customers or users get to know you in more detail and depth, through your own narrative.

Establish yourself as a thought leader

If you have knowledge of public relations, you know how powerful thought leadership can be. A podcast is an opportunity to position yourself or a senior leadership figure of your brand as a thought leader in your industry – an expert in their field who people can turn to for advice, insights, expertise, and wisdom. 

You can use podcasts as an additional platform to share your unique expertise and perspectives on a topic over time, which will help you build credibility in your industry and develop trust with your audience. Contributing your ideas to a podcast is a puzzle piece in the process of establishing yourself as a thought leader; the more you put your ideas out there, the more you will start to be seen as a go-to authority in your industry. As you build your brand as someone who can be trusted on a topic, it can ultimately lead to more speaking or comment opportunities.

Expose yourself to new, niche audiences

With over 4.1 million active podcasts registered worldwide, podcast series need to cater to a specific niche in order to stand out and attract listeners. A podcast can cover topics as broad as the daily world news, or as narrow as a microtrend in fashion, and listeners know exactly what kind of content they’ll get when they put in their headphones for the latest episode. If you can find a podcast series that fits your brand’s niche, you’re almost guaranteed a captive and interested audience.

Create evergreen, shareable content 

Once your podcast has been released, you can turn the episode into small, snackable audio clips that can be repurposed for a variety of things, including social media posts, supporting assets for pitches, or interesting content for your next newsletter. Some podcasts will even capture video while recording the podcast, which can be an even better addition to your social media calendar. 

This benefit also ties back into thought leadership, as sharing podcast interview material on your social channels can help you increase your executive visibility on social media.  

Recap and tips 

Whether you’re doing your own public relations or you have a PR firm or PR team helping you promote your brand, utilizing podcasts is a great way to find a captivated audience, create evergreen content, and share more of your story and expertise. 

If you’re interested in being a guest on a podcast, here are a few tips to keep in mind when getting started: 

  • Do your research — know the podcast’s audience, niche, and whether or not they interview guests in their episodes before you reach out.
  • Fine-tune your unique selling points — be ready to explain why you would be a great guest for this specific podcast, in just a few sentences. If you have them, include any relevant clips from other speaking engagements to showcase your abilities.  
  • Be patient — you most likely won’t land a spot on your dream podcast immediately, but getting yourself and your bio out there can be a great start.  

Exploring the Evolving Role of AI in Public Relations and Business Operations

by Sarah Mowad

As technology continues to advance, the role of artificial intelligence is growing more prevalent across industries – and public relations is no exception. The question at large amongst industry leaders seems to have evolved from “Is this something we should be afraid of?” to “How can we use this technology to our advantage?”

Embracing the Future and the Power of AI

Over the past few months, I’ve attended webinars, conferences and consumed any written materials available to me in an effort to educate myself on this topic.  “It’s not going away” has been the sentiment most widely echoed across all of these sources, so with that in mind, I’ve set out to discover the ways in which I can embrace the power of AI within my own role and how other team members at Segal Comms can do the same.

Real-World Use Cases

AI in Public Relations

The most obvious use case is that of generative AI. Drafting written materials is a central responsibility for any PR professional, and for many can be one of the most arduous efforts the profession requires. Even the most innately talented writers still experience the dreaded writer’s block and inevitable fatigue when writing often enough. Generative AI readily eases this burden: by generating ideas for the topic or title of a written piece, it can be a great tool to get the creative juices flowing. In fact, I used Grammarly’s generative AI tool, GrammarlyGO, to inspire the title and theme of this blog.

The consensus amongst the PR community regarding generative AI seems to be that its use is acceptable and even encouraged when it’s viewed as one of many tools in a practitioner’s toolbox, with the stipulation that its use, and in what capacity it was used, is disclosed. PR professionals are still expected to intervene with the technology and ensure that the materials they produce are up to industry standards. The current capabilities of generative AI still require human intervention regardless – as it was explained by a presenter at the From Day One conference I recently attended in San Francisco, generative AI can get the job done 90% of the way at its best, but will still require a minimum of 10% human intervention. Like many things, generative AI is as good as you train it to be. The more comprehensive information and thorough feedback you provide, the better the quality of work generative AI can produce.

AI in Business Operations

Beyond writing, AI can also be used to streamline business operations such as recruiting and hiring. The founder of RecruitBot was a presenter at the From Day One conference and shared about how the platform employs machine learning algorithms to identify qualified candidates and expedite the hiring process. Rather than spending hours combing Linkedin for suitable candidates using arbitrary search parameters, the technology now exists to have a bot present us with much more relevant candidates in much less time. Similar to generative AI, the results produced by a platform like RecruitBot will be as accurate as you’ve trained them to be with the platform’s machine learning algorithm working to continuously improve output over time as it learns your preferences.

Parting Thoughts

These are just two use cases demonstrating how AI can be employed in the workplace, but as many are now learning the ways in which this technology can be employed are vast and rapidly evolving. It’s inevitable that the future of communications and various other industries alike will involve a greater reliance on AI-powered tools, so it’s wise to start exploring and mastering these tools now. While these tools can be incredibly useful, it’s important to remember that they should be regulated with human intervention. By using AI in conjunction with human expertise, businesses can ensure they are as efficient and effective as possible by making use of all the tools available in their toolkit.

Let us take your brand’s visibility to the next level. We’re here, ready to help your company showcase your “why” and share it with millions of people.

[email protected]

Should You Be Focusing on Quality or Quantity Media Coverage?

by Emily Mahoney

Quality versus quantity is something most people struggle with in many aspects of their life. Do you want one really nice, expensive pair of shoes or five cheap, flat-soled shoes? See, you probably find yourself teeter-tottering between the two more often than you think. Today we are going to explore how this topic relates to PR and media coverage, so let’s start by defining the difference between the two.

Quality Media Coverage 

Quality coverage is what the majority of public relations services are geared towards. This means securing earned coverage in highly credible and reputable outlets that have a large readership. This would be the Forbes, Fast Companies, The Verges, Reader’s Digests, New York Times, and TechCrunches of the world. These are the sources most often looked to for advice, insights, tips, and news.

Here’s an example scenario in which you would aim for quality coverage: if your business has launched a new product and you want to build consumer trust and recognition, then you would want to offer a sample to well-known media outlets that will test and review the product. Consumers frequently look to editorial reviews when they are contemplating purchasing a specific product, and a comprehensive and insightful review from a highly credible media outlet can be very influential in the purchasing decision.

Quantity Media Coverage

The goal of quantity coverage is typically to boost your SEO, which not all PR efforts can and will support, but is still extremely valuable. Increasing visibility and brand awareness are the two main reasons to focus on quantity. 

Now, here’s a scenario in which you would aim for quantity: If your business is fairly new and entering a competitive market, then you would want to increase your brand’s name recognition in the media and on search engines amongst competitors. You might consider putting a press release out on a newswire, which is often picked up by hundreds of other outlets. Yes, it’s the same exact story, but it’s now visible to millions of people so you’ve essentially got 100+ media mentions. 

So Which is Better?

Quality coverage is more esteemed than quantity, but neither is necessarily better than the other. 

The answer really comes down to what your PR goals are. A question to ask yourself is, am I looking for reputable coverage or as many mentions as possible? 

It’s also important to note that your answer may change over time so make sure you reevaluate and readjust your coverage goals as your business evolves. 

Segal Communications can help you navigate your media coverage goals and secure your desired placements. Reach us at [email protected] to learn more about out PR services.

How to Partner With an Industry Expert

by Cori Brosnahan

When developing a PR strategy for your company, it’s important to identify your spokespeople. A spokesperson is someone who speaks to the media on the company’s behalf, often a CEO or a member of the marketing and communications department. While a CEO or a director of communications are best suited to speak about the business and product itself, they might not be the best people to speak about more general, industry-related topics. Depending on the nature of your business, you might want to consider partnering with an industry expert who can provide commentary on common topics in the industry.

What is an industry expert?

An industry expert is someone with the knowledge and experience to provide accurate, trustworthy commentary on topics relating to a specific industry. Depending on the industry, they don’t necessarily need to have credentials, but they should have extensive experience in the relevant field(s) that qualifies them to give advice, make predictions, etc. 

Why should I partner with an industry expert?

Partnering with an industry expert gives your brand the opportunity to expand awareness while bolstering your credibility. Having an expert that can address general topics within the industry means more opportunities to insert your brand into public conversations, especially when you don’t have any major news to announce. Partnering with an expert will also allow you to leverage their audience, which may be large or small, depending on the individual.

What qualities should I look for?

The most important thing in choosing an expert to partner with is to make sure that your brands align. Finding an expert that works on topics relevant to your brand and shares your brand values will ensure a natural and authentic partnership. If your product is a dating app, for example, you’d be better off working with a relationship coach than a marriage counselor.

You’ll also want to consider your budget. An established expert with their own following might expect a large commission. An expert who is still trying to build their own brand might decide that it’s worthwhile to partner with your brand for a small commission or exposure alone.

What should I expect from the partnership?

Before you start to work with your expert partner, you’ll want to define the terms of the partnership. What title will they go by? How many requests for commentary do you anticipate sending per week or per month? Will they be expected to write their own commentary, or is it okay for them to dictate a response that you can then draft for approval?

Given the 24/7 news cycle, you’ll also want to set expectations with regards to their availability. If you send them a request for commentary with a tight deadline, how fast can you expect them to respond?

Finally, you should not expect the expert’s commentary to reference your product every time, if at all. Being quoted in an article as your company’s resident expert is valuable in itself; pushing a product may delegitimize the commentary altogether.

Let us take your brand’s visibility to the next level. We’re here, ready to help your company showcase your “why” and share it with millions of people.

[email protected]

Working With Food Influencers at Scale

by Rachel Romov

When it comes to PR, the food, beverage, and restaurant industries carry a reputation of providing an exciting media landscape that is constantly evolving. In recent years, food influencers have become an integral addition to that landscape. 

A recent study found that influencer marketing in the food industry led to a 16% increase in purchase intent. Here at Segal, we’ve learned to capitalize on that momentum by utilizing influencers to help drive campaigns for a number of our clients.

Today we are going to dive into a few strategies for public relations professionals on how to source and succeed in working with the right food influencers for your next campaign. 

Utilize Your Inner FBI Agent 

When sourcing a batch of foodie influencers that align with your client/brand, don’t be afraid to do a bit of digging on their online profiles. What establishments are they frequenting? What’s their favorite cuisine? Do they opt for savory or sweet treats? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you understand an influencer’s tastes/preferences and whether they’d enjoy your product enough to promote it. For example, when sourcing influencers for our client Johnny Doughnuts, we make sure to keep an eye out for people with a sweet tooth that often post dessert-forward content. 

A food influencer holding a doughnut in front of a doughnut truck.

Work With Fans 

Convincing an influencer to promote your product is easier when they’re already a fan! If you’re lucky enough to catch an account with an impressive following posting about your product by their own accord, don’t miss out on the opportunity to establish a connection for future collaborations. 

Lay it on Thick

The only thing fuller than a food influencer’s stomach is their inbox. Content creators are constantly getting flooded with emails and DM’s asking to collab, so how do you make sure you’re not drowning in the sea of standard pitches? Be complimentary! Express genuine interest in the influence’s content and don’t be afraid to point out or reference specific posts you love and what about them stood out. This shows the influencer that you’ve taken the time to get to appreciate them as a person rather than just a promotional tool. 

Don’t Shy Away From Freebies

If Costco’s beloved in-store samples have proven anything it’s that people are more likely to show interest in a product if they’ve been introduced to it free of charge. This couldn’t be more true when it comes to influencer marketing. Free samples allow influencers to try your product and decide for themselves if it’s something they’d want to promote. While this may not be entirely cost-efficient, generosity goes a long way when working towards securing a successful collaboration, so make sure to set aside a budget for sampling. 

Maintain the Connection 

Once you’ve secured the bag with a food influencer, hold on to that connection for dear life. Good long-standing relationships are hard to come by in the world of influencer marketing so make sure to keep that person in the loop for future projects, campaigns, or product launches. 

The Takeaway

Utilizing influencer marketing in your food public relations efforts is a great way to expose your campaign or product to an extensive and diverse audience and create meaningful mutually-beneficial connections within the social media landscape.

Ready to take the leap on an influencer marketing program for your brand? Reach us at [email protected] to get started.

How to Create an Award-Winning Campaign

by Sarah Mowad

Winning industry accolades is something almost every business seeks to achieve, but many are lost on where to start. There are a number of useful strategies to employ in the journey to becoming an award-winning business, but the most important factor to consider is the timing of your planning process. The best time to start thinking about the award-worthy elements of your campaign isn’t when you’re drafting your entry – it’s before you start work on your campaign.

Define Your Why

Start with a purpose, and make it central to your campaign. Will your campaign advance your industry in some way, make a difference for a philanthropic cause or support innovation in DEI? It’s important to think beyond the positive impact a campaign will have on your business and define how your work will contribute to the greater good. Awards programs don’t reward teams who “did their job”; they reward teams whose impact is bigger than themselves.

Campaigns that have created a tangible effect outside of their organization of origin are the ones that take the cake.

Write Everything Down

Keeping track of your work as you go is crucial. Don’t wait until you’re getting ready to submit an entry to map out the key components of your campaign; recording your process as it happens ensures the highest quality of detail and accuracy.

Most PR awards programs have a similar entry format which asks you to outline your starting point, strategy/tactics, execution and results. Your starting point should summarize what your campaign is seeking to change, improve or affect, and why. In the strategy/tactics section, you’ll be asked to provide an overview of your PR plan. Your execution outline should include the most notable steps you took to carry out your PR plan, and your results summary should lay out the measurable ways your campaign achieved success. Make it a point to track results data for your campaign – numbers speak louder than words!

Polish Your Presentation

At the conclusion of your campaign, you’ll most often need to consolidate all of your work into a concise summary along with compiling supporting materials. Choose a member of your team who is a strong writer with immaculate attention to detail to own this part of the process. How you present your results and what you choose to highlight are the most important factors to pay attention to at this step. Be sure to demonstrate how your campaign has not only impacted your business but other communities, groups or causes as well. Place data at the forefront of your presentation and make sure your summary encompasses all of the successes you want to highlight; often times supporting materials are only scanned.

Spread Your Submission

Enter as many awards contests as your time & resources allow! The more programs you submit your entry to, the more likely you are to get recognized for your hard work and contributions to your industry. Once you’ve perfected each of the steps outlined above, receiving the accolades your business deserves is just be a matter of placing your work in front of the right audience.

Ready to win company awards and recognition? Learn how business awards can be a part of a larger PR plan by reaching out to us at [email protected].

Selecting SEO Keywords to Optimize PR Content

by Emily Mahoney

Leveraging SEO in your PR strategy can immensely increase your business’s online visibility, making your offerings more accessible to both current and potential new customers alike. One of the easiest ways to maximize your PR efforts through SEO is to utilize keywords.

SEO keywords are phrases in your web content that cause your website to show up with a relative search term. By embedding keywords a potential customer is likely typing into their search engine in your web content, your business will be placed higher in search results. Ultimately, the point of using keywords is pretty similar to a key goal of PR: to create awareness of your business by getting your website placed in the top results of search engines, ultimately driving traffic to your website and increasing sales.

Even if you already have an SEO strategy in place, the best beginning practice for integrating keywords into PR efforts is to audit which keywords you are already ranking for. You can either use an SEO platform or manually search on Google to see what combination of phrases triggers your site to appear. This will give you an idea of what your business is already ranking for and can inform your strategy for increasing your rankings.

There are typically two categories of keywords you will want to include in your PR content: basic and long-tail.

Identifying your basic keywords 

Basic keywords are your tried and true terms that will rarely change. These are simple, one to two-word keywords that define your business and are directly related to your brand. They can include anything from your business name to a service you offer, your product, or your industry. 

To help define these keywords further, put yourself in the shoes of your customers. A good question to ask yourself is “If I was searching for a product or service similar to what my business offers, what would be the first thing I would google?”

It is important to note that these straightforward keywords can be more challenging to rank for because they tend to be associated with a higher search volume. For example, if you were to google “luggage”, an extensive array of results would appear as opposed to if you searched a long-tail, more concise keyword like “blue carry-on luggage”, which would produce significantly less relevant results.

Exploring long-tail keywords 

Long-tail keywords are a combination of three or more basic keywords. They can require a bit more specificity; however, long-tail keywords can offer great SEO value because they tend to have a lower search volume, making them easier to rank for.

Implementing these keywords in your PR approach is crucial to ensure that relevant and appropriate traffic is reaching your website.

When generating long-tail keywords, you can start with combinations of your basic keywords. For example, a long-tail keyword could include your company name + specific product + price. A good rule of thumb is to keep long-tail keywords between 3 to 8 terms to ensure reliability and accuracy. 

Integrating keywords into PR content

Once you have your list of targeted basic and long-tail keywords, this becomes your guidebook. With this, you can start brainstorming ways to integrate these keywords directly into your written content. Op-eds, sponsored posts, paid press releases, and blog posts are all opportunities to strategically include the keywords your business wants to rank for. 

Don’t forget to monitor and audit

Tracking the search volume of your keywords and monitoring their performance is an essential housekeeping task. This is especially important in PR because you want to confirm that your content and keywords are working cohesively to optimize impressions on your potential audience.

A simple audit can be done manually by searching the keywords you’ve selected to see if your site appears. Alternatively, specialized SEO tools and programs can be employed for more thorough analysis. If you end up restrategizing your target keywords, the good news is you will not need to scrap your initial list entirely. The fluidity of long-tail keywords allows them to be rearranged and reformulated, allowing you to adjust as needed. 

The Takeaway

Selecting the right SEO keywords and integrating them into your web content, along with monitoring these keywords for performance, is a simple and effective strategy to produce powerful results for increasing your business’s online presence. 

Need help creating a PR plan that works in tandem to maximize your business’s SEO potential? Reach out to us at [email protected]

Should you do your own PR?

by Sarah Segal

Last year, I came across an interesting article written by a lifestyle entrepreneur detailing how they saved “thousands” in not hiring a qualified PR agency. In her Business Insider article, she outlines her four strategies for success.

She writes, “I quickly realized that any time my business was mentioned in media coverage, my website traffic increased dramatically (I tracked this using Google Analytics). I decided to spend two hours a week trying to get more press mentions and tapped into the bit of PR knowledge I had from working in the industry for one year.”

So, should you do your own PR?

Here are my professional thoughts on the suggestions she outlined

Spending an hour a day on PR

1. She recommends setting up “Google alerts on topics, themes, competitors, and key phrases that are relevant to your business or industry” and drafting a pitch based on the trends and themes surfacing that week. She recommends allocating 1 hour to this undertaking. In theory, this is not a bad strategy – it’s something we do for our clients but it’s not how I would recommend a founder allocating their time. The role of a founder is to be the visionary for the company. Delegation is the key to success, not working in the weeds. While a PR agency is an investment, yes, if you believe in what you are doing, it will be an investment that will certainly pay off over time.

Delegation is the key to success, not working in the weeds. 

Not all press opportunities are worth your time 

2. Next up, she says to post yourself as a source on reporter sourcing platforms – reporters will post call-outs for the expertise they are seeking. The couple she mentions are certainly used, but one of the two is also filled with a ton of junk that would not be worth the time. An agency has institutional knowledge that can help weed out the “opportunities” that are a waste of your time. Agencies also have many other resources that are not mentioned that are far better in finding quality placements. 

DIY PR

3. Take a class in PR. Sure, you can do this, but it’s the equivalent of being a DIY home improvement person. You will never get the results that someone with 10 thousand hours of experience will. You may have a new tile floor, but really won’t you have to redo it in a few years when the grout starts to crack? 

Understanding the dos and don’ts when pitching reporters

4. Her final recommendation is to identify ten reporters who cover your industry and warm them up to receiving your pitches by being social with them on their feeds – liking and sharing, etc. Great advice if you have the bandwidth but don’t expect reporters to respond to your pitches. Reporters’ inboxes are overwhelming by most accounts and not always receptive to individuals pitching themselves because their lack of understanding about the journalistic process makes them more of a headache than a help. PR professionals have a well-oiled understanding of reporters’ needs and will bend over backward for their clients. If you don’t know the drill, you may burn a bridge before you even make headlines.

So, should you do your own PR?

In short, when you are thinking about tackling PR yourself,  just remember Beyonce probably never did her own. Instead, she focused on creating her awe-inspiring performances because she believed in her brand and hired a publicist.

Let us take your brand’s visibility to the next level. We’re here, ready to help your company showcase your “why” and share it with millions of people.

[email protected]

What are the Benefits of Influencer Marketing?

by Sarah Mowad

One question we often get asked by new clients when deciding upon the scope of our work together is, “are influencers a necessary evil?” Although I understand the stereotypes that have led to this becoming a popular question to ask, I view working with influencers a bit differently. After several years of leading influencer marketing services at Segal Communications, I see these partnerships as an often untapped opportunity for brands to reach their ideal audiences, build recognition and trust amongst the public, and engage in a form of advertising that works with their budget.

Targeting your preferred audience

One of the most significant benefits of influencer marketing is its unique ability to deliver your message directly to the customers whom your product or service is designed for. In the initial stages of identifying social media influencers for your brand to partner with, your PR representative will request a media kit from them that contains valuable audience statics that will inform their decision on whether the influencer is a good fit. These statistics include everything from age and gender to the location of the influencer’s followers.

Is your target customer women between the ages of 25 – 34 who live in the US? Your PR representative will be able to source influencers whose audiences are in total alignment with this target demographic.

An influencer filming a video for social media.

Building brand familiarity and trust

We know that repeated exposure builds familiarity, and the mere exposure effect tells us that consumers prefer things they are familiar with. These principles are important to consider when planning an influencer marketing campaign as they support the case for engaging in long-term relationships rather than one-off partnerships. When audiences see your product or service repeatedly being featured on the page of an influencer they follow, recognition begins to build. As audiences continue to become familiar with your product, the chances that they will prefer and ultimately purchase your product greatly increase. Along with familiarity, ongoing partnerships with influencers are a great way to build trust in your brand.

When an influencer who has a history of only working with high-quality, reputable brands recommends a new product, their audience is going to trust that recommendation.

Advertising within your budget

Engaging with influencers can be surprisingly affordable with the right strategy in place. If you are a young company with a smaller budget, micro-influencer marketing could be the best route for you. Influencers within a certain range of followers, typically between 5k – 100k, are often happy to share a brand’s offerings to their social channels in exchange for a gifted product or experience. The key here is targeting the right influencers; those with well-established large audiences will almost always only post in exchange for monetary payment. If you have the budget to allocate to paid partnerships, the right relationships can lead to a sizable ROI. So although paid partnerships are a larger investment, oftentimes the exposure they provide will end up paying for itself. We typically recommend that our clients engage in a mix of trade micro-influencer partnerships and paid partnerships with larger influencers for optimal results while staying within a reasonable budget.

Ready to take the leap on an influencer marketing program for your brand? Reach us at [email protected] to get started.

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