7 Steps to Get Influencers to Share Your Content Get the sharing going by posting amazing content, commenting on blogs, asking others to share and more.
By Aaron Agius Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Influencer marketing is one of the hottest strategies today, which means there are plenty of marketers out there wanting to build mutually beneficial relationships.
You've already researched and identified your influencers (if not, read this). Now, here are seven steps to get them to share.
Related: How to Get 1,000 Visitors to Your Next Blog Post Using an Influencer Group Post
1. Share their content.
Sharing your influencer's content is an easy way to get them to notice you. Determine what platforms they're most active on, and focus your efforts there. You can check up on their social pages or use a social-media management tool to create a list of your influencers. That will make it easy to view and retweet their content.
Add a personal touch to your sharing by creating a modified tweet that says something positive about the piece. You can also tag them in the tweet to increase the chances that they'll see it.
2. Comment on their blog.
Engaging with your influencer on their blog is a great way to connect with them further -- especially if they actively respond to comments. Say something insightful about the post that might inspire others to engage as well.
Make sure you use your real name, so the influencer can recognize who you are, but don't say anything that can be perceived as self-serving.
3. Offer to contribute to their blog
If the influencer hasn't noticed you yet, they will if you contact them about writing a guest post. Check their website to see if they have posted guest submission guidelines, and follow them to a T. If they don't have any guidelines listed, then reach out to them with an email requesting to contribute.
Be sure to include:
Who you are and what you do
A detailed synopsis of what you'd like to write
An explanation of how their audience could benefit from the piece
Related: 4 Quick-and-Easy Ways to Connect With Influencers on Social Media
4. Write amazing content.
Engaging with your influencer and landing a guest post are helpful steps to building a relationship with your influencer. Now you can see if they're interested in sharing your content. I've always stressed the point that quality trumps quantity -- and it couldn't be more true when you're trying to create content that influencers will share.
Research by Moz and Buzzsumo found that the Internet has a dearth of quality content, which is why when it does appear, it's bound to get more engagement:
Your article should be relevant to both of your niches and be well-researched, accurate and engaging. Influencers won't be interested in sharing rewrites of other people's work, so be original, and offer a new perspective that will get people talking.
5. Consider mentioning them.
One easy way to get an influencer's attention with your content is by somehow featuring them in it -- especially if you didn't manage a guest post with them before. It can be something as simple as curating a quote or highlighting positive attributes of the influencer or their brand. If it's a high-quality, helpful endorsement, they'll love to share it.
Mentioning an influencer in your article is a great strategy -- especially for new relationships. However, you can still find success with just quality, targeted content.
6: Tell them about it.
The blogosphere and social media are crowded arenas. Even if an influencer is interested in your content, there's no guarantee they'll manage to find and read it on their own. It's your job to make sure they do. If you featured them in your post, it's totally acceptable to send them a quick email about it.
Otherwise, I definitely recommend tagging them when you share the post on Twitter. Just be sure that the post you're tagging them in is genuinely relevant to them and their audience -- otherwise it will seem like you're fishing for shares.
7. Ask them to share.
There are only so many ways to encourage someone to share your content indirectly. If you wrote great content, built a relationship with the influencer and consistently shared their content, there's no reason they wouldn't be willing to share yours -- unless they're not interested in collaborating with you at all.
If that's the case, it's best to move on to targeting someone more aligned with your interests. If you send them an email telling them about the post, you can include a short comment at the end asking them to share if they think their audience would enjoy it. The worst thing that could happen is that they say "No," and you take your efforts to the next influencer.
Did I miss an important step? Give your input in the comments below.
