PR Strategies Every Influencer Should Know
If you’re an influencer, I’m going to assume you already know everything you need to know about social media. You have probably already built a loyal following of fellow enthusiasts for whatever your niche is. And one step further, I bet you have already worked with brands to promote their products.
But what if you want to take it a step further? What if you want to go beyond your typical social media channels to build an even bigger following and work with even bigger brands?
That’s when I recommend influencers start doing a little PR.
PR is different from organic social media or any kind of advertising because it relies on a third party to talk about you. You might start PR by reaching out to different publications, but ultimately, it’s up to them whether or not they run the story.
When they do, it’s like they’re vouching for you. You build credibility and access to new audiences all at once!
That’s the power of PR, baby!
With more credibility and a bigger following, you’ll have a better chance at grabbing the attention of larger national brands.
Let’s start with an example
With COVID-19 and social distancing keeping everyone at home this spring, a lot of people have taken up gardening. So, for this article we’ll talk about a hypothetical gardening influencer, Green Thumb Jenna.
Just to be clear, this strategy would work for just about any kind of influencer. You could be a fashion influencer, photography influencer, exotic pet influencer (You watched Joe Exotic, right?), it doesn’t matter as long as you have a targeted audience for that topic.
Okay, so let’s say our hypothetical gardening influencer has a YouTube channel, Instagram, and website. Each channel earns a consistent stream of traffic and engagement, and Jenna has been able to partner with the local nursery to promote a few backyard gardening products.
But even though traffic is steady, it’s not growing as much as her plants!
Now is the time to start reaching out to publications!
1. Jenna should start booking podcast interviews
Podcasts are so popular right now and the best part is that there’s a podcast for everything.
Influencers should be reaching out to the podcasts in their space and ask to be a guest. Booking an interview on a podcast is a great way to show off your expertise and personality. Since most podcasts are longer, typically ranging from 20 minutes to a couple hours, you have plenty of time to go in depth and really help the audience.
I just looked up “gardening podcasts” and quickly found 51 options. Our hypothetical gardening influencer should read the descriptions to find a handful that are relevant to her and send them a pitch about her expertise and a few story ideas..
You don’t want to repeat the same information they are already giving their listeners, so pitch stories that are unique to you and still on-topic for them.
For example, if Jenna specializes in suburban backyard gardens, she might pitch a flower-care podcast a story about how to choose flowers for your front vs backyard. Or if another podcast focuses on the toughest gardening issues, Jenna might offer her expertise on the toughest background soil to work with or dealing with an HOA!
2. Jenna should pitch her products for gift seasons
A lot of influencers sell products. It could be something like branded merchandise, online courses, retreats, or the product of their art. When sales are on your mind, instead of pitching your expertise, pitch your product!
The best time to pitch products is when people are ready to buy. That’s why holidays like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas are ideal opportunities to earn media.
Gift guides are published ahead of holidays to help shoppers know the latest and greatest products on the market.
As an influencer, you can increase your sales and get a leg up with credibility by having your product featured in a notable gift guide.
Think about our gardening influencer. She sells branded watering cans on her website. Ahead of Mother’s Day, she can pitch a few local papers letting them know there is a special edition “Best Mom” watering can for Mothers who love to garden.
By getting that product featured in the paper, sales go up, emails are collected, and more people know about Jenna’s trendy brand.
3. Jenna should master the how-to segment
Another way influencers can get great PR is by mastering the TV how-to segment.
How-to segments are usually aired on morning or day-time news shows. The host steps away from the desk to talk to an expert about a new method or technique for whatever they are there for. The classic example is a cooking segment where a chef walks the host through each step of making something delicious.
But if every segment was about food, it would get kind of boring.
TV stations are always looking for new and interesting how-to segments. Get in contact with the producers and pitch them an idea related to your industry or hobby. Make sure the concept is visually appealing and accessible for the everyday person.
If our hypothetical gardening influencer is pitching a TV segment, she might offer a tutorial for repotting plants. This way, she can bring a variety of colorful plants and pots on stage, explain when a plant needs to be repotted and quickly demonstrate the correct technique.
By mastering the TV segment, Jenna get’s to show every single viewer that she is the expert in gardening, which rockets her credibility. People are likely to hop online and follow Green Thumb Jenna on social media. Brands are also watching TV, and whether it’s live or a clip that is circulated online, they’ll see that she is the real deal.
Working on credibility-building content is so worth it and so possible. If you’ve already built a loyal online following just with social media, it’s time to take it to the next level with PR.