Tag: promote

Approaching Social Influencers

As I shared with you in a recent article, I have learned that social influencers rule the world . . . or at least the small piece of the world in which they reign (read that story here).  My goal now is to harness this great power – for the benefit of my small business as well as yours.

Replicating Success

My direct experience with social influencers was limited to one feature in which I had no impact on the course of events. (In other words, I had absolutely nothing to do with the success I reaped.) 

A social influencer made a video showing her followers how to create and package vanilla extract (using my label template) as a suggested Christmas gift (watch the full video here). 

However, my logic in formulating an approach to being featured by another social influencer is to try to repeat (as closely as possible) this past success.  I have a play book so to speak, but I need to do all the work this time to get the players in place. . . .

STEP ONE : Make sure your product or service is set up for affiliate marketing.

Since paid placements with social influencers can get pretty pricey, my route of choice is affiliate marketing, in which “an online retailer pays commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals” (Oxford Languages).  Make sure whatever venue you use for sales supports affiliate marketing.  All of the big ones (like Amazon, Walmart, Etsy) do.  If you sell your products or services through your own channel and don’t already have an automated commission structure in place, you may want to consider utilizing a popular third-party for that purpose.  (The reason the third-party should be a popular one becomes clear in step four.)

STEP TWO : Decide on the right product or service for the time period.

Given our current, heightened focus on hygiene (which I think will last for years to come), I’m thinking DIY hand soap might be an equally popular Christmas gift for neighbors, teachers, mail carriers, etc. 

Always think about holidays.  Of course, Christmas is an obvious one (and you can’t start your planning too early), but lots of other holidays have great potential.  Last week’s Super Bowl Sunday (whether people are quarantining or not) increased sales for many different types of businesses, and this week’s Valentine’s Day is another cause for lots and lots of cha chings.

Relating your product or service to current events is another boon. 

STEP THREE : Seek out a social influencer who is a good fit for your product or service.

A social influencer typically has a brand all of their own, and you want to be sure your two brands are a good match for one another.  For instance, my son’s favorite social influencer plays Roblox on YouTube.  I have an in-depth knowledge of this individual (having overheard many hours of his videos, getting to know him and his favorite games), which is a great bonus, but he unfortunately would not be a good fit for my hand soap labels.  Don’t get me wrong; he’s a resourceful guy, and I’m sure he could make it work, but I’m also sure he gets heaps of partnership offers and would be apt to pick a more ideal choice.

I focused my search by narrowing in on the related item.  I searched google for “diy hand soap recipe” and found a number of influencers who had posted one.  I looked for one that had a good following and had posted the story a while ago . . . and, therefore, could justify re-posting the story in the fall with a Christmas tilt.  

STEP FOUR : Make sure they’ve used affiliate links for your platform before.

Since you’re approaching a quasi-celebrity, you want your proposal to be as easy for them as possible.  Therefore, scan through their previous posts, videos, etc.  Do they ever include affiliate links?  If not, they’re probably not going to start doing so for you.  If they do, what types of sites do they promote?  Have they worked with your third-party before?  If so, you have a much greater likelihood they’ll consider your product or service.

STEP FIVE : Temper your expectations based on the individual’s following.

The problem with the truly famous social influencers is that they are most likely not going to respond to unsolicited proposals.  They already get a ton from big brands, so your average small business isn’t going to be able to influence them.  However, the possibility always exists that you will just happen to be suggesting a product that they were planning to promote in the near future.  Kismet.  Probably not . . . but never entirely dismiss good old fashioned luck working in your favor.  If you’re dying to work with a certain famous someone, give it a go; just don’t get your hopes up. 

(Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/influencer-marketing-report)

If you can get a macro or mega influencer to include your affiliate link, you’ve hit the jackpot . . . though your likelihood of doing so could be just as slim unfortunately.

The mid-tier is your sweet spot.  You want the person to have enough followers that your product or service will have a substantial audience but not so many that they’re completely inundated with requests just like yours.

I certainly wouldn’t disregard micro or nano influencers, but you’ll need to focus on quantity in order to get a similar bang for your buck (in this situation, your effort being your “buck”).

STEP SIX : Spend some time getting to know your chosen influencer.

Once you’ve set your sights on your target (or targets), it’s time to become his or her biggest fan.  Get to know the influencer better.  I wouldn’t just recommend spending a concentrated period scanning previous posts, though that is a good idea, too.  You need to become a follower and immerse yourself in their world for a period of time.

STEP SEVEN : Plan how you will send your pitch.

Instagram messages are the worst as they limit your number of characters per message and automatically insert pictures for any links.  Facebook messages and e-mail are good.  You also want to be sure you’re using a venue in which your message will actually be received. 

STEP EIGHT : Create your pitch.

You have your strategy and you personally (kinda) know your social influencer(s) of choice.  Now the time has come to draft your case.  

  1. Introduce yourself.
  2. Give a specific and thoughtful compliment – what exactly do you love about their personality, blog posts, videos, etc.?  (Bonus if you can tell them that you’ve actually purchased something based on their recommendation.)
  3. Introduce your business and your product or service and explain why you think it’s a match for this individual. 
  4. Include pictures – two should do the trick; maybe a high-quality close-up photo as well as another of your product or service in use.
  5. Describe any tie-ins to an upcoming holiday or current events.
  6. Highlight the benefits for them.  You can include the affiliate commission rate and any sales expectations (based on how well the product has does in similar or even very different promotions).
  7. Give you and your product credibility – include company AND product ratings.
  8. Offer a coupon code or some type of discount specifically for this influencer, if possible.
  9. Make yourself available for follow-up questions.
  10. Thank them for their consideration.

In the near future, I’ll be putting together a couple proposals so you can see a few real-life examples in action.  Stay tuned!

Advertisement

A “Legal-Approved” Free Collection of Social Media Icons

When looking to promote your social media presence, you want to include logos for each outlet, but you don’t want to be on the receiving end of legal issues with Facebook or Instagram.  So we’ve done the legwork for you and compiled the logos each social media outlet wants you to use along with the rules for each.  If you had a legal department, their ‘approved’ rubber stamp would be inked up and ready!

Facebook

Brand Resources – https://en.facebookbrand.com/facebookapp/

  • Use the “f” logo to promote your business’s presence on Facebook.
  • The color of the icon can either be facebook blue or white.
  • Include a call to action and link with the logo.
  • When using along with other icons, ensure they are all equal in size with adequate space in between each and maintain the shape and proportions of the “f” logo.
  • Don’t change the logo in any way.
  • Don’t make the logo the most prominent feature of your piece.

Instagram

Icon (and instructions) – https://en.instagram-brand.com/assets/icons

  • Use the Instagram glyph (or outline) in black or white (though you can place on a pink background when showing with other social media icons in their brand colors).
  • Use the logo with a call to action unless including in a lineup with other social media icons.
  • The glyph should be surrounded with clear space – specifically 50% of the glyph’s size – on all sides.
  • Make the glyph no smaller than 29×29 pixels.

Twitter

Brand Resources – https://about.twitter.com/en_us/company/brand-resources.html

  • While Twitter prefers you use their icon free of any container, they provide versions with the icon enclosed in a square, a square with rounded corners, and a circle.
  • When pairing the logo with an account name or hashtag, scale the text to 100% of the logo’s height.
  • Only use the logo in Twitter blue or white.
  • Don’t change the logo in any way.
  • Don’t surround the logo with other creatures or accessories.
  • The empty space around the logo should be at least 150% of the logo’s width.
  • Make sure the logo is at least 32 pixels wide.

YouTube

Brand Resources – https://www.youtube.com/about/brand-resources/#logos-icons-colors

  • Surround the icon with free space of at least 50% of the icon’s width. 
  • The icon should be a minimum of 24dp in height (digitally) and .125 in (printed).
  • Don’t change the logo in any way.
  • Only use the icon in your social media assets when linked to a YouTube channel.

Snapchat

Snap Kit Design Guidelines – https://docs.snapchat.com/docs/design-guidelines/

  • Use the Snapchat app icon (shown above) along with other apps. (Otherwise, use the Ghost logo.)
  • The icon should be a minimum of 18 px (digitally) and .25 in (printed).
  • The empty space around the logo should be at least 150% of the logo’s size.
  • Don’t change the logo in any way.

LinkedIn

Brand Guidelines/Downloads – https://brand.linkedin.com/downloads

  • Only use the logo in LinkedIn blue, all white, or all black.
  • Make sure adequate space surrounds the logo.
  • Don’t change the logo in any way.
  • The “in” should be a minimum of 32 px (digitally) and .25 in (printed).  The ® symbol should be clearly visible.

Pinterest

Brand Guidelines – https://business.pinterest.com/en/pinterest-brand-guidelines

  • Use the Pinterest badge (above) and not the wordmark.
  • Always include a call to action and your Pinterest URL with the logo.
  • The logo height should be proportionate to the call to action text. 

TikTok

Brand Guidelines – https://tiktokbrandbook.com/d/HhXfjVK1Poj9/legal

  • TikTok’s logo can only be used with prior written permission.
  • Use TikTok’s name in text ONLY to refer to their platform or services
  • You can say things like “uploaded on TikTok” or “follow us on TikTok”
  • Don’t include a space between “Tik” and “Tok”.
  • Both Ts in TikTok are upper case, and all other letters should be lower case.

We hope this guide simplifies the use of social media logos for you.  However, please keep in mind that this collection does not replace the full guidelines provided by each social media outlet, and those should be reviewed in full as well. 

If you have any questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you!  Post in the comments section below.

Creating a ‘Follow Us on Social Media’ Sign in Microsoft Word

You’ve created your social media pages to reinforce and promote your brand, and you regularly dedicate your time to adding content.  Now, you want to be sure you’re taking every opportunity to properly promote your social media presence.  If your small business has a physical location (office, retail store, etc.), hanging a sign in a high-traffic area is a great option and relatively quick and easy.

I’ll show you the steps to create such sign in Microsoft Word.

1. Open Word, create a new blank document, and insert a rectangle.  (When your cursor turns into a plus sign, you’re able to draw your shape.

By default, mine is blue.  Right click the rectangle and select More Layout Options. 

Set the properties to . . .

  • Size: 10” in Height and 8” in Width
  • Text Wrapping: Behind Text
  • Position:
    • Horizontal – Absolute Position of .25” ‘to the right of’: Page
    • Vertical – Absolute Position of .5” ‘to the right of’: Page

Set the Fill to No Fill and the Line to a Solid Line, Black Color, and .5 pt Width, choosing the Dash Type selection shown below.

2. Click inside the rectangle and type “Follow Us on Social Media”.  Set the font to one or more choices that work as your heading and size to appropriately fill the space.  Set the Alignment to Centered.  I went with the font Candelion Regular in all lowercase at size 160 for “follow us” and (on the next line) Calibri in all caps at size 25 and added a space between each letter.

3. Next, decide which review platforms you would like to feature.  We are currently active on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest and will be highlighting those.  Then, go to Google to find logos.  Most social media outlets will have a corporate page that makes their logo available to the public along with instructions for proper usage.  For example, Facebook has a Brand Resources page easily found when searching “facebook logo” on Google.

As you find the appropriate source for each social media outlet, save the logos to your desktop.

4. Press enter within your document to advance to the next line space and then insert each of your saved logos (from the menu at top, press the Insert tab, and choose Picture) in the order you want them to appear on your sign. 

Inserting each of mine took me to the bottom of a second page.  So, the first step in adjusting sizing is to crop any excess space from the logos.  (As you can see above, the outline of the Pinterest image is directly around the icon, so no need to crop that one.)  That’s not the case for LinkedIn . . .

To crop, click Picture Tools (at the very top of the screen), click the Crop icon (at top right), drag the outer edges of the box tight around the logo, and press enter.  Once all the logos are cropped as needed, try to match their size to about and 1.4” in height.  (This will ensure you have adequate room for text.)  To do so, click Picture Tools again and enter a height at top right.

Repeat for the other icons.

5.  Click in the space after your first icon, press enter to add a line space, and type your profile name/URL for that platform; repeat for your subsequent logos.  This process once again took me onto a second page.

Therefore, decrease the font size as needed.  I went with size 20.

And then adjust the spacing a little for each line of text (so you have additional room between each social media outlet).

And you’re done!

6. Save your file, print, cut (on the dotted line, which is 8×10”), and frame!

A Note About Fonts and Colors:
While the instructions described above will achieve the simple and modern design pictured, you can (and should) customize the look for your business. If you’ve been brand building from the start, you already have a Style Guide in place, and everything you create for your business should reflect the guidelines you’ve set for your logo usage, fonts, and colors. If you’re new to branding, be sure to review our story on The Role of a Brand Style Guide.

Happy designing!