Attire Accessories - May/Jun 2018 (Issue 70)

ATTIRE 91 MARKETING via exterior publishers, and network with stepping-stone influencers until you start getting recognised for your work. 3 You went straight for the ‘ask’ “Hi, my name’s Michael and I was hoping you’d share this valuable piece of content I created!” Tweets and social messages need to be concise, but it doesn’t mean you should cut to the chase this quickly. If you immediately ask an influencer for a favour, that person is going to tune you out straight away. Think about it this way: if a stranger came up to you on the street and asked you for 10 pounds, would you hand it over? What if a friend made you dinner, spent a lovely evening with you and then asked to borrow 10 pounds? People don’t like to be accosted for favours, so warm them up to you first. 4 There’s nothing in it for them This sentiment is so strong that you should avoid thinking in terms of favours altogether. You aren’t asking for help from your target influencers; instead, you should be making a valuable exchange with them. For example, rather than getting value from someone who shares your content, you could give that person value in return with, for example, access to information their followers would love. Sometimes, a simple spin is all that’s necessary to make the deal look like it is in their favour. In any case, there needs to be something in it for them. 5 You mass-messaged If you copied and pasted any portion of your message to multiple influencers, you’re doing something wrong.These people are receptive and can pick up on generic quirks in your message that you could use to spam hundreds of people. Influencers get hundreds, if not thousands, of spam messages every day and won’t put up with them. Instead, you need to craft a warm, personalised greeting. Speak directly as if you know them. Be sure to write a fresh message each time you target someone new. 6 They’re just busy Don’t forget that for most influencers, posting on social media isn’t a full-time job.They’re busy running businesses, meeting with people and directing organisations. They (and their assistants) don’t have time to respond to every message they receive, especially when they have so many. Maybe a target influencer would love to co- author a new post with you, but doesn’t have room in his or her schedule to actually do it. You can get around this problem by reaching out to more people, and selecting those who seem to have ample time to post on social media. 7 There’s no obvious reason Social media marketing is a valuable strategy, but it’s not fool-proof. People can be unpredictable, so even if you craft the perfect message, it’s possible that it isn’t going to resonate with them. Your communication may also be vulnerable to random factors, too. For example, an influencer could have read your message with every intention of responding, but forgot and lost track of time. Any message could die for pretty much any reason. If you know why your chosen influencers aren’t responding, you can come up with a plan to improve. Remember, you are dealing with people, and each one will have different preferences and personality traits. What works for one person may not work for another. Still, with best practices in place and some extra consideration in your strategy, you can improve your odds of success in gaining a response. Good luck! Michael O’Connor Grey Sergeant michael.oconnor@greysergeant.com