4 Ways to Boost Community Engagement With Influencer Marketing

Scaling a small community comes with its own share of challenges and roadblocks.

You need to build intelligent strategies that enable you to grow the reach of your community by creating an impact.

That’s where influencer marketing can add that X-factor to your community. It is a technique that will not only boost engagement in your community, but also generate brand awareness.

But, the real challenge is coming up with a strategic influencer marketing plan that aligns with the goals of your community.

With that said, let’s dive into what influencer marketing is and how it can enable you to explore new opportunities.

What is Influencer Marketing in Online Communities?

Hiring an influential person to promote a brand or product to impact buying decisions of targeted audiences is influential marketing. It started off as an awareness tactic but has matured into a rapidly emerging industry with a total value of $13+ billion^[i]. All small, medium, and large businesses are leveraging this strategy to increase ROI.

4 Ways to Leverage Influencer Marketing in Communities

Statistics show hyper-engaged communities can increase customer loyalty by 67%^[ii]. Influencer marketing is an incredible way to gain the trust of your members while motivating them to participate in your community.

Here are 4 ways to increase community engagement by incorporating influencer marketing –

1. Ask Influencers to Run Giveaways and Contests in Your Community

Contests or giveaways are a great way to engage your community members. Now, multiply that engagement by partnering with an influencer to conduct that contest or giveaway. Develop an effective contest or giveaway strategy with clear rules and guidelines for transparency. Announce the event a few days prior to build anticipation and increase participation.

You might have come across a social media post where people can share a promotional post of an influencer by tagging their friends on it. In return, lucky winners will get the promised prize. Take a look at the following example –

In the given example, KeVita partnered with influencers to do a giveaway along with a $50 Amazon gift card. Participants were asked to follow their official handle on Instagram, comment their favorite KeVita flavor, and tag their “bestie” on the giveaway post. This way, KeVita gained traction and got some new followers as well.

Incorporating this tactic in their online community can help brands gain new community members.

2. Give Control of Your Community to an Influencer

Onboarding an influencer in your niche to take control of your community is a great way to gain traction. What we mean is allow them the freedom of posting content and engaging with your community members. It can be incredibly fun for both your members and the influencer, and it can stir up your community engagement. They can direct their followers to your community, thus, enabling you to gain some new members.

For this approach, ensure that you partner with the right influencer. They must understand your audience to deliver the type of content that your audience engages with. Before implementing this approach, announce it on every possible medium including your community, social media profiles, email, etc. Create some buzz around it for maximum engagement.

3. Ask Trusted Experts to Leave Reviews

Another way to leverage influencer marketing is by asking experts to review your products or services. Better yet, ask them to create a video of using or reviewing your products or services. Influencers are already trusted by a decent number of audiences. A review or testimonial can empower their audience to trust you too.

This approach will only work if you manage to get an honest review of a trusted resource. Thus, we recommend you to ask them for a candid review instead of a paid, biased review.

4. Invite Influencers to Contribute to Your Events

Planning a webinar or engagement session for your community? Spruce it up by partnering with an influencer. If you’re hosting a webinar, have an expert as one of the panelists and promise a Q&A round to your members. It will build anticipation and motivate them to not only attend but also engage with the industry experts.

Conclusion

With the right influencer marketing strategy in your corner, you can accelerate member engagement and amplify brand advocacy in your online community. But before you dive into it, come up with a plan that addresses the goals of your community. A perfect blend of the right strategy and right influencer can do wonders for your community engagement.

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References

^[i] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092819/global-influencer-market-size/
^[ii] https://peerboard.com/resources/online-community-statistics