Every effective social media campaign must also include social media influencers. But the process doesn’t end once you find influencers that extend your reach to your target audience.

The work is really just beginning.

Once you’ve identified the influencers, the next step involves getting them to share your content.

The numbers don’t lie

Not sure the effort to find and motivate influencers is worth it? Think again. These case studies show how innovative companies like Lilly Pulitzer, Neiman Marcus and others identify and drive influencers to grow their audiences.

• Kahlua got the help of Allrecipes, the world’s largest food brand on digital platforms, as an influencer.
• Lilly Pulitzer looked to fashion bloggers and editors to help influence their communities.
• GNC identified nutritional product companies to grow brand awareness.
• The Cleveland Indians’ online influencers got special seating at games and free WiFi to influence its community.
• Afinia, a newcomer to the tech industry, increased online sales by 271% with an influencer plan and original content.

Getting influencers to take action

It’s one thing to identify a list of influential people in your target communities, but it’s another to get them to actually share content on their thriving social media platforms. It’s well worth the effort, however.

Studies show that the number of influencers who share a piece of content has an overwhelming impact on the total number of shares the content gets. On average, a post can get more than 31% more shares if just one influencer shares it. Get three influencers to share your content, and get better results: double the shares. Ramp that up to five influencers, and you can quadruple results.

The influencer-sharing rules

If you’re going after big results with your influencer community, here are the rules to live by:

• Give them something in return. Free publicity is what many influencers are after, and it’s what can get them to share your content. Include posts in your campaign that showcase influencers in a positive light or highlight something they’ve done for the community (such as a “best of products” post or charity work). These kinds of posts are more likely to get shared by the influencers. But don’t leave the influencer to find out about the post through chance. Go ahead and email or direct message them to let them know about the tweet or post. Also, be sure to mention them directly in your post, too.
• Find out about their likes. Research each influencer’s posts to discover the sites they visit, the brands they like, etc. Then, write a post about it and share it, or get a guest post published on the mentioned site. As you scroll through their profiles, make a list of mentions, and you’ll quickly discover their most-loved brands, websites or articles.
• Don’t play it safe. Be direct and ask influencers to share your content. Sometimes, an influencer will appreciate the direct approach and your honesty. The key here is asking them to share content that’s valuable and relevant.
• Get them involved. Conduct an interview and post the article, and the influencers will be sure to share it. Post their quotes or opinions. Write a list article about a relevant topic, and include tens of experts’ opinions. You’ll be sure to get the influencers to share the content.

Getting influencers to take action is an integral part of a successful social media campaign. It doesn’t take much work, but it does require intentionality and a plan. So what are you waiting for? Use your influencer list to take your campaign to the next level.