Influencer marketing can play an active role in branding, on-point positioning and accelerated business growth. But before you think about influencer marketing, it is essential to understand how you can create a strong brand and optimize it to leverage influencer positioning to your strategic advantage.

Before we proceed with that, let’s get one thing clear: Real influencer positioning is not about reaching out to an influencer to endorse and/or promote your brand in return for a hefty sum of money. Influencer positioning, at its best, is when you build a mutually beneficial relationship so strong that the influencer believes in you and joyfully takes pride in associating their name with you and your brand. The influencer knows the value and meaning that your brand provides to their audience.

This is what we are going to reveal in this article: how to build a brand that creates trust and relationship with an influencer.

Let’s see how the process works!

The Recipe For An On-Point Influencer Positioning Strategy

If you are planning to go about influencer positioning, it is essential to understand that money will not always do the trick. You may have the budget and will to spend thousands of bucks for a mere tweet, Facebook or Instagram post, but it may not necessarily translate to the level of engagement you are looking to drive or the impact you are trying to create.

The first and the most crucial element of the equation is your brand — its strength, perception and image — coupled with the influencer’s persona and reputation and your relationship with the influencer. When you have all components of the formula in place, the results get amplified.

The idea is simple: Individuals or brand that focus on investing more in building their influence while fostering relationships with influencers can excel at influencer positing.

Here’s how you can go about it:

• Evaluate the strength and character of your brand.

Like any other strategic endeavor, evaluation is the first step to optimize your brand for influencer positioning. Identify whether your brand leads with authenticity to attract your audience into associating with it. Is it relevant? What value does it have for your audience? Are they able to relate to it? What factors differentiate your brand? Are the influencers able to connect with your brand?

The strength, character and essence of a brand manifest in the way it manages to create, hold and retain a monopoly position in the audience’s perception. If you want to measure the strength and equity of your brand, you can make use of tools such as customer preference metrics, financial metrics, output metrics, brand awareness, local market perception metrics and competitive metrics. This thorough analysis of your brand will help you understand where you stand as well as highlight the deficits that need to be improved.

• Add gravitas to your brand’s persona.

If your brand has an amateur persona or a weak profile, nobody will spare it a second thought. Of course, everyone wants their brand to have a strong persona. However, it isn’t a cakewalk like it seems.

First, you need to bridge the gap between your brand’s identity and image — as in, the difference between how you portray your brand versus what your audience perceives it to be. The alignment is only possible when you get rid of the ambiguities surrounding your brand’s perception and make your brand’s voice loud and audible to convey your brand message.

It is crucial to have a strong brand message in place that clicks and recalls your brand in your audience’s mind within less than an instance.

Apple’s “Think Different,” Nike’s “Just Do It,” Subway’s “Eat Fresh,” and TOMS’ “One for One” are some great examples of branding done right. An influencer can easily get behind a purpose-focused business mission, especially when a brand contributes in ways beyond profits.

 • Build a mutually beneficial relationship with influencers.

When you have worked on building the strength and reputation of your brand, you have completed the first phase. The next step is to begin networking among influencers and seek to foster strategic relationships.

This step is crucial because influencer marketing will only deliver your desired results when you initiate with offering support to the influencer. Then, invest your time and efforts in the continuous development of an open and symbiotic relationship with an influencer whose audience can relate to and connect with your brand.

Here are some key takeaways to build a healthy and rewarding relationship with influencers:

• Identify organic influencers.

• Research the influencer’s history, reputation and credibility.

• Evaluate the influencer’s audience and needs.

• Evaluate how can you support them.

• Be creative with your approach.

• Treat them as a strategic partner or collaborator.

• Be fair and consistent.

• Pitch on key performance indicators and mutually beneficial goals.

In A Nutshell

The essence of influencer marketing lies not in the influencer’s follower base but within your brand and the relationship itself. The influence of your brand is as significant as the influence and reach of the influencer. Without a strong brand influence, you cannot expect the influencer to do all the work for you.

So, with that settled, it’s time to face the pressing question: Does your brand have an influence?

If yes, you are ready to go. If not, it’s time to optimize.

Article written by: Divya Parekh