How To Use YouTube Influencers To Grow Your Business

Leveraging YouTube influencers is a powerful marketing strategy for organisations seeking global sales and brand recognition.

It is hard to argue with the notion that YouTube has become, after Google, the most essential and extensive search engine available today. As such, businesses must include a YouTube marketing strategy to leverage the platform’s reach and ubiquity.

Even if your micro or small business lacks the internal capacity, equipment and know-how to create imaginative, well-crafted, compelling videos, you can engage the expertise of third parties like Influencers.

Influencers

One of the most effective ways of creating and implementing an effective YouTube campaign to expand into new markets is to engage the services of an influencer.

Influencers have become key figures in the creator economy, thanks to their video shooting and editing skills and capacity to develop impactful multi-media campaigns; the result can be a highly beneficial collaboration that enables you to reach significant numbers of viewers and potential clients in territories where you did not previously have a presence.

Engaging An Influencer

How can my business engage a YouTube influencer?

At first glance, SMEs might think that working with an international influencer is beyond their means; however, this is not necessarily true.

Influencers are not usually taken on as employees or permanent members of staff. They are hired as gig workers, commonly known as contractors or freelancers.

Hiring an influencer, irrespective of where they are located, i.e. locally or overseas, is straightforward when you use contractor management platforms. You can engage someone to work remotely on a specific project or for a limited period.

This process can be further streamlined by using contractor management platforms, allowing companies to hire influencers wherever in the world they are based, while this guide created by Papaya shows how easy it is for both SMEs and corporations to pay contractors overseas for their work.

If you think collaborating with an international YouTube influencer might be too difficult to navigate, it’s time to think again.

Influencer Marketing Strategy

How do I get the most out of engaging a YouTube influencer?

Given that the practicalities of hiring an influencer as an independent contractor can be smoothed out by a contractor management platform, the conversation shifts to what benefits an influencer can deliver and how to form a practical, effective YouTube strategy that will provide the most far-reaching results.

Develop a well-defined strategy

Like any online or social media marketing strategy, when working with an influencer, you need to define your goals clearly, so that you and your collaborator understand what you are trying to achieve.

The first step is choosing the right influencer for your brand and, more importantly, the market you are looking to target. Despite YouTube being a global phenomenon, there is no doubt that influencers tend to have localised needs in which they are more prominent. So, working with someone with high exposure levels and popularity in your target market is a crucial part of the process.

Finding the right influencer for your goals will also streamline the content creation process, as they will have a greater understanding of what will resonate with the audiences you are trying to reach, particularly if you are looking to expand into a new market where you currently have no presence or experience.

Focus on authenticity and engagement

When you are considering an influencer to collaborate with on a YouTube marketing campaign, it will be helpful if they have a passion for and at least some knowledge of your sector or industry. The most effective campaigns are those that radiate authenticity and are highly engaging, and this is more likely when you work with an influence who understands your product, services and market and has high levels of engagement with the audience.

Think of the most popular and effective influencers currently on YouTube and how their enthusiasm for what they are promoting shines through. This is something you should ideally be aiming for as well.

Measure your results

One of the benefits of YouTube marketing is that it is relatively straightforward (even for a layman) to track and measure the effectiveness of a campaign. This is essential at all stages of the process to ensure you are well-placed to judge the effectiveness of the different strands of a campaign and the value you are getting from your collaboration.

One of the advantages of online marketing campaigns is the flexibility they offer. If you are using data and analytics effectively, you can regularly tweak and adjust the different elements of your campaign to ensure that they are attaining the reach you need. You can also use the information you glean to inform the shape and direction of your future campaigns.

Collaborate with influencers to create content

If you are engaging a YouTube influencer, you will be doing so because of their capacity to connect with your target market audiences and their knowledge of and enthusiasm for your product.

In this scenario, it naturally makes sense to leverage their experience and expertise to create your YouTube content. You will not be getting value for money, or achieving your goals, if you do not see the relationship with an influencer as a collaborative one. If you are dictating the direction of your content without additional input, you are not fully utilising what an influencer can bring to the table.

This is why when you are planning a campaign with an influencer, they should be a part of the process from the outset. While you are the expert on your product and your business, they will likely better understand what works on YouTube in your selected market and what will resonate with your target audience. If you aren’t effectively harnessing what an influencer can deliver for your business, you will not be using YouTube marketing to its full extent.

Use a variety of platforms

The most successful YouTube influencers have attained their position in the industry because they can create multi-media content. This also means they will likely have a significant presence on multiple social media platforms beyond YouTube.

When collaborating with an influencer, you should aim to create a presence on other video platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, as well as business-oriented sites like LinkedIn. In this way, you may be able to reach new and unexpected audiences and connect with people in various ways.

Be patient

It is important to remember that building a positive, effective relationship with an influencer can take some time.  Like with most marketing initiatives, results may not be forthcoming instantly. Clear expectations, combined with patience, are essential parts of working with any independent contractor, so if you remain optimistic and keep the channels of communication open, you will be well-placed to benefit from what should ultimately be a fruitful, mutually beneficial collaborative relationship.