Successful public relations is built on trust. It is the foundation for a positive brand reputation with stakeholders, media, as well as existing and potential customers. Without trust, even the most polished campaign will fall flat.
Influencers are often perceived as authentic sources, more so than traditional brands, because of the human touch they add to their content. By sharing real-world opinions and experiences infused with personality, they are able to connect with their followers in a genuine way. When promoting a grand opening, special event or overall brand, working with influencers can be an effective way to engage with target audiences.
But how these partnerships come to be, and how we choose to nurture them, can make a big difference when it comes to return on investment and overall success.
Set partnership goals.
The first step is clarity. What do you want to achieve when working with influencers: Event attendance? Product placement? Increased social engagement? General brand awareness? Defining these outcomes at the outset of strategy-building allows for a more streamlined and successful campaign.
For example, if the goal is to drive traffic to a new location’s grand opening, the strategy may lean toward Instagram Stories or TikTok videos that highlight engaging moments on-site. If the goal is broader brand awareness, evergreen content like long-form blog posts may be more impactful. Having measurable goals ensures that success can be evaluated beyond likes or impressions.
As part of our ongoing partnership with the Penrod Society, which includes leading PR efforts for their events, including Penrod Arts Fair and its exclusive preview event, Evening with Penrod, our team set out to increase visibility and ticket sales. To achieve this, we reached out to dozens of hyper-local Indianapolis influencers with the goal of securing pre-event coverage to encourage ticket sales, as well as evergreen content that would remain relevant long after the event’s end.
Our team invited influencers to attend Evening with Penrod at no cost in exchange for a certain number of posts regarding the event. To cultivate solid relationships with these creators, we ensured they got a VIP experience while giving them creative freedom to share their authentic experiences with their followers. In order to attend, each influencer received detailed guidelines that clearly outlined posting expectations, such as posting Instagram Stories ahead of time with links to purchase tickets. During and following the event, we required Instagram Feed posts that showcased the influencers’ experiences – that way, content could be available to their audiences longer than the 24-hour lifespan of an Instagram Story.
Find the right influencers.
Once goals have been set, the research into relevant influencers begins. This is where PR strategy meets creative matchmaking. Influencers should reflect not only the demographics of the target audience but also the tone and values of the brand. A family-focused event might pair well with a local parenting influencer, while a lifestyle brand or product might find stronger resonance with micro-influencers in the fashion or wellness space.
As PR professionals, we aim to secure placement for our clients in media verticals that connect with the right target audience. It is also important to keep in mind what influencers themselves want, which is content that resonates with their followers and feels authentic to their personal brand. Partnerships should be mutually beneficial and empower influencers to weave in their own perspective rather than simply repeating brand messaging.
Foster effective collaboration and measure success.
Influencer marketing should not be viewed as a one-off transaction. We focus on building relationships, not just campaigns, by being transparent about expectations while encouraging influencers to speak in their own voice. Followers can sense when a collaboration feels too rehearsed or rigid, which erodes trust quickly. Authenticity leads to a better outcome for both the client and the creator.
Importantly, long-term partnerships often yield stronger results. When an influencer consistently shares a brand’s story over time, their audience begins to associate them with that brand in a natural, credible way.
Take Drybar, for example, a style-only salon that was looking to amplify the opening of its new location with influencer relations. We aimed for fewer influencers overall, but over a longer period of collaboration. In exchange for complimentary blowouts and stylings over the course of several months, influencers received a unique discount code for Drybar services to share with their followers. This strategy kept Drybar top of mind well beyond the grand opening, creating repeated touchpoints with potential customers and encouraging ongoing engagement.
Clicks, website conversions and product sales are important ways to analyze the effectiveness of influencer partnerships. However, qualitative measures such as positive sentiment in the comments section, new audience engagement, or earned media opportunities stemming from influencer content also provide valuable insights.
The key is to continually adapt. Not every collaboration will look the same, and the most effective partnerships often come from experimentation and refinement. When executed thoughtfully, influencer partnerships allow brands to build trust through authentic voices that consumers already value.
Do you have an event on the calendar where you’d like to see influencers attend and share your story? Connect with us to learn more about our influencer relations services.
0 Comments