Influencer takeovers are a great way to expand your audience and engage with your community. But often times, the idea of hosting a takeover can be a little overwhelming. How do you find the influencers? What do you even do with them once you’ve found them? These are the kinds of questions we at MDM are fully equipped to answer. So pick up your pens and start taking notes, because class is officially in session….

Step 1: How to Source an Influencer

Finding influencers can be a little daunting, that is if you don’t know how to be strategic about it. We recommend starting off at square one - make sure that their brand is complementary to yours. Meaning, if they are a fashion blogger and your brand works in fashion, beauty, photography, or lifestyle branding then you two are a match made in heaven! If they are a travel blogger and you are a travel agency - bingo! Another match.

Next, look at their numbers - look at the amount of likes and comments they get on their recent posts. How is the ratio between likes and comments? Are their numbers consistent from post to post? What is their average ratio of engagement? These are the type of questions to ask yourself to see if your influencer will be beneficial to you! If all of the answers to these questions are “yes” or are medium-high numbers* then you’ve found yourself an influencer!

In order to secure an influencer you will either need to provide a monetary offer or a trade. Trades are usually the best way to cost effectively host takeovers. Trades occur when you and your influencer can help each other mutually; i.e. if you have similar followings then you can help expand each other’s audience. Or perhaps your business can offer the influencer a service in exchange for their social media activity. Regardless, of how you approach it, there needs to be an incentive for your influencer - money, audience expansion, service, etc.

(*Remember numbers should be viewed subjectively! Take into consideration your own numbers and compare them to your influencers. If you are on a similar “playing field” then you are golden!)

Step 2: How to Reach Out

Most influencers provide a way to reach out to them in their bios; either a direct email or a link to their website. If no information is provided, we recommend DMing them with a brief, friendly message requesting their contact info.

When emailing our influencers with our pitch, we like to be professional (to the point and concise) but also personal. We find tailoring each message to the specific influencer at hand reaps the best results. After all, who likes being sent blanket emails anyway? *Yawn.* Always bring it back to them - why you think they are a good match, what you like about their aesthetic, why their profile stands out to you, why you feel like they will benefit as well, etc. Make it specific to them!

Step 3: What to Acquire from Them

We typically like to ask our influencers to provide 2-3 images with copy. The copy should be written in first person and 100% in their voice. But you need to guide them! You know more than they do about what it is you hope to garner from this takeover, in addition to what your audience wants on a daily basis. So whether they are providing your audience with their own helpful tips or they are announcing a giveaway on your page, you should provide instructions in order to guide them when crafting their content.

You will ask for them to return this content to you a few days before your takeover goes live. In addition, ask them to post one photo announcing the takeover on their own page!

Step 4: What to Do When It’s Live

As we mentioned, you will be asking your influencer to post a photo on their own page announcing the takeover. This is the one time your page will be explicitly shared on their profile. Once posted, we recommend engaging with the followers that like and comment on their post.

Step 5: What to Do When It’s All Over

Your takeover is done, it went swimmingly, and you’ve gained your new followers! Now what? Well we think manners get you very far in life, so for us, a thank you letter to your influencer is one of the most important steps! Remember though, keep it personal! Just because the takeover is over it doesn’t mean that the partnership has. A thank you letter leaves that door open.

....And just like that, you hosted a successful takeover. Congratulations! If you have any more questions please feel free to comment and we’d be happy to help!

Media Design & Marketing (MDM) is an advertising agency focused on providing clients immediate results and long-term branding. We equip companies with the right mix of broadcast and digital solutions.

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