Marketing to your audience can be tricky, but influencer marketing is a huge step in the right direction. You are able to use their fan base to build your own customer base, and it gives you a chance to showcase your product. Plus, companies that are using it find it to be extremely effective, almost as effective as text marketing efforts. But how can you get the most bang for your buck? Here are some ways you can get the most bang for your buck with influencer marketing.

Search for the right influencers

Getting the right person to promote your product makes all the difference. You can recruit politicians, bloggers, another business, a model, or even one of the bachelorette girls. You’d be surprised how many followers someone can have that you have never heard of. Look for influencers who fit with your industry. Make sure promoting your product would be a part of their image they have already created through social media. If they wouldn’t have chosen to buy your product on their own in real life, their fans probably won’t believe anything good they have to say about it.

Agree on payment

Make sure you agree on payment ahead of time. Some influencers with smaller followings will often agree to promote your product in exchange for the free product instead of having to pay out cash. Even if they want you to pay $5,000 to $10,000 for a post about your company, you can usually negotiate down, so make sure you always negotiate and try to get the best deal possible for your company. You’ll need to predetermine a budget before the year begins, and then spread it out throughout the year instead of using it all at once in one shot.

Don’t tell them exactly what to do

People who have large followings on social media typically already have a brand of their own they are trying to work with. They know what gets “likes” on their posts and what doesn’t, and they know how their audience responds to different things. Avoid telling them exactly what to post, so they have the freedom to do it themselves. It is especially bad when you pay five or six people to post the exact same thing on the exact same day. If their fans follow each other (as they usually do if they are in the same industry of people), then they immediately can tell it is a fake ad and that they aren’t getting the true opinion of the person posting it.

Continue other marketing efforts

Just because you think influencer marketing is going to work really well for you doesn’t mean you should focus your efforts all in one place. Use your budget wisely, and spread out among many different marketing tactics. Text marketing, social media marketing, and mobile marketing are still just as important as ever. And remember that your marketing efforts need to last all year long, so spread out your budget accordingly.