3 guidelines for PR pros considering unpaid influencer marketing

Though many brand managers are focused on partnering with paid influencers, organizations can see big success from partnering with bloggers who might share your product for free.

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As traditional news media declines and public relations strategies shift, influencer marketing has emerged as a smart way to tell brand stories. However, that doesn’t mean brands always have to pay for these services.

Brand managers can reach a large (and loyal) audience while protecting brand messaging with a carefully crafted approach to unpaid or earned influencer marketing.

While paid blogger partnerships offer more control of timing and messaging, unpaid influencer marketing based on a product trade collaboration provides its fair share of benefits.

If you’re considering an unpaid influencer marketing program, here are some things to remember.

1. Capture influencers’ interest with creative messaging.

Similar to traditional media relations and pitching, prepare to put in the time to cultivate relationships and present enticing opportunities.

Avoid devaluing bloggers just because you aren’t paying them for their services. Because you aren’t offering a monetary incentive, you’ll want to gain authentic interest, and that means putting your best foot forward.

How will this benefit the blogger and their readers? Make sure to capture genuine interest with creative messaging, free product and more.

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