Specialty Food Magazine

What are some best practices for engaging with social media influencers? (continued) Q: cheese lovers in other audiences and interest groups. So we love finding influencers who speak to cheese lovers as wine authorities, travel authorities, etc. Caroline Cotto, co-founder and chief operating officer, Renewal Mill Given that we're still small and scrappy, Renewal Mill has mostly engaged with influencers on a product exchange level where we offer free product in exchange for posts. We get a lot of inbound requests from micro-influencers, so we are fairly strict on who we partner with. First and foremost, we're looking for brand alignment; for example, our products are vegan and gluten-free, so we prioritize influencers that target those two main audiences. Similarly, many of our users are cooking for their families, so we like partnering with influencers who create content that shows them baking with their kids or enjoying our products with their family. Lastly, we like to have clear guidelines on the scope of these partnerships and a clear way to measure the impact. We're currently partnering with some influencers on a recipe campaign where we provided them all of the recipe ingredients they asked for free of charge and in exchange they have to create an in-feed post for Instagram, a recipe that can be shared on a blog post, and a Twitter post. Regarding measurement, we're working with a company called Shoutouts that incentivizes influencers to post by tying payment to performance. So micro-influencers can get a free Renewal Mill product through the app, and then they are paid incrementally at a rate commensurate with the number of likes they get. That way, we're only paying for content that performs well. Suan Grant, owner, Suan Foods For Suan's, the most important factor in working with brand influencers is authenticity. We want to work with people who truly love Suan's and want to authentically share that love with their following. People can see straight through influencers who come off too "salesy" so we seek out influencers who have created authority in the food industry space by sharing how they enjoy Suan's in their everyday lives. We love to work with micro-influencers who may have a smaller following but have built trust with their audience. You don't need to have hundreds of thousands of followers to make a difference! It's vital to choose influencers who truly engage with their audience. We always keep in mind that influencer marketing is a two- way street. It should be a mutually beneficial relationship for both parties. Being a smaller, local company we may not always have it in the budget to compensate influencers the same way larger companies can, but we make it worth their while by gifting our products. This allows those who may not have been able to try Suan's yet the opportunity to ensure they love our products before sharing with their audience. Sameer Malhotra, CEO and co-founder, Cafe Spice When vetting and working with social media influencers, Cafe Spice first and foremost looks for a natural fit. This means taking a deep dive into its audience to see if there is a strong crossover with our target customer demographics. Next, it is important to ensure that the influencer you are interested in partnering with is a genuine fan of your products. Cafe Spice's mission is to provide easy access to authentic, high-quality global cuisine, so making sure our partners showcase their authentic love for our meals is the highest priority. Once a partnership has been secured, we provide influencers with key message points and photography guidelines so that the posts showcase our meals in a way that is consistent with our other marketing messages. It is also a good idea to offer a giveaway for their followers to help engage their audience even further. Lastly, make sure to use the content they create across various platforms like all of your social media channels, website, and blog to get the most bang for your buck. 52 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM SPECIALTY FOOD MAKER

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