Identifying the right influencers and building relationships with them overtime can catalyze a powerful surge in online mentions for your brand. With opportunities to partner with influencers to create content, host events, and boost lead generation, the benefits are seemingly endless for marketers.
So what other teams could flourish from working with influencers in your space?
Whether it is your product marketing team or product team directly, facilitating a relationship between your product team and influencers can reap valuable benefits. There are many ways you can integrate your influencer marketing strategy with your product roadmap. Here are five ways influencers create value for the product team:
1. Leverage influential early adopters to solicit valuable insights
Identify which influencers are leading the conversation among early adopters of your product. Ask these influencers for their thoughts and feedback. What do they love about the product? What would they change? As a brand, identifying influential people who are already using and talking about your product can be a goldmine. You don’t have to worry about sending out any product samples or introducing the brand. These are the people who already know you, probably love you, and are already talking about you. The key here is finding the right moment to reach out and engage.
2. Invite influencers to be beta testers before new products hit the market
Ask an exclusive group of influencers to beta test new product features or roll outs before they hit the market. Giving influencers this sneak peak not only makes them feel special and important but it will give you great feedback on any bugs or issues product might want to fix before a big launch. Having influencers be beta testers also gives influencers the opportunity to be the first ones talking about a highly anticipated product. As a brand, this influential voice can have the power to create buzz around a new product launch.
3. Ask for and acknowledge influencers' feedback to recognize their contributions
When soliciting product feedback from influencers it is essential that you relay this information and let the influencers know how their contribution has been incorporated into the product. For example, if an influencer suggested adding a feature and the product ends up adding that feature later down the road, it is best to let the influencer know. This could also be an amazing “wow” moment that will turn that influencer into a lifelong advocate for your brand.
4. Show influencers your product roadmap for feedback on prioritization
Being transparent with your influencers is a great way to build trust. If it makes sense for your product and industry, then share your product roadmap with them. As trusted leaders within their community, influencers often will predict market trends. Having an open conversation with a select group of influencers about the future of your product going could provide your team with valuable feedback. Influencers can tell you which projects to prioritize and can predict which features will have the biggest impact on the market.
5. Stay on top of conversations and look for opportunities to engage with influencers
Track what influencers are saying about your product in real time. Look for opportunities to engage and start a conversation with new influencers you have not already built a relationship with. Whether the feedback is positive or constructive, it is important to respond and ask for more information. Is there a common complaint with your product? Or is there something people can’t get enough of? Either way, keeping this feedback loop open and honest will help you relay insights to the product team and make an impact.
Work with your product and product marketing teams and create a plan for integrating influencers into your product strategy and roadmap. Start planning today to boost influencer relations and give product the feedback they crave. Integrating influencers into your product feedback loop is one use case for influencer marketing. Interested to see more? Download the 15 Influencer Marketing Use Cases and discover new ways you can be leveraging your brand’s influencer relations.