As blogging and social media continue to grow while the traditional media landscape shrinks, the buzz about influencer relations has been getting progressively louder in the PR world.

So what is influencer relations? Also referred to as influencer marketing, it is an approach that focuses on building relationships with opinion leaders who could become natural brand advocates. For example, Oprah is an influencer advocate for Ezell’s Fried Chicken – she eats it and endorses it as the best fried chicken because she loves it, but it does not appear that she is paid to do so.

Engaging with influencers is becoming an important, widely used strategy for earning brand awareness. If you do not have an influencer-relations program in place, following are five steps to get started.

1. Identify the right influencer targets. If you aren’t targeting the right people, your program is doomed to fail. Finding the right targets is a two-step process. First, determine if their interests align with your client’s brand and viewpoint. Do this by reviewing their social media accounts, blogs, and any other online presence they have. If the answer is yes, then look at their audience engagement. Do they have a substantial following on social media? Are people engaging positively with their posts? If so, they are a good target.
2. Conduct personalized outreach. Similar to media outreach, when conducting influencer outreach be sure to do some research about your target first. Study what they have been blogging or tweeting about recently and, if relevant, mention it in your email to them. Keep your correspondence succinct and include a call-to-action that clearly states what you’d like them to do. This could include sharing company news with their social media followers, writing a product review, or attending a company event.
3. Add value. Forming a mutually beneficial relationship is critical to successfully engaging influencers. If you’re constantly asking influencers for favors but giving nothing in return, there’s no motivation for them to continue advocating for your brand. Support their work by posting about it on social media, sharing their posts with your followers, or mentioning them in content you’re creating. If you’re hosting an event with a mutual audience, invite them.
4. Build a long-term relationship. Once you’ve made contact with an influencer, continue to foster the relationship by looking for thoughtful ways to engage with them. Don’t wait until the next time you need something from them to reach out. Take the time to get to know them and reach out with interesting articles, ideas, or to congratulate them on an accomplishment. When possible, set up an in-person meeting to get to know them better.

Building a successful influencer-relations program takes a great deal of time and persistence, but if you’re willing to make the investment it can be an incredibly effective strategy for raising positive brand awareness.