Social media influencers are people with lots of followers or subscribers on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. They often help businesses promote their brands by recommending them to their followers. For example, beauty influencers often mention products while giving tips about contouring, choosing the right foundation, or other topics. According to TapInfluence [PDF] and Nielsen, 7 in 10 people trust recommendations posted by peers and influencers on social media. Influencer marketing can help your company improve sales. It’s much more cost-effective than traditional ads like pop-ups or commercials, so even small businesses can take advantage of it.

However, you’ll need to communicate well to encourage better content from influencers. Here are some tips for communicating with your influencers.

Let Them Be Creative

Influencers value their authenticity, and they need to stay honest and have a sense of humor to attract followers who trust them. If an influencer says that they don’t agree with a statement you want them to make, let them say something else.

Overly restrictive content guidelines can make content feel like it’s an ad from your company, not great advice from an expert. They can also keep influencers from wanting to work with you in the future. Also, creative content from an influencer is a lot more interesting than a standard ad. You’ll get more new customers from a video of someone using a product, enjoying it, and having fun than you would from a similar video with an actor or actress just talking about the benefits.

Build Long-Term Relationships

You can get excellent returns from one-time social media posts or campaigns, but you’ll be missing out on even more customers and sales if you don’t maintain those relationships. You should communicate often with influencers before, during, and after social media campaigns. Ask questions and make reaching you when they have concerns easy. Answer their questions honestly and keep them updated about new developments in your business.

To maintain great relationships, you can ask the most successful influencers to become regular contributors to your website. You can also give them exclusive news about new products and early access. Share their content on your social media pages and invite them to speak at events or be part of a podcast or webinar series. If possible, build a personal relationship and become friends.

Stay Organized

Influencers can’t do their jobs well if communications from companies are inconsistent or disorganized. Give clear instructions and consistent deadlines, and make sure that each influencer works with a particular person, not just a department in your business. They should know exactly what you’re looking for. Avoid last-minute requests or changes and make payments or give other rewards promptly. Influencers won’t want to work with you if you change policies or requirements often or take a long time to compensate them.

Communication is essential for all relationships. You can increase the effectiveness of your social media influencers by building relationships and making sure that these people have all the information they need to promote your business successfully.