Jessica Jatau

Every online tutor or academy is always on the lookout to get themselves on the front row of the internet and they make different forms of marketing effort to ensure this is achieved with relevant results like brand awareness, more enrolments, and retention in the long run. Among the vast digital marketing strategies, one of the ones that stand out in enhancing EdTech's visibility and reach is influencer partnership/marketing.

Influencer marketing is partnering with influencers to boost your marketing results. With their large and engaged followings, influencers can significantly amplify your course or academy’s presence and drive enrollment. This article will discuss six effective strategies to help you successfully partner with influencers to promote your online academy or course.

Strategies for Partnering with Influencers

1. Define Your Partnership Goals

Before reaching out to influencers, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. Is your primary goal to increase your academy’s visibility, get enrolments, or boost sales for your online courses? Having specific goals helps you know the kind of partnership you need, and measure its success effectively.

For instance, if you want to enrol more students in your live classes on an online learning platform like Klas, your goal might be to increase registrations by 20% in the next three months. Being clear on your objectives ensures that you and the influencer are on the same page and are working towards a common target.

2. Define Your Budget

It is important to know that influencer marketing can vary significantly in cost, depending on the influencer’s reach and engagement. Less popular influencers, who have a following of 1,000 to 100,000, tend to be more affordable than more popular influencers with millions of followers. But affordability doesn’t mean sacrificing quality less popular influencers. Often, they have highly engaged audiences that are perfect for niche markets, such as online education.

Also read: Want to build your confidence as an online creator or tutor? Learn how.

When setting your budget, also consider whether you’ll be offering monetary compensation or other benefits. A well-defined budget keeps the collaboration professional and ensures you’re getting a return on your investment.

3. Identify the Right Influencers

To achieve the desired success in your marketing effort, finding the right influencer is significant. Not all influencers are a good fit for your academy. Look for influencers who align with your values and target audience. For example, if you specialize in teaching language courses, partnering with an influencer in the education or language-learning niche would be more relevant than collaborating with a lifestyle influencer.

It’s not just about the number of followers but the quality of their audience. Are their followers likely to be interested in your academy? Review their content, engagement rates, and past collaborations to determine if they are a good fit for promoting your online course or tutoring services.

4. Get Acquainted/Build Rapport

The strategy of approaching an influencer cold with a partnership proposal is rarely effective. Instead, take the time to get acquainted with their content and engage with them organically. Start by liking, commenting, and sharing their posts if possible. This not only shows that you genuinely value their work but also helps you build rapport before pitching a formal collaboration.

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Once you’ve established a connection, reach out with a personalised message that reflects your interest in their work and outlines how partnering with you can be mutually beneficial. Remember, influencers often receive multiple partnership requests, so standing out by showing genuine interest in their content is key to the success of your partnership.

5. Set Clear Expectations

Once you’ve found an influencer who aligns with your goals and budget, the next step is to set clear expectations. What do you expect them to deliver, and what can they expect in return? Outline the deliverables whether it’s a certain number of Instagram posts, YouTube videos, or blog mentions and the timeline for these assets.

Also read: The importance of personalized learning to the success of your online academy.

For example, if you’re promoting an upcoming live class on Klas, you might want the influencer to post a reminder a week before the class, followed by a story on the day of the event. Clarity on both sides ensures the collaboration runs smoothly and avoids any misunderstandings.

6. Track and Measure the Results

It’s essential to track the performance of your influencer campaigns to understand what’s working and what’s not. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement rate, click-through rate (CTR), and conversion rate can provide insights into the campaign’s effectiveness. Suppose you’re using Klas to host your academy. In that case, you can track enrollments, views, and other student insights directly on the platform, which makes measuring the progress/success of your partnership even easier.

When you analyze the results, you can adjust your strategy for future campaigns. Did you achieve your initial goals? Was the influencer’s audience responsive to your content? This data-driven approach will help you make informed decisions for your next influencer marketing/partnership.

Also read: 7 types of creative assessment strategies tutors use

Partnering with influencers can be a great way to promote your online academy and attract more enrolments. Defining your goals, setting a budget, choosing the right influencers, building a relationship, setting clear expectations, and tracking the results, are some strategic ways to approach influencer partnerships that drive relevant results at the end.

With online learning management platforms like Klas which makes it easy to host live classes, sell courses, and manage your online academy, you can grow your online academy effectively.

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