What You Need to Know for the Scout Me In Influencer Campaign

What You Need to Know for the Scout Me In Influencer Campaign

The Scout Me In Influencer campaign is in full swing, and the National Service Center is excited to see how councils across the country are building and strengthening relationships with influencers across the country! To help you rev up your efforts, we’re sharing a few need-to-know details, best practices, and outreach tips to keep the momentum going through this month.

To recap, we are encouraging councils to reach out to influencers and request that they wear the “Scout Me In” neckerchief and post a video or photo to social media using #ScoutMeIn and a few words to express their support of Scouting. The BSA is offering five $2,000 prizes (one for each class of council) and up to $20,000 to be distributed among the top three councils whose influencers can elevate the visibility and support for Scouting nationwide. If your council hasn’t received its first free neckerchief yet, please reach out to Communications@scouting.org. To Order the Scout Me In Neckerchiefs, please contact BSA Supply Customer Service at 800-323-0736 (M-F, 8am-7pm Eastern) to place an order.

Why You Need to Engage Influencers Now

The deadline for influencers to post on social media for the campaign is November 1, 2018. This means councils should be reaching out to influencers well before this date to give influencers plenty of time to create their content and share on social media. We are in the midst of an exciting recruiting season and reaching out to bloggers with new and unique audiences could be an excellent way to reach families you might not typically reach!

And don’t forget, influencers aren’t just celebrities! Influencers are anyone with a sphere of influence with a social media following – parents, business leaders, bloggers, community leaders, etc. Ultimately the goal is to share Scouting with a wider audience, and influencers help to make that possible by sharing their Scouting story with an audience that might not usually see it.

As an added resource for councils, Scout executives, marketing staff, or anyone who is helping with local influencer efforts is welcome to join the Workplace Scout Me In Influencer Campaign group. In that group, members can ask questions, get support, share successes, offer insight, and speak directly with the Communications team at the National Service Center for any campaign needs. Feel free to join that group and invite coworkers who would also benefit. 

5 Tips to Remember When You Reach Out to Influencers

1. Identify the Right Target

Identifying your influencer accurately is the most important step – this will help with future success with the influencer. Make sure to vet the influencer with internal questions like…

  • How does this person have a relationship with Scouting?
  • Do they have kids in the Cub Scouting age range?
  • Does their channel audience meet your audience?
  • Could this person or partnership be seen as a detractor to your audience? What’s the risk of engagement?

2. Develop a Friendship

The best organic influencers are your most engaged followers. Keep an eye out for influential fans and give them a follow! As you conduct daily community management, try to build a genuine relationship between the brand and the influencer by commenting on relevant posts, sending likes and helping them with any product questions. Informal and personalized interaction will do wonders for growing a fan base. 

3. Share the Love

When reaching out to an organic influencer, compliment their social presence in a personalized way. (Yesterday’s caption was hilarious, I’m a huge fan of your bright aesthetic, etc.) Feel free to use first-person words like “I” or “we” – they know there’s a real person behind the account. 

4. Keep It Light

Keep the message genuine and light-hearted. If the message is formal like an email, they are going to view the opportunity as work. If you’re sending product, position it as a gift to a favorite fan, rather than an exchange.

5. Pitch Is Everything

Make sure to give the influencer all of the details about the campaign and what you want them to do. Give the influencers details about the specific hashtag you want them to use and a prompt for the message you want them to share.

Bonus! Make the Influencer Feel Special

If you are contacting your influencers online by gathering their information in email or on social media, make sure the offline experience is just as exciting! When sending the Scout Me In neckerchief to an influencer, remember to use fun packaging, send a personal note, and make the influencer feel excited to participate!

Have any questions about the campaign not answered here? Reach out to us at Communications@scouting.org

Comments

reach out

What You Need to Know for the Scout Me In Influencer Campaign
What You Need to Know for the Scout Me In Influencer Campaign
What You Need to Know for the Scout Me In Influencer Campaign