If you’re an influencer marketing professional, you have a lot on your shoulders.
Whether you work in-house or for an agency, your job is tougher than most people realize! It’s up to you to guide influencer campaigns toward hitting their goals… and that’s a tall order.
We’re happy to give you tips and strategies all day long about how to enhance your influencer campaigns.
But there’s one thing missing.
Having a strong support network is just as important as learning the best strategies. Trying to figure out influencer marketing alone is not the way to go. How much easier would your job be if you had access to a group of influencer marketing experts?
Fish swim in schools, birds fly in flocks, and influencer marketing professionals join influencer marketing communities. (We know a good one.)
GRIN CEO Ryan Debenham: Today, I am excited to give you a sneak peek at our 2025 strategy with the launch of GRIN Community and GRIN U…
The problem with doing it alone
When you don’t have a community of people who do what you do, you end up struggling much more than you would have.
You’re good at what you do. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. The influencer marketing world can be confusing, with “the algorithm” changing every five minutes.
You like learning from your past campaigns, and you also try to learn from online content about influencer marketing. You may even have some great people on your team to discuss ideas with.
But learning from a bunch of online content sources can be overwhelming and contradictory. Talking with teammates only gives you the limited perspective of your team, nothing beyond.
And learning from your past campaigns is a smart idea – but sometimes those lessons can be painful. You’re all for learning from failures, but you’d certainly prefer not to make those mistakes in the first place!
If you could trade tips and insights with influencer marketing pros outside your company, you’d pick up crucial things you may never have learned otherwise (or you may have learned the hard way).
That’s why an influencer marketing community is one of those things you didn’t know you needed, but once you have it, you’ll wish you had it earlier.
Unexpected opportunities
You know how some people just seem to be lucky? They happened to be friends with someone who became wildly successful. They happened to stumble upon a rare opportunity that really paid off.
There’s a magic spell you can do to make yourself luckier. It’s called community.
The thing about communities is that you never know who you’ll meet and what kinds of opportunities will arise. This looks like random luck to people on the outside, but it’s actually the result of authentic connections.
Connection requires communication. When you’re in a professional community, get curious and ask thoughtful questions. Share opinions. Notice people who have a rapport with you.
If you’re active in a community, sooner or later, opportunities will come up. It could be a thread someone starts. It could be a message someone sends you. People tend to look in their communities for people they can collaborate with in different ways… so don’t miss out.
Emotional support
We can’t overlook this huge reason to join a professional community: the emotional support.
You may think the emotional aspect of a community isn’t for you. You’re just fine and you don’t need it. Actually, you do!
You’re hardworking and committed to doing well at your job. That comes with ups and downs. Even if others don’t see it, you can’t help being a little nervous right before a big campaign or disappointed when your strategy doesn’t get the results you thought it would.
A community of like-minded professionals gives you a place to share honest thoughts and experiences. Others in the community can relate to what you’re feeling. So let it out.
Also, emotional support isn’t just about problems. It’s about celebrating wins. If you achieve something, big or small, you deserve to be celebrated. A community is a place where it’s okay to brag a little, because you’re in a place where others want you to succeed. And that’s a nice feeling.
How to find your next community
You can always do a Google search to find influencer marketing communities and other professional communities, but that’s just the beginning.
Social media and communication apps are hotspots for communities. You can find them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, Discord, and more.
Also look at the websites for apps and tools you use for work. Sometimes an app or tool will have its own community linked right there on the website. Check out the site’s menu for “Community” or similar words.
Another idea is to ask your network. People you know may be in certain professional communities you’ve never heard of. Ask around and see what people recommend.
GRIN Community: Network, collaborate, and level up with other influencer marketing professionals.
How to find your next community
Creators get people’s attention.
You may find a community that looks exciting, but when you join, you notice there isn’t much going on. This happens when the person who started the community stops putting effort into it and doesn’t try to get new members, so activity fizzles out. Find a community that’s had activity within the past week.
Interesting and relevant discussion topics
Some communities are mostly made up of people making self-promotion posts, and there isn’t a lot of actual discussion. Those communities aren’t so fun.
That said, even in communities with plenty of discussion, those discussions may or may not be relevant to you. It depends on how broad or specific the community is. If you join a community specifically meant for influencer marketing professionals, the discussions will be relevant to you.
Expert advice
Professional communities can include early-career pros, longtime experts, and everything in between. It’s good to have a mix of experience levels so people are bringing different kinds of perspectives.
However, if a community mostly consists of people early in their careers and there are almost no experts, that could be a problem. Experts in a community are vital because they can give effective, accurate advice when answering questions.
Exclusive resources
Being able to interact with others and build relationships is the best part of a community. But there’s an additional perk only some communities have.
The best communities offer exclusive resources like course modules, articles, and live trainings. This makes the community stronger because members are given extra knowledge outsiders don’t have. That knowledge makes discussions more productive and lively.
Tips to make the most of your community experience
Introduce yourself
Most communities allow new members to make an introductory post or comment. This is an easy way to get noticed and make a good first impression. Talk about your job and professional background, and add fun facts and hobbies so people can get to know you.
Be sure to comment on other people’s introductions too. Most people don’t take the time to do this, so you’ll stand out. Read people’s intros carefully and respond with something specific you just learned about them. Little things like that can make their day.
Show up regularly
The simple act of showing up has a powerful effect on how many connections you can make in your community. Make it a habit. Pop into the community a few times a week and see what happens.
When you show up regularly and participate in discussions, you’ll build a reputation. Others in the community will see you as an authority and a genuine helper. Once you have that reputation, you’ll notice that people are more willing to pay attention to you and interact with you.
Get discussions going
Sometimes posting in an online community can feel a bit awkward. There are times you want to comment but can’t think of what to say. “Great… that’s cool!” won’t cut it.
Giving a compliment is fine, but to stimulate more discussion, add an open-ended question after the compliment. This gets the other person to talk more and can help you learn something new. Plus, other people may jump into the conversation.
Give advice
A professional community is a convenient place to get advice if you need it, but don’t forget to give advice too. You can help someone else find success while establishing your reputation.
Hint: People love it when others share personal experiences instead of generic info. Instead of saying “I’ve heard that such-and-such is the most effective technique,” talk about what happened when you tried that technique. Your stories can help people more than you think.
Share opinions respectfully
In a large, active community, disagreements are going to happen. Inevitably you’ll find a post you don’t agree with, or someone will reply to you with their very different opinion.
It’s tempting to explain why the other person is wrong. Hold on though – consider their point of view. Think about what might be motivating them to say this. Share your opinion, but do it with respect and curiosity, not an “I’m right/you’re wrong” lecture.
Don’t make this mistake
If all this has made you want to join a community, great! There’s just one more tip you need to know.
One common mistake people make in professional communities is not focusing on genuine connections.
They join communities with the sole purpose of promoting themselves or their company. They start conversations with people, but they’re not really interested in helping them or getting to know them. It’s all about what they can get.
Have you ever been to a networking event where everyone seemed kind of fake? The people there were pushy and focused on making themselves look good.
Those aren’t genuine connections. Genuine connections are about people who want to help each other succeed.
This is important not just in an influencer marketing community but with influencer partnerships themselves. The best way to get a high-quality influencer to work with you is to be generous with them, pay attention to their needs, and treat them like a human, not a tool you’re using.
You can stand out to high-quality influencers as a brand that goes above and beyond in how you treat them. And you can stand out in any community when people see that you genuinely care.
Are you in?
You don’t have to do this influencer marketing thing alone. It’s much easier to be successful when you have a support network.
That’s why we’re proud to announce the launch of GRIN Community, a free community for influencer marketing professionals. Join today and connect with influencer marketing experts who are here to help you.
You’ll also gain access to our members-only learning hub, GRIN U, where you’ll find in-depth influencer marketing lessons for beginners to seasoned pros.
When we all level up, we set a higher standard for our industry. Having a community is the best way to accelerate your growth… and it makes the journey a lot more fun.
