You've probably heard about the rise of influencer marketing over the past few years. Perhaps you've even tried working with influencers to endorse a product or service yourself.
But have you thought about influencer PR?
This public relations twist uses influencers and their connections with their audience to relay positive news about the brand and help build better connections with the target audience.
So, how do you go about building an influencer pr strategy?
"Build a relationship, have a conversation, understand who this person is. A great influencer program is a relationship builder. It's an opening, a door to creating an advocate or an ambassador for your brand."
Sarah O'Grady in the Influence of Influence on the PR Week Podcast.
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Key types of influencer in 2025
When you think of influencers, you might envisage them as only having audiences on social media. But when you zoom out a little to define influencers as people who inspire or guide the actions of others in some way, you'll see that influencers are everywhere.
Social media influencers
Many social media users follow influencers on channels like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X. Some are influencers because of their status in Hollywood, the sports field or the music industry. Others are influencers because they have many social media fans who follow their suggestions.
Influencers are often cataloged by the size of their following. Nano and micro-influencers have a small but very loyal following and are usually more accessible than macro influencers like Christian Ronaldo, Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift.
Some social media influencers work across platforms, but others concentrate on their preferred platform.
Podcast hosts
Some podcasts are hosted by influential figures in your niche or industry. Others are hosted by social media influencers or celebrities who have moved into podcasting to gain an audience in another medium. (We go into more detail about podcast influencers here.)
Either way, it's worth contacting suitable podcasters to form a PR partnership that works for you and them.
For example, The Run-Through hosts Chioma Nnadi and Chloe Malle—both longtime Vogue writers/editors—chat with Vogue editors, creatives, and cover stars. If you need to form good relationships for PR in fashion, it could be worthwhile reaching out to podcast hosts like these.
YouTubers
Again, there are YouTubers at every level, from nano influencers to macros, in every imaginable field. Try doing these things to decide whether your chosen YouTuber is the right influencer to work with:
- View their content – watch a range of episodes to get a feel for their voice and style. Does their message suit your brand?
- Dive into the numbers, e.g., follower counts, views, how long they've been on YouTube, upload consistency etc.
- Read the comments - how engaged are their subscribers?
- Visit their website (if they have one)
- Check out their social media platforms – what content do they post, and where? How many followers do they have and what are their engagement levels like?
Virtual influencers
Computer-generated personas that exist only online have started to gain traction. These characters often have distinct personalities, styles and relatable stories crafted by their creators. A virtual influencer can offer brand-safe content on most platforms and can be used by a brand to target a specific audience.
In some ways, a virtual influencer can be a dream partner for a brand because they can be online whenever you want, don't need to eat or sleep and are unlikely to have unfortunate skeletons in their closets.
Gaming streamers
Gaming streamers broadcast themselves playing video games live over the internet, often on platforms like Twitch or YouTube. Huge audiences tune in to watch the top gamers play Fortnite, Minecraft, League of Legends, Call of Duty and many more.
Newsletter creators
Many influencers have newsletters and often use these as their primary form of engagement with their audience.
Newsletters are often seen as one of the best ways to reach people. These influencers have a direct line to their subscribers through their inboxes.
Industry experts
You can also find influencers within specific industries. These might be well-known and respected people with long histories of service to that industry or up-and-coming trailblazers.
They may be public speakers, write newsletters or post on business platforms like LinkedIn. Industry experts are often willing to engage in PR for causes or individuals they believe in.
Benefits of influencer PR
You'll find many benefits to working with the right influencers for your community or industry sector. Here's how it might help.
Increase your visibility to your target audience
Influencers typically appeal to a particular audience. While macro celebrities with millions of followers may have broad audiences, micro-influencers are more likely to appeal to specific niches.
That makes them invaluable in raising your profile amongst your target audience because while some of their audience may already have heard of you, others will be meeting your brand or cause for the first time. As a result, if they like what they hear or see, they might:
- follow you on social media
- donate to your cause
- buy your products
- get involved in your campaign
- and recommend you within their own circle of influence.
For example, the American Red Cross ran a very successful campaign by recruiting Latin influencers to encourage Spanish speakers in the US to download the updated bilingual Red Cross Emergency App.
Promoting events
Working with an influencer in your niche or industry can increase the coverage and reach of your event, especially if your business is a non-profit or charity. In addition to giving exposure to your event at the time, the influencer may also create content about it that others can find in the future.
Take this example from Fitness YouTuber Caroline Jordan, who told me,
"I've done several events and promotions in support of charity. One of my favorites is Cycle for Survival, an indoor team cycling event hosted nationwide to raise money for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to fund rare cancer research. I participated in this event by teaching and raising funds for over ten years! "
Credibility and trust
Influencers create content over months and years. When people listen to, watch or read that content, they feel connected to the influencer, which in turn helps the influencer build a relationship with their audience. People tend to trust and respect their opinions, and that can rub off on any brand or business they partner with.
For example, when actress Olivia Colman lost a close friend to leukemia, she partnered with Anthony Nolan (a UK blood cancer charity) to become their patron. Olivia is such a well-known and respected actress that her voiceovers, speeches, and attendance at fundraising events elevate the charity's profile in the wider community.
Social content creation
Influencer public relations works well when the influencer puts their own spin on the messaging, making it authentic to them and their brand as well as yours.
Being associated with the right influencer can provide social proof that they value your brand or cause, which in turn makes their followers more likely to think positively about it, too. Public relations is all about earned media exposure rather than paid marketing, so there needs to be a genuine relationship between the brand and the influencer.
One example is JT Laybourne a TikTok influencer who partnered with the American Heart Foundation to help with their fundraising efforts after having open heart surgery. The videos appeared on his channel and theirs.
Brings media opportunities
Successful influencer pr campaigns can attract media attention, too. What starts as a simple appeal to an audience on one platform might well expand to coverage in blogs, media outlets and industry publications.
Concerns: things to keep in mind
Influencer campaigns can have unintended consequences, so keep these things firmly in mind when you start a partnership.
Authenticity and credibility
Create a genuine relationship with the influencer. If the campaign is over-commercialized or the influencer seems to lack enthusiasm, it might seem inauthentic and put their followers off rather than attract them to the cause.
Cost
Does the influencer expect to be paid? How much?
Brand alignment
Be sure the influencer's values, image and audience work well with your brand's mission and image.
Reputation Risk
Sometimes, other things in the influencer's life or business can spiral out of control. If that happens, your brand could be at risk by association.
Content creation control
Similarly, you might have some say in the influencer's content regarding your brand or cause, but you won't have any control over the other content they post.
Contracts
It's a good idea to spell everything out in a contract before you start. That way everyone knows where they stand and what's expected.
How to create a killer influencer PR strategy
Identify your goals
Before you start any new project or campaign, you must understand what you want to achieve.
Influencer pr goals might include:
- Raise awareness of your brand story
- Increase awareness around your cause, project or product
- Bring more people on board
- Attract donations
- Showcase your brand/cause/project/product to a wider audience.
Understand your target audience
Before you start any influencer collaboration, you need to know your audience.
What do they love? Hate? Need? Want?
How old are they? Where do they live?
Understanding these factors helps you choose the right influencer to help build a strong connection and engagement with your target audience. After all, not every influencer will gel with your brand.
Find relevant influencers
There are several ways to find influencers when planning your influencer pr strategy.
Perhaps you already follow some influencers as part of your social media strategy. They might be the first people you reach out to. See who they follow and connect with, too, as that might provide you with more influencer possibilities.
General search engines like Google and Bing might also throw up possibilities, as will generative AI models like Perplexity.
However, there are also specialized tools designed to help you find the right influencers if you want to target a particular medium.
Tools for finding influencers
Rephonic is the place to go if you want to work with podcast influencers. Rephonic's podcast database gives you access to listener numbers, contact emails and pitching tools to help you contact podcasters who could be perfect for your brand.
Upfluence—This SaaS startup offers an "all-in-one" online influencer campaign platform that includes tools to identify and recruit influencers, campaign management, reporting, and payment.
Gamesight's influencer discovery tool will help connect you with gaming influencers across platforms like Twitch, YouTube and TikTok.
The Virtual Humans website includes virtual influencer profiles plus news and research articles to help you understand how to work with them.
Hype is another influencer marketing platform with a tool that helps you "discover influencers with the audiences you need within a 162.2M+ database."
Try using Reletter (our sister company) to find newsletter influencers on Substack, LinkedIn and Ghost.
You can also find creators through their social media platforms, websites, and recommendations from friends or colleagues, as well as by using general or industry-specific search engines. For example, Muck Rack's search facility finds journalists across many media.
Monitor success
How will you know if your influencer pr strategy is working? Try using one or more of these ideas:
- Monitor engagement levels before, during and after the collaboration. Are the influencer's posts about you getting likes, comments, shares and mentions? Are you seeing traffic from the hashtags and posts? Can you check if the engagement is from real people and not fake followers?
- Use tracking links to see how much traffic the influencer drives to your website, then track key metrics like sign-ups, donations or purchases.
- Read the comments and discussions to see any changes in the audience sentiment towards your brand. You could also conduct surveys to get direct feedback about your audience's perception of the collaboration.
- Have you received any traditional media coverage as a result of the partnership? Has it been noticed or picked up by relevant bloggers, news or industry websites, newsletter creators or podcasts?
- Ask the influencer for regular performance reports.
- Track your own social media growth before, during and after the campaign.
Ways to collaborate with influencers
Here are seven ways to work with influencers. (You'll find nine more ideas in our PR for Nonprofits article.)
Giveaways
The influencer might offer giveaways of products, discounts on services or experiences supplied by the business they're working with. Giveaways are often used as contest prizes or lucky draws (e.g., comment or like the post to be in to win). They work really well with micro-influencers, who tend to have a higher audience engagement rate than influencers with a million followers.
Sponsorship
An influencer might sponsor your cause themselves or invite their followers to donate. Or they might initiate stunts to draw attention to your cause.
For example,
Guest appearances
Demonstrate authentic relationships with guest appearances. The influencer might appear on your channel or invite you to theirs. It works well both ways, and the posts or stories can be shared on both channels.
Takeovers
Consider a newsletter or podcast "takeover" where you create that day's content on the influencer's channel (or they take over yours.) You sometimes see takeovers between podcasters or newsletter creators who are collaborating to raise each other's profiles.
Advocacy campaigns
Partner with influencers who post about social causes and issues dear to your brand to raise awareness about the causes and your brand's involvement or interest in them.
Testimonials
Use influencer endorsements and testimonials in your press release or media pitch. From the right influencers, this can pique the journalist's attention and add interest and flavor to the story.
Education campaigns
Work with influencers to educate the public on important issues or industry trends related to your brand or cause.
Final thoughts
"Most marketing campaigns don't rely on one piece of the jigsaw. They don't just use influencers, they don't use earned media, they're a mixture of paid, earned, shared and owned."
Steve Barrett, The influence of influence, PR Week Podcast
Is influencer pr the missing piece of your public relations puzzle?
It could be a powerful tool in your quest to build and maintain a positive brand image and foster deeper connections with your target demographic.
