How to Get Influencers to Share Your Content

Getting a respected influencer to share your content can transform your brand's reach overnight, but it's far less about luck and much more about a smart, consistent strategy. You don't need a massive budget or a viral miracle, you need to create content that’s genuinely worth sharing and build relationships that make sharing a natural next step. This guide breaks down the actionable steps to get your content in front of the right influencers and earn those powerful shares.

Start with a Share-Worthy Foundation

Before you even think about outreach, your content has to do the heavy lifting. Influencers are fiercely protective of their audience's trust and won't share something that’s mediocre or irrelevant. The goal is to create content so good that sharing it makes them look smart and helpful.

Create Content That Solves a Real Problem

The most shareable content is often the most useful. Instead of asking "What content can I create?" ask "What problem can my content solve for my target audience?" Is there a common frustration in your niche? A complex process you can simplify? A question that everyone asks but no one answers clearly?

• Tutorials and How-To Guides: Step-by-step guides that walk someone through a difficult task are gold. Think "How to Edit a Reel In 5 Minutes" or "The Complete Guide to Setting Up a Home Studio."
• Data-Driven Insights: Original research, survey results, or a compilation of interesting statistics provide unique value that others will want to reference and share. An article like "We Analyzed 1,000 TikToks: Here's What Drives Views" is incredibly powerful.
• Ultimate Resource Posts: A comprehensive blog post that a user can bookmark and return to again and again becomes an evergreen asset. Think titles like "101 Tools for Freelance Designers" or "The Ultimate Social Media Image Size Guide for 2024."

When an influencer sees content that directly helps their followers, sharing it is an easy win. You've done the work, and they get to deliver value by simply hitting the share button.

Prioritize High-Quality Production

Even the best ideas can be undermined by poor execution. Whether it's a blog post, a video, or an infographic, quality matters. This doesn’t mean you need a Hollywood budget, but it does mean paying attention to the details:

• For written content: Make it scannable. Use clear headings, short paragraphs, bullet points, and bold text. Ensure it's free of typos and grammatical errors.
• For video content: Invest in decent audio. People will tolerate so-so video quality, but they will immediately click away from bad audio. Use good lighting and edit your videos for pacing.
• For visual content: Use high-resolution images, stick to a consistent brand color palette, and design clean, easy-to-read infographics.

Find and Follow the Right Influencers

Don't just chase follower counts. The most effective partnerships come from working with influencers who have a genuine, engaged community that aligns with your brand. A micro-influencer with 10,000 actively engaged followers in your niche is far more valuable than a macro-influencer with 500,000 passive followers who don't care about what you do.

Identify Your Ideal Influencer Niche

Think beyond your direct competitors. Who does your ideal customer follow for advice, inspiration, and entertainment? If you sell project management software, you might look for influencers in productivity, small business growth, or even specific freelance niches like web development or graphic design. Look for people who:

• Have High Engagement: Look at the comments section. Are people having real conversations, or is it just a string of fire emojis? Real engagement is a sign of a strong community.
• Align with Your Brand Values: Does their tone and style fit with your brand? Do they talk about topics in a way that resonates with you and your audience?
• Actively Share Content From Others: Some influencers only post their own content. Look for creators who actively link to articles, share other people's Reels, or retweet helpful advice. This shows they are open to promoting content that isn't their own.

Build a Targeted List

Start a simple spreadsheet to track potential influencers. Don't go overboard, a list of 20-30 highly relevant people is better than a list of 200 random ones. Use a variety of methods to find them:

• Hashtag Research: Search for relevant hashtags on Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn to see who is creating popular content in your space.
• Audience Overlap: Look at who your ideal customers are already following and engaging with.
• "Best of" Lists: Search for blog posts like "Top Marketing Experts to Follow" or "Best YouTubers for [Your Niche]."

Play the Long Game: Build Real Relationships First

The biggest mistake people make is reaching out to an influencer with a cold pitch asking for a share. Imagine a stranger walking up to you on the street and asking for a favor - it’s awkward and rarely works. The key is to get on their radar long before you ever ask for anything.

Become a Recognizable Name in Their Community

Your goal is to become a familiar, value-adding member of their audience. This can't be automated or faked. Choose a few of your top-tier influencers and engage with them consistently for several weeks.

• Leave Thoughtful Comments: Go beyond "Great post!" Add to the conversation. Ask a smart question, offer a different perspective, or share your own related experience. Your comment should make the influencer and their audience stop and think.
• Share Their Content: Share their work on your own social channels and tag them. Write a genuine sentence or two about why you found it valuable. For example: "This post from @[influencer] completely changed how I think about X. The section on Y is a must-read."
• Engage Where Others Don't: Reply to their Instagram Stories, respond to their email newsletters, or answer questions from other community members in their comment sections. This demonstrates genuine engagement.

Execute a "Soft Pitch" by Making Them the Star

Instead of directly asking for a share, create a situation where sharing your content is a natural ego boost for them. This approach has a much higher success rate because it’s framed as a tribute to their expertise, not a request for a favor.

Create an Expert Roundup or "Best of" List

This is a classic for a reason. Create a piece of content that features a group of experts, including your target influencer. This could be a blog post, a video, or even a simple Carousel post.

Example: "15 SaaS Founders Share Their Best Productivity Hacks."

After you publish it, reach out to each featured expert with a simple, friendly message:

"Hey [Name], I'm a huge fan of your work on [topic]. I was so inspired by it that I included your advice on [specific point] in my latest article, '15 SaaS Founders Share Their Best Productivity Hacks.' Just wanted to share it with you, and thanks again for creating such great content! [Link to your post]"

This makes it incredibly easy and compelling for them to share the post with their audience. You've made them look good and have given them something valuable to share with their followers.

Quote or Reference Their Work

Find a brilliant insight, quote, or strategy from an influencer and build a piece of content around it. For instance, you could create a short video for Reels or TikTok that starts with, "I learned this amazing social media tip from @[influencer]..." and then explain the concept visually.

When you post it, tag them in the caption and the video itself. This shows that you're paying attention and valuing their advice. It’s a powerful compliment that often gets an instant reshare.

The Direct Ask: How to Pitch Effectively

Sometimes, a direct ask is your best option, especially if you have an outstanding piece of pillar content that you know is a perfect fit for their audience. If you've already spent time building a relationship, your message will land in a warm inbox, not a cold one.

Craft a Perfect, Personalized Pitch

Your outreach email or DM should be short, respectful, and entirely focused on the value to their audience.

1. A Personal Hook: Start by mentioning something specific and recent they've done. "Loved your recent podcast episode on content strategy in Q4 - especially your point about repurposing." This proves you're not a robot.
2. The Why: Clearly and concisely explain why you think your content is a good fit for their audience. Be specific. "Because you often talk about sustainable growth, I thought your audience might get a lot of value from my new guide on building an organic social presence without ads."
3. The Easy Ask: Link directly to your content. Don’t use attachments. State your ask clearly: "If you think it's a good fit, I'd be grateful if you'd consider sharing it with your followers."
4. Make It Effortless: Go one step further and provide them with tweet-ready copy or a shareable graphic. The less work they have to do, the higher the chance they'll share it.

Remember, no one owes you a share. Be gracious, keep it professional, and if you don't hear back, move on. One gentle, polite follow-up a week later is acceptable, but anything more can do more harm than good.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, getting influencers to share your work comes down to two things: creating exceptionally valuable content and building genuine human connections. By leading with generosity, focusing on quality, and treating influencers like collaborators rather than billboards, you can build a network of advocates who are happy to amplify your message.

Planning and executing all of these moving pieces - from creating your content calendar to consistently engaging with influencers - can feel overwhelming. That's why we built Postbase. Our visual content calendar helps you strategically plan your content, including those pieces designed to feature influencers, while our unified inbox makes it easy to manage all your comments and DMs in one place, so you never miss an opportunity to build a key relationship. It helps you stay organized and consistent, which is the secret to making this strategy work.