Real influence isn’t about fame, fortune, or celebrity status. And it takes more than one paid social post or viral video to maximize the power of influencers.

A recent article from Contently put it best: “Influencer marketing should be about longstanding relationships, not transactions, in the name of building powerful content brands, not branded content.” Simply paying an “influencer” to fire off a few tweets with your sponsored hashtag won’t do the trick. For starters, your average tweet has a half-life of about 24 minutes, or about 1 billion times shorter than Carbon. Second, and more importantly, paid influence lacks authenticity and your customers will know the difference.

A constant, always-on influencer marketing strategy is about brands building relationships that consumers trust. It’s about engaging with passionate, everyday experts and rewarding their expertise. And it’s about connecting with the authentic experts who will influence purchase decisions today — and every day.

Tips: So how to get started? First, define what an influencer looks like for your brand. Where do they shop? What do they like to do with their spare time? Second, empower those influencers with insider knowledge about your brand and access to products. Third, define your metrics for success and align them with the marketing KPIs that are most important to your brand.