In today’s digital age, influencer marketing has become an extremely popular and effective way for brands to reach their target audiences. An influencer is an individual who has built a reputation and loyal following around a specific niche or industry. Brands will often partner with influencers to help promote their products or services. But with so many influencers out there, how do you go about finding the right one for your brand?
Define Your Goals and Target Audience
Before starting your influencer search, clearly define what you hope to achieve through the partnership. Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive sales? Improve engagement? Determining your goals will help narrow down what type of influencer may be best suited. It will also help determine what metrics you’ll use to measure the success of the partnership.
Additionally, have a clear understanding of your target audience. What demographics are you trying to reach? What type of content and messaging resonates most with them? Finding an influencer who is already connected to your ideal audience will lead to better results.
Decide on Content Platforms
Influencers are active across many different social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and more. The platform(s) you focus your search on should align with where your target audience is most active. It also depends on the type of content you want created. For example, Instagram and TikTok are great for influencers who heavily use images and short-form videos. YouTube may be better for long-form, conversational video content. Take some time to research which platforms make the most sense for your goals and audience.
Leverage Influencer Marketing Platforms
Specialized influencer marketing platforms like AspireIQ, Grin, or Klear can make finding and vetting potential influencers much easier. These platforms allow you to search for influencers based on metrics like audience demographics, engagement rates, cost, and more. Most will have detailed profiles on influencers so you can get a sense of their content style and how well they may align with your brand. Many also facilitate communication and allow you to manage partnerships from start to finish.
Search Social Media by Hashtags and Keywords
Scouring social media manually can be time consuming but may help uncover hidden gems who don’t have large followings yet. Search industry-related hashtags like #fashionblogger or #makeuptutorial to find influencers posting about your niche. You can also search keywords related to your products or services. For example, a smoothie brand could search “healthy smoothie recipes” on Instagram. Look through posts and engagement to find stand-outs who fit your criteria. Checking bios for audience demographics like location and age range can also help assess alignment.
Ask for Referrals
Speaking with your existing network can provide influencer suggestions you may have otherwise overlooked. Ask colleagues, partners, and even your own social media followers for influencer recommendations. Especially ask followers who are highly engaged and fall within your target audience. Survey your email list or post a poll on your social channels. Provide some guidelines around the niche, content types, audience demographics, and partnership goals. The responses may help surface potential partnerships.
Research Competitors
Research who your competitor brands may be partnering with for influencer campaigns. Check their website, blog, and social media channels for tagged influencer posts or more obvious sponsored content. Make a list of influencers who have worked with competing brands in your space. If they have an audience aligned with your own, don’t assume they are off limits. Many quality influencers are open to working with multiple brands in their niche.
Connect at In-Person Events
Industry events and conferences provide a great opportunity to connect with potential influencers face-to-face before engaging them online. Identify any major events coming up related to your niche like VidCon for video creators or BeautyCon for makeup artists. Consider hosting a panel or meetup at the event to establish your brand as an authority. Attend sessions led by influencers in your space and chat with them afterward. Come prepared with partnership proposals to pitch. The face time can help build authentic relationships that lead to successful collaborations.
Vet Potential Influencers
Once you have a list of potential influencers, it’s time to vet them further to ensure they are the right fit. Here are some key factors to consider:
- Content Quality – Review recent posts and videos. Is the content high-quality and well produced? Does it fit with your brand image and style?
- Audience Engagement – Assess engagement rates on posts through likes, comments, shares, etc. Higher engagement signals an influencer has built stronger connections.
- Relevance – How relevant is their content to your niche, products, and target audience?
- Follower Count – Total followers is not everything, but higher counts typically mean wider reach.
- Comments and Feedback – What do their followers have to say about them? Positive feedback is a good sign.
- Post Frequency – How often do they post? Consistent posting keeps follower engagement high.
Analyze these factors for each influencer you are considering to narrow down the list. You want to ensure you partner with someone who creates quality content, has an engaged following, and is actively posting. Outreach to your top choices to express your interest and discuss partnership details before making any formal agreements.
Discuss Partnership Details
Here are some key details to discuss with potential influencers:
Partnership Detail | Description |
---|---|
Type of Content | What type of content do you want created like videos, posts, stories, reels, etc.? Define any specifications like length and format. |
Assets and Information | Discuss what assets, products, information, or other resources you will provide them to help create content. |
Brand Mentions | Specify how you want your brand and products mentioned, described, or tagged within the content. |
Campaign Hashtags | Provide designated hashtags you want the influencer to include that will help track engagement. |
Call-to-Action | Do you want the post or video to drive traffic to your website, promote a discount code, encourage user-generated content, etc? |
Content Rights | Discuss who will retain rights to the content after partnership completion. |
Measurement | Define key performance indicators to track campaign success like impressions, engagement rate, traffic driven, sales influenced, etc. |
Compensation | Agree upon compensation amount and structure – one-time fee, per post, bonus for hitting KPIs, free products, etc. |
Having clear expectations upfront ensures the influencer partnership is set up for maximum impact. Formalize the agreement in a contract once all details are settled.
Maintain Open Communication
Consistent communication throughout the duration of the influencer partnership is key. Have regular check-ins to discuss content performance and optimization. Be available to provide any additional information or assets as needed. Quickly address any issues that arise. Transparent collaboration will lead to better content and a stronger ongoing relationship that can lead to future campaigns.
Amplify and Repurpose Content
Don’t let all the influencer’s hard work go to waste. Amplify the content by sharing it across your own social media channels. Consider investing additional spend to boost high-performing posts through paid advertising on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. You can also repurpose content by turning an Instagram post into a blog article or compiling short video clips into a longer YouTube video. Look for ways to maximize the value of the content to get the most bang for your influencer marketing buck.
Conclusion
Finding the right influencers to partner with is critical for running an effective influencer marketing campaign. By defining your goals, vetting candidates, clearly communicating expectations, and amplifying content, you can build relationships with influencers who will provide ROI and help you achieve your marketing objectives. Don’t expect overnight success. Be patient, consistent, and focus on working with influencers who create content your audience loves. Over time, the impact of strategic influencer partnerships will be clear.