Finding an influencer to collaborate with your brand can be hard at times. There are a few things to keep in mind. Collaborating with the wrong influencers can make or break your brand. It can also waste your already-high marketing budget which is why we are here to help guide you. Keep on reading to find out the exact steps to finding the right influencers for your brand!
So, let’s start with the basics.
What are Influencers?
It is a mixture of both old and new marketing tools. It is similar to a celebrity endorsement but has a modern-day twist. This twist is the content-driven aspect of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing, however, does not just involve celebrities. There are many people today with a good amount of following who may not consider themselves ‘famous’ offline but are still influencers nonetheless.
So, what are influencers and what qualities define them?
- the power to influence people’s purchasing decisions due to their authority, knowledge, or relationship between them and their audience
- someone with a certain amount of following in a niche market and actively engages in it
Traditional media usually misunderstand the difference between celebrities and online influencers.
Influencers have built a following of loyal and enthusiastic audiences. They have done so usually through creating quality content online. This audience does not care much about your brand, rather they care about the opinions of the influencers they follow.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing involves the collaboration between a brand and online influencers. This allows a brand to market one of its products or services. It can be executed in a variety of ways, unlike celebrity endorsements.
Influencers are unlike celebrities in that they can be anyone and they can be located anywhere as long as they have a substantial amount of following on the website or on social media. They can be a talented nature photographer on Instagram or an experienced baker who blogs. An influencer can grow a following in any industry and on any online platform.
6 Best Practices to Finding an Influencer
Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can start finding an influencer to promote your brand. Following this best practice will help you execute on your influencer campaign effectively.
- Know your marketing goals
- Know your desired influencer campaign
- Find influencers in your industry
- Find influencers who have promoted your competitors
- Understand the influencers’ authority
- Track your influencer campaign results
1. Know your marketing goals
Finding an influencer requires you to know your marketing objectives. This will help you find the right influencers that can help you achieve your goals effectively.
Start by outlining what you want to have happen as a result of your influencer marketing efforts. These objectives can be any of the following:
- Building brand awareness
- Building brand identity
- Growing your brand’s audience
- Increasing engagement with your brand
- Generating leads
- Increasing sales
- Building customer loyalty
2. Know your desired influencer campaign
Map out how you want your influencer marketing to go down. During this process, consider what type of campaign will help you connect with the type of influencers you want to work with and the audiences that you want to reach.
Here are a few common types of campaigns you can try for your brand:
- Sponsored Content: You can pay influencers to share your content or promote your product. They can also create content related to your brand.
- Hosting contests and giveaways: Contests can be leveraged for influencers to mention your brand or share your content.
- Brand ambassadors: This involves partnering with an influencer and having them regularly promote your brand while you provide them with discounts and perks.
- Gifting: You can gift influencers with your product in exchange for them mentioning or posting about your brand.
3. Find influencers in your industry
Ideally, kicking off your influencer marketing campaign with a more well-known figure will help guarantee that your brand will achieve its goals. However, some factors to consider when selecting influencers for your brand will involve determining your budget. Influencers with a large following and high engagements know what they are worth and, therefore, should be compensated as such.
4. Find influencers who have promoted your competitors
Finding an influencer who has previously worked with your competitor can significantly help increase your chances of succeeding. These influencers are much more likely to work with your brand as they have already shared similar content in the same niche.
Tips: Search for influencers by browsing hashtags that are related to your industry on social media. The influencers with highly engaging content within those hashtags are a great group for brands to reach out to.
5. Understand the influencers’ authority
Conducting an influencer analysis is very important to finding an influencer that suits your marketing goals. The influencer should have an authority that is relevant to your industry and their following should be large enough for your goals.
Consider the following factors when conducting your influencer analysis:
- Number of followers
- Engagement rate
- Website rankings
- Content quality
- Niche coverage
6. Track your influencer campaign results
Be sure to track your KPIs when launching your campaign to help you determine the effectiveness of your influencer marketing. Review the results once it is completed. Whether your campaign was a success or if it needs work, you can analyze your metrics and learn from them. Apply what you learned and adjust future campaigns accordingly.
Conclusion
Finding the best influencers for your brand will take time and effort to find and analyze. Reaching out to them and negotiating a solution that will be mutually beneficial for you should be a top priority as well. In the end, it is all about executing on what you have already planned out.
If you are looking to find a partner who can run your entire influencer marketing campaign, let Marketing Guru help you! We have professional experts who can handle all your digital marketing needs. Contact us today to receive a free consultation on your digital marketing strategy!