Influencer marketing is on everyone's lips, and more and more companies are asking themselves, "How do we find the right influencers for our brand?"
von Stefan Joss
Unlike traditional top-down advertising campaigns, influencers can communicate with their followers as trusted contacts and inspire with authentic word-of-mouth advertising, turning your followers into loyal customers. However, it's not so easy to find influencers who are also a good fit for your business. Numbers are deceiving, and you can't just rely on the number of likes under your posts or the number of followers. Here are 5 tips to consider before deciding whether or not an influencer is a good fit for your business:
1. decide why your company needs influencers
With 1.5 million sponsored posts published on Instagram alone last year (a 198% increase over 2019), it's clear that companies have realized the immense sales potential of the influencer marketing sphere. But before you scroll through your feed in a hurry to pick out a handful of top influencers, you should first take a step back and ask yourself what result you're hoping to get from your influencer campaign.
If you seek out Instagram influencers without first determining your desired goal, it could negatively impact your marketing efforts. For example, if you haven't decided which metrics you want to use to measure the success of your campaign, you'll be in the dark when planning your collaboration with influencers.
If you launch a campaign with a specific goal, not only will you and your influencers be on target, but it will also help you stay on budget, on schedule, and reinforce brand identity.
2. find the right solution: It's all about the story
Finding the best influencers for your company requires more than just comparing the number of followers. Just as every company has its own story to tell, so do influencers. If these "stories" are not aligned, the content produced will not appear authentic, and the end customer will quickly recognize this. The most popular influencers can create pages with beautiful shots and thoughtful captions, but if there is no brand or emotion match between the influencer and your potential customers, you will get very few conversions for your time and money invested.
So how can you go beyond the number of "followers" to find influencers who align with your brand values?
One of the easiest ways to check your influencers is to use third-party tools like Social Blade or Likeometer (Swiss company). Starting with the reach, the number of "followers" and the ratio between "followers" and interactions, most of the most important metrics can be determined through these tools. At this stage, it's valuable to get an idea of your collaboration in advance - again, it's necessary to have a clear plan for your influencer campaign.
Taking the time up front to make sure you have good targeting means an influencer's sponsored posts will seem more authentic and your potential customers will be more receptive and engaged with your product.
3. micro vs. macro influencers: why size doesn't always matter
While the term "influencer" conveys images of faraway beaches, Lamborghinis, and millions of "followers," influencer marketing can be just as effective (if not more so) on a much smaller scale.
If you're looking to hire influencers on a small budget, micro-influencers - influencers with fewer than 10,000 "followers" - could be a good option for your business. One study says that micro-influencers who have between 1,000 and 10,000 "followers" can generate more than four times the engagement on sponsored posts because of the loyalty of their "followers." Again, your goals should determine how you implement your campaign. If you're in a niche market, micro-influencers with attentive, targeted followers may deliver better results than an influencer with a large but unengaged audience. Similarly, micro-influencers are more likely to identify with and feature your products than prominent influencers who are often inundated with high-value products.
On the other hand, if you want to increase awareness of your company, the posts of an influencer with a large number of followers can be helpful to achieve high awareness. If your goal is to build brand loyalty, then hiring a single high-profile influencer to tell your brand story - rather than promoting a single product - may be the right choice for you.
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