How to Choose the Right Influencers for Your Brand

Managing your own influencer marketing campaign can be tricky. Be sure to vet your influencers for content, audience and brand before you reach out to them.

Since “the influencer phenomenon” started around 2009, influencer marketing has been one the fastest-growing digital strategies. Not only does it drive sales and build brand awareness with a new audience, but it also allows your brand to repurpose high-quality content across all of your channels. The end result is a shorter sales funnel and more trust in your brand.

The trick is to choose the right influencers who align with your brand and will make the most impact.

Leveraging Influencer Marketing

Partnering with influencers is a great strategy for any brand, but particularly for newer brands who want to grow their audiences fast. At its core, influencer marketing is about partnerships. Another way to look at it is “paid word-of-mouth.” You are leveraging the trust the audience has in the influencers to build trust in your brand by association.

The best way to leverage influencer endorsements is to create a groundswell of content that is launched across every platform at the same time. You want your partnership to be inescapable to ensure you capture your audience’s attention. I also recommend you focus on micro-influencers who have 10,000 to 50,000 followers rather than mega influencers with more than a million followers. Generally, the micro level is the sweet spot. Their audiences are usually organic (not paid), and they follow them because they connect with them as a person rather than as a celebrity. Choose 20 to 50+ influencers to start and then ramp up as you see the ROI.

Vetting Your Influencers

There are a million and one influencers out there. Some are just starting out, while others are seasoned professionals. Some are honest, hard-working individuals, while others are hopping on the trend to make a quick buck. Since there are essentially too many options to choose from, it is important to know what to look for when selecting an influencer for your campaign. 

The Right Fit for Your Content

Make sure you understand the types of content you want. Think about what action you want the content to inspire and the aesthetic you want to show so you can choose influencers who can execute your goals. If it’s video you’re after, for instance, find influencers who have a demonstrated ability to take quality video. Also, don’t be afraid to ask influencers questions. “Do you have info on sales or conversions from previous partnerships?” is a great one to ask.

The Right Fit for Your Audience 

Check out the influencers’ audiences. Do they comment on special products, launches and promotions? Do they enter contests? Do they tag their friends or share their posts? And, most importantly, do they engage paid promotion content as well as they engage other types of in-feed content? If the influencer has great engagement, you are golden. That means their audience is invested in them and in return is likely to invest in the products they promote. 

The Right Fit for Your Brand

Like everyone else, influencers fail. Be sure the influencers you choose are aligned with your brand voice and values. If one of your company’s core values is diversity, you need to make sure your influencers don’t have a problematic past. Once you find influencers who do fit your brand, keep them in your inner circle. Negotiate regular posts and mentions, or offer them promotional codes to promote your products. The last thing you want is to create a groundswell of content only for your efforts to be forgotten in a day or two. When you form partnerships with your influencers, you both become invested in growing the brand.

Working With an Agency

Hand-selecting the right influencers for your marketing campaigns can be easier said than done. If you’re ready to grow your business by embarking on an influencer marketing journey but you’re still not sure you can write an influencer brief yourself yet, you know where to go. At Elevate My Brand, we live and breathe social media, and building partnerships is what we love. Call us today and let’s start influencing!

Biana Lerman, Account Executive
Elevate My Brand