Influencer Marketing is the new trend marketers have been following. It is a great way to get directly in front of the audience as there is a high level of trust already established between the influencer and the user. In a nutshell, by using influencers, you can directly talk to the user who has a high potential of converting into a customer. Reach a wide network of audience, increase brand awareness, tap into your ideal customer pool and up your sales through influencer marketing.
How to find an influencer?
Choosing the right influencer for your brand is a process in itself. One must make sure that the influencer supports the marketing strategies and is a voice for the brand. There are many online tools today that can help you find the right fit. A marketer must follow a set of steps, which we discuss below, in order to find the right influencer for a particular brand. Let’s break it down for you as to how to find an influencer to do the job for you.
Who is an influencer?
An influencer is someone with a good following on online platforms. These followers support the influencer as they have a high level of trust between them. The influencer can be talking about any topic under the sky and the supporters are there because they like what they see. They are ‘influenced’ or shape their decisions based on what the influencer promotes.
An influencer could be anyone – a celebrity, a blogger, a vlogger, an industry expert, a social media personality etc.
An influencer need not always have a large following. As long as they are able to direct a set of followers by giving them truthful reviews, or content, they are doing the job well. There are two types of influencers: macro influencers and micro influencers.
Macro influencers:
They have a huge following or broad fan base. They are usually a household name and have a following of tens of thousands and even millions. They are approached by brands and usually have an agency managing their activities for them. If a particular brand has the funds to approach a macro influencer who aligns with their goals, they may do so to position the brand in front of a huge audience for visibility and awareness.
Micro influencers:
They have a small following and a highly engaged audience. They usually only promote a niche sector like sports, food, travel, beauty etc. The messages are to the point and usually have a close knit of followers who tend to absorb what the influencer puts out a lot better.
Influencer marketing is when someone or a brand leverages the reach of an influencer to promote their product, products or services. This is done to increase reach, bring about awareness and in turn convert them into customers.
The influencer can either:
- Write or blog about the brand
- Post pictures and give reviews about the products
- Make a short video about the brand
- Become a spokesperson for the brand
The content for big accounts appears as a paid sponsorship and for small accounts the brand is tagged or the link is given in the posts for reach, clicks and purchases.
How to find an influencer in your niche?
Influencers can benefit your brand in more than one way but finding the right one for your brand is just as important. How to find an influencer that speaks your language and creates successful campaigns? We give you some tips.
- What is your goal with the influencer?
- What is the type of influencer campaign your brand would like to run?
- Are the influencers you’re choosing related to your industry?
- Are the followers your audience?
- What is the attracting power of the influencer?
- What results can they bring you?
Mind you, influencer marketing is not always free. Carefully choose them as they are the ones to be promoting your brand to a niche sector.
1. What is your goal with the influencer?
You reach the right audience with the right influencer so list down your goals with them. Is your marketing goal awareness, leads or conversions? Draw out your plan from here. This can further help them to help you see the results you want to see.
2. What is the type of influencer campaign your brand would like to run?
There are different types of influencer campaigns you can run. Some of them include:
- Contests and Giveaways
- Gifting
- Sponsored Content
- Guest Posting
- Takeovers
- Discounts
- Brand Ambassadors
- Affiliates
3. Are the influencers you’re choosing related to your industry and are the followers your audience?
Influencers must be related to your industry as the followers they have are interested in that field. Select influences based on your niche to spread awareness and influence your target market. One trick is to look for influencers that are working with brands like yours.
4. What is the attracting power of the influencer?
A huge influencer following will not solve it for you. Make sure the followers in the influencer’s previous posts are kept engaged and relate to the posts. This makes your job easier once the right message is passed by the right influencer to the right audience. A few things to check beforehand:
- Number of social followers
- Engagement Rate
- Alexa Ranking of the Influencer
- The Depth of the Posts and Coverage
- Content Quality and Delivery
5. What results can they bring you?
Once you partner with an influencer, it is crucial you track the results they produce too. Check if the particular influencer campaign is a success or needs more work in terms of brand positioning, awareness or consideration and tweak it accordingly.
Where can you find influencers from?
There are a few websites you can use to find influencers.
Instagram is one of the most used influencer platforms today. It provides a variety of content types like videos, clips, images and interactive questionnaire for the influencer to use. This is one platform for you to find them for your brand.
Izea is another platform that helps brands and influencers connect with each other. It offers a bunch of options when you need help in finding your perfect match.
Buzzsumo, a content research platform also doubles up as a platform for finding the influencer you need based on metrics, stats and data.
Google Advanced Search can help you find them based on certain keyword results. It can help you deepen your research by pulling out relevant information based on your search.
HypeAuditor is another platform that helps in analysing YouTube and Instagram influencers based on open data and AI technologies. This tool helps in detecting fraud and gives accurate audience demographics.
In conclusion, have a solid influencer marketing strategy and work backwards. Leverage the influencer who is most relevant to your goals, audience, niche and bring about the results you desire.
Do you need help with this? We can provide you with the perfect influencer marketing strategy to elevate your brand today. Call us at +91 9087706000 today and we will be happy to chat.
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