Identifying The Ideal Influencer For Your Business

— June 19, 2017

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Nowadays, there are influencers for virtually every industry. Despite popular belief, influencer marketing isn’t limited to fashion, sports, and lifestyle brands. Because of this, it can be extremely difficult for brands to identify their ideal influencer.


Although there is now a mound of digital tools available to locate relevant influencers, the sheer number of them make the process extremely challenging. To help you, I’ve highlighted some ways for you to identify the ideal influencer for your business.


Think About Who You Want To Influence


The obvious answer here is your audience. When thinking about who you’re trying to influence, your answer needs to more detailed. Your influencer marketing campaign shouldn’t be like any old campaign; it should have separate criteria with a specific strategy and its own set of goals.


With that in mind, you need to identify your exact buyer personas for your influencer marketing campaign. Although age, demographics, gender, ethnicity, and all other factors should be acknowledged, you need to ask yourself:



  • Who am I trying to influence?
  • What do I want to influence them to do?
  • Why am I trying to influence them?

Consider Who Your Target Audience Trusts


From a customer’s perspective, trust is of utmost importance. Traditional marketing methods no longer work on consumers because they no longer trust them. For example, television commercials, banners, and other in-your-face tools tend to deter potential leads.


Today, consumers are part of the sharing community, and the growth of online ad blockers means marketers are looking for different ways to create relationships with their audiences…that’s where influencer marketing comes in.


When choosing your influencer, it’s crucial to consider who your audience trusts. To achieve this, you need to trust and respect them yourself. Building a relationship with your influencer is fundamental to creating a sincere and successful campaign.


When considering who your chosen audience trusts as an influencer, look at:



  • Influencers with distinct and thought-provoking opinions
  • Influencers that audiences admire or look for as a source of valuable information
  • Your audience’s age group (research shows that younger generations prefer digital creatives, whereas those of 45 years or more prefer celebrity figures)
  • Influencers with a substantial, yet engaged following

Look At Influencer Marketplaces


Influencer marketplaces are great for companies looking for influencers. Simply put, they’re like a matchmaking website for marketers. The disadvantage of influencer marketplaces is that they all charge differently. Influencer marketing is not a cheap endeavor, let alone paying additional fees. Make sure you work with a reputable marketplace. Some examples include:



It’s worth noting that you should always do your own research when choosing an influencer. While these websites can help match you to relevant authority figures, you need to make sure you’re able to create a mutually beneficial relationship between your brand and your influencer.


Qualities To Look For In An Influencer


While understanding your specific campaign audience and learning about who they trust is fundamental to choosing a social media influencer, you must bear in mind that your ideal influencer should have three primary qualities, which are:


1- Relevance


No matter who you choose as your influencer, they need to be relevant to your brand. Simply being part of the same industry is not enough. They need to be sharing content and developing a following that is relevant to your specific business. More specifically, they need to know how to interact with the audience segment you want to target.


2- Reach


Your influencer should have a significant following. Although they don’t have to have one million followers across all their your channels, they do need to prove that they’re an influential person that consumers turn to for information and guidance.


That said, when looking for an influencer, vanity numbers aren’t only items to explore. Large followings are meaningless if those numbers aren’t engaged, and after all, it’s easier than ever to simply buy a million followers.


3- Resonance


Your influencer must know how to engage your audience. In some cases, smaller follower counts can be more powerful than larger ones. The level of engagement can typically be tracked by the number of likes, shares, comments, and views the influencer has on his posts.


Most recently, there has been significant evidence to prove that working with micro-influencers can be more beneficial than working with big celebrity names. They typically offer a higher return on investment and reach consumers on a deeper, more meaningful level.


Finally…


The likelihood is you may have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince. Influencer marketing often requires a large monetary investment, so taking the time to find someone that is willing and able to connect with your brand and audience in the way that you desire is essential to creating a successful campaign.

Digital & Social Articles on Business 2 Community

Author: Murray Newlands


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