July 17 2023
No matter what social media channels you frequent, you’ll surely find yourself as a target of influencer marketing. With millions of influencers to choose from, PR professionals should keep a few things in mind before launching a partnership. Here are five steps to pick the right influencers for your brand.
Before you even start to research potential influencers, determine your audience by considering the demographic, geographic and behavioral characteristics of your desired audience. When it comes to your goals, ask yourself what you are hoping to achieve from this partnership and create metrics to track your progress.
Once you understand your target audience and overall goals, you’ll be able to create a list of influencers who align with your requirements. You can narrow down your choices by researching influencers who fall into your market’s specific niche. It’s also important to narrow your list down based on budget. The more prominent the influencer, the larger the sponsorship fees, so be sure to consider an influencer’s following not only for how it can impact your goals, but also how it could impact your budget.
As a rule of thumb, influencers fall into the following categories:
Having a large following is one thing but being able to engage that following is another. Assuming you’re looking for quantity AND quality, be sure to assess engagement an influencer typically attracts. In addition to reviewing their content to make sure it aligns with your brand, take a look at posts from the past few months to see if followers are actively engaging with the content and that comments and interactions are generally positive.
Once you find an influencer with a solid following and engagement rate, double check that your brand’s content would be relevant in their feed. Take note of content type, tone and imagery. If the product or service you’re promoting wouldn’t look authentic, you may want to reconsider. It’s equally important to make sure that the influencer’s values align with those of your brand.
Create a pitch personalized to each influencer on your list that will capture their attention (or their manager’s) and make them eager to work with you. Make sure your pitch includes how the partnership will benefit the influencer and brand in addition to your expectations and goals. Once you strike a deal, interact with their posts through your brand’s social media account and continue supporting them even after the partnership concludes.
Working with influencers is a great way to maximize exposure for a product, service or campaign. A successful match can lead to future collaborations and nurture an influential ambassador for your brand.
