Customers don’t like a sales pitch. As a result, brands are shifting to influencer marketing campaigns to provide more authentic product recommendations. An estimated 72% of marketers will use influencer marketing to reach customers in 2022, up from 68% in 2021, according to Insider Intelligence.
If you’re one of the many marketers with an influencer campaign in the works, you’ve probably realized the importance of picking the right brand ambassador to work with. Before working with any influencer, marketers should research four areas.
What to consider when researching influencers
Specifically, you should pay special attention to an influencer’s:
Alignment with your brand
The influencer you select should be a good fit for your brand. Take some time to look through an influencer’s posts and check on his or her:
Industry niche
First and foremost, you want an influencer who posts about your industry. A pet food company should look for an influencer who focuses on pets, a beauty influencer could connect with a makeup artist, and so on.
Most influencers are very clear about their niche, and usually work it into their bio or the name of their social channel. Influencer Kristin Wilson, for example, goes by the handle Traveling With Kristin. One glance at her YouTube channel and you know what niche she caters to.
Remember, there are very niche influencers out there, so don’t settle for someone who “sort-of” posts about your industry.
Tone and voice
Read through the influencer’s posts. Does the influencer have a similar tone and voice to your brand? If, for example, your brand’s tone is helpful and friendly, an influencer’s social account should match.
Values
An influencer’s values should align with your brand’s values. A brand that’s sustainable, for example, wants an influencer who values a green lifestyle and makes public efforts to be eco-conscious. Run a Google search on the influencer’s name too, and look specifically for any news clips as a quick reputation check.
Audience
You want an influencer who reaches an audience that values your product or service. Audience makeup is crucial to the success of a campaign, so run a litmus test by reading through the comments on posts. Who are the influencer’s most active fans? Are they part of your target market? If so, that’s a good sign.
When Tchibo Coffee launched its products in Chicago, it teamed up with one of the Windy City’s biggest influencers, Rachel Chen. With many native Chicagonians in her audience, it was a good fit for the brand.
When you reach out to an influencer, you should ask for more specific stats on their audience makeup and performance metrics. You might be able to find this information readily available on the influencer’s website listed under Media Kit.
If you’re using an influencer marketing platform, many offer audience insights that break down an audience by age, location, and gender, along with an overview of the influencer’s connections.
Budget
Before engaging with an influencer, you need an idea of what they’ll charge.
Understanding the world of influencer compensation can be a bit tricky. When influencer marketing first began, a free product in exchange for a positive review would suffice for payment. Today, that’s not the case.
The 2022 State of Influencer Earnings® provides a glimpse at average influencer payments by channel. Here’s a look at the average amount an influencer earns per post to a specific channel:
- Twitter: $284.
- Facebook: $833.
- Instagram Story: $906.
- Instagram Photo: $1,170.
- Pinterest: $2,114.
- TikTok: $3,514.
- YouTube: $4,491.
These are averages, so the price could be higher depending on other factors, like audience size, type of content requested, and influencer demand. An influencer who’s in high demand, with a large audience, that’s creating a video for your brand, for example, will charge more per post.
Previous collaborations
Take a look at previous collaborations the influencer has done. Look at the quality of the content produced, the engagement rates, and the comments. You don’t want an influencer to create the content and run, you want someone who engages with the audience and responds to comments in a timely manner.
If you can’t easily find sponsored posts on their social channels, check their website. The Merrymaker Sisters, a fitness duo, list all of their collabs on their Media page. You can also ask the influencer to point you to sponsored posts on their site.
Need a little help researching an influencer? TapInfluence can help. You can search for influencers, review profiles, get audience insights, negotiate a deal, and pay an influencer all from one platform. See how it can help your brand launch an influencer campaign.