In a modern-day marketing landscape where over half of all marketers use several influencers to help promote their brand, you might be forgiven for choosing the first person with a healthy Instagram following for the job.
These days, however, it is important to select the right influencer, and with so many forging careers in this role, there is no excuse not to. You can use a number of methods to find the right influencers, whether through trawling social media, using online tools, or even hiring an influencer marketing agency to do it for you.
Influencers have a unique asset: They act as a bridge between brand and consumer, a trusted friend of both who can drive conversions through the roof with the right tools for the task.
Without further ado, let’s examine some of the best ways to find the right influencers to achieve your marketing goals…
This is the first point on our list because it is, quite simply, the most important. Suppose you don’t accurately pinpoint your audience before contacting an influencer. In that case, your genius marketing scheme won’t get off the ground no matter how large and loyal their following is.
The key here is to be as specific as possible. Let’s suppose, for example, that you are marketing a new vegan fitness bar. You reach out to some of the most popular exercise and nutrition influencers, and two of them get back to you.
The first influencer has more than 100,000 followers and an incredible physique, whereas the second has just 20,000 followers and isn’t quite as impressively shredded. So understandably, you decide to go with the first influencer to promote your 100% plant-based power bar.
What you failed to recognise is that the first influencer runs a platform geared toward a carnivorous diet, meaning their followers will be highly unlikely to purchase a vegan product. The second influencer, with just 20,000 followers, is a highly trusted vegan fitness expert who can engage their army of fans in a way that might have boosted your conversions tenfold.
This is the key point of any brand-influencer partnership. To achieve success, you must know your target audience, and that goes for both your brand and the influencers you’re targeting.
Finding the right influencers for your marketing campaign can be as simple as shooting a direct message on Instagram. Sounds easy, right? But how do you find the right profile in the first place? The answer is gloriously simple: hashtags.
By searching through the relevant hashtags, you will encounter hundreds, if not thousands, of influencers who might be perfect for your campaign. Head over to their profiles to check out their niche, reach, and voice before sending a message to discuss any potential collaboration.
Head over to Google Alerts and search for your brand name to check the latest mentions you’ve received online. If you’re starting, search for keywords related to your brand or product.
Once you’ve done this, you should encounter all manner of bloggers and profiles who would make ideal influencers to team up with and take the world by storm.
Programmes such as Topsy and others eliminate the hassle of going through thousands of blogs and profiles to find the perfect influencer to help with your campaign.
By scouring the web for the perfect keywords and content for your needs, you can eliminate much of the inconvenient work from what can be an arduous process.
This might seem somewhat old-fashioned, given the many new ways of finding influencers through special tools and programmes, but the truth is that many top influencers use LinkedIn just as much as those in the corporate world.
If you search for influencers on LinkedIn and add keywords related to your field, you should find a plethora of worthy candidates to be the face of your next ad campaign.
More and more businesses are choosing to use influencers. Finding the right influencers for your marketing goals can greatly assist your more comprehensive sales and marketing strategy.
This article was contributed by Billion Dollar Boy, an influencer marketing agency based in London and New York.
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