Finding the right influencer is one of the most important pieces of influencer marketing. A well-matched influencer will not only help create an authentic representation of your brand but also put your brand right in front of your desired audience.
Vetting
Influencer marketing comes with a lot of vetting, and there are so many aspects your brand needs to take into consideration. This takes a lot of time to determine, especially because it’s important to vet the influencers you are considering across every social media platform.
- Make sure the way they represent themselves aligns with your brand’s mission. Proper brand representation is essential in keeping loyal customers.
- Look past your platform of choice to get a thorough idea of their online presence. Check all their other social profiles to be sure they are “brand safe” everywhere.
Audience Data
What’s more important than an influencer who aligns with your brand values? Their audience. Make sure the influencer’s audience data aligns with your target demographic. Otherwise, you’ll be talking to a bunch of people who don’t care about what you have to offer. Just because the influencer is a great representation of your brand, doesn’t necessarily mean their followers fit who you are trying to reach.
Other points to hit when vetting an influencer’s audience include:
- Where majority of audience is located
- Audience interests and brand affinities
- Audience demographics
For more information on audience data, refer to our previous blog post, The Importance of Influencer Audience Data.
Engagement Rate
If an audience isn’t engaging with content, they either aren’t interested or they’re bots (a fake audience). The engagement rate allows you to determine how engaged people are with the content so you can get an idea of how receptive the audience will be to your message.
- Engagement Rate, or ER, is the number of engagements divided by the number of followers. It is calculated multiple different ways, but on Instagram, for example, it is typically likes + comments + shares, divided by followers, multiplied by 100
- A higher engagement rate leads to better ROI
- Look at the engagement rate on sponsored posts. This will indicate how receptive an audience is when an influencer is being paid to promote a product. Meaning, if the influencer is lackluster in their sponsored posts to the point where the audience ignores them you’ll be able to tell.
Ready to get started but are stuck deciding what your next step should be? Let’s connect! If you’re considering influencer marketing, we can evaluate your brand, help match you with the right influencers, and guide you toward a strategy that will fit your needs.