How do you pick the right influencer to represent and promote your company or brand? There are so many different kinds of influencers: Food influencers, B2B influencers, and even granfluencers. You may be thinking: surely there is one out there that is right for me.
It’s clear that influencers are not one-size fits all. One might be interested in your brand but has the wrong audience. Another might have the right audience but isn’t prominent or active on your ideal platform. So, what’s the secret?
While the process for finding the right influencer can be VERY time consuming, seeking support from an experienced agency like Tunheim can lift that burden. We have the keys to finding the perfect influencer, why you should invest in them, and our process overview.
Why Invest in Influencers?
Influencers aren’t just advertisers of your product or service. They serve as knowledge bases in particular niche categories, which can help your company achieve greater authority, credibility, and authenticity.
According to Pew Research, 30% of U.S. adults say that influencers have informed their buying decisions, and that number increases to 53% when only looking at users who follow the influencers’ accounts. Half of the women that were surveyed reported that they bought a product promoted by an influencer.
The reason is obvious: most people are more likely to make a purchase if it is promoted by a person they know and trust or someone who appears to be just like them. Influencers can humanize your brand and demonstrate that a real person enjoys your product or service.
Plus, being a social media manager (SSM) is hard. Creating TikToks and Instagram Reels can take hours, and the average SSM can churn out one or two in a workday. Delegating creative to a professional will save you time and resources. Not to mention, influencers can help you reach a wider range of untapped audiences through their built-in fanbase.
All of this culminates in 11x the ROI compared traditional media. The benefits are clear, but you still have to identify the right influencer for your business.
Niche and Reach: Unlocking Influencer Marketing Secrets
Say it with me: niche and reach. These are the two fundamental rules to consider in your influencer search. Niche considers the subject-matter the influencer tends to focus on, while reach measures the number of followers they have as well as the level of engagement they earn. Identifying your niche and a fitting reach is the first step toward building your influencer strategy.
How will you measure the success of your campaign? Are you looking to get your message in front of as many people as possible? Find an influencer with a high follower count. Looking to create as many conversions as possible? Check out small influencers.
As it turns out, micro- and nano-influencers typically create more conversions. Their lower follower counts means they can invest in creating a tighter knit community, resulting in up to 60% more engagement which correlates to producing more conversions. And they likely won’t come with the steep fees of hiring a mega-influencer. However, they may be much more niche.
Narrowing down your niche and reach will help you decide who to target. Here are some tips for narrowing your parameters:
- Determine your goals – What do you want to accomplish, and how could an influencer help you achieve your goals? Don’t go in blind. Everything is better with a plan.
- Define your audience – Who needs to hear your message? Your key audience will determine where you will go in search of influencers.
- Choose your platform – Are you looking to target women? 60% of Instagram users are women. Looking to target a more mature demographic like Gen Xers? Try Facebook. Demographics vary greatly by platform.
- Start your search – One of the easiest ways to find influencers is by using hashtags. Search for a hashtag that is related to your industry on your desired platform. You might also search for trending content or analyze your competitors’
- Determine influencer relevancy – Are you relevant to the influencer’s audience? And conversely, is the influencer relevant to your audience? The influencer should align with your goals and values. At the same time, your product and message should resonate with their audience.
- Examine for harmful content to your brand – Do you want to remain politically neutral? Examine the influencer’s account for any political posts, or any other content that goes against your brand’s values before you decide to partner with them.
- Confirm legitimacy – Some accounts are fake. Make sure the influencer has plenty of posts and authentic content. If the account has significantly fewer followers than accounts it is following, this is a red flag.
Our best piece of advice when finding the right influencer to work with is to work with someone who is responsive, follows your contract and has the right voice to match your brand personality.
Providing Your Pitch
Once you have found a few potential candidates, reach out and provide your pitch. Tunheim has a particular process that we follow with our clients when pitching influencers.
Most often, Tunheim uses a digital tool with a database of influencers and the means to reach out to them. We search the database, pick out several influencers that align with the client’s goals and values, and present them to the client.
Next, we work together to whittle down the list. Once the desired influencer(s) are determined, Tunheim will draft a pitch that shares the campaign overview, timeline, and requests such as number/cadence of posts.
After we send the pitch, Tunheim will request an influencer’s media kit with more information on their audience and a quote for pricing. If the client and influencer agree on terms, they will sign a contract.
If you sign a contract, make sure to manage your relationship with every influencer you work with and check in regularly, as this can ensure you keep the collaboration going.
As part of the contract, if the client is selling a product, they will send the influencer the product in order to post about it as part of the contract as we have done with the Salted Nut Roll, for example.
If the client is selling a service or spreading a message, they will pay the influencer to talk about it rather than send a product, which we continue to do with Accra Homecare.
Another option is to skip the pitching process and send a gift with products to influencers with the expectation that they will post about it, which Tunheim has done with Mott50 swimsuits.
And finally, don’t forget to have them disclose any sponsored material!
Tunheim has partnered several clients with influencers to enhance their brand personality and help our clients be better understood by their key audiences. Reach out today to learn more about our influencer marketing expertise.
