Finding the proper influencers is essential for jumping on the influencer marketing bandwagon and finding success. In this comprehensive article, we’ll explore how to identify the most suitable influencers for your advertising initiatives.
How Should Instagram Influencers Be Chosen for Your Shortlist?
You should have a clear idea of the shortlisting criteria before you even begin searching for influencer profiles in your field. Let’s look at some things to think about before you start looking for influencers in this area.
The Purposes of Influencer Marketing
What you hope to accomplish with your influencer marketing plan should be your first criterion. The following are examples of typical outcomes from influencer marketing campaigns:
- Raising brand recognition
- Maximise participation
- Produce more material, increase revenue.
- Boost your number of followers.
- Drive up app downloads.
If you have a certain end in mind from the get-go, you’ll know exactly what type of influencers to seek for.
If you want to increase participation, for instance, you may collaborate with micro-influencers. They may have a smaller number of followers overall, but their involvement tends to be higher.
Loyalty to the Brand
If you want to work with Instagram influencers, be sure they are a good fit for your company. Examine their Instagram posts to learn what they hold dear.
You may learn a lot about someone by reading their profile, posts, and captions. Do they support the values that your company represents? Do you want to make sure they don’t touch on any taboo subjects?
Working with an Instagram celebrity takes more than just making posts together. Having complementary public identities is essential. Tagger Media is one such tool that may be used for a speedy background check.
Influencers who are a good fit and who support similar causes might turn into loyal customers.
Intended Readership
Do you intend to appeal to millennials? Or are you hoping to connect with ladies of all ages? Your ideal influencer will alter depending on who you’re trying to reach. Be as detailed as you can when identifying your target audience.
An increased number of individuals may be exposed to your brand’s message if you aim for a broad category, but it doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be interested in it.
Number of Followers
Which of these two types of celebrities would you rather collaborate with? How you go about finding an influencer to work with depends on the type of influencer you’re after.
You can estimate how many people will see your branded content if you know how many followers an influencer has.
Participation Rate
Sure, the number of a person’s followers may be a good indicator of how influential they are. However, the engagement rate is a more crucial indicator for marketing initiatives.
This indicator provides insight into how many people will interact with a sponsored post. Here is the method you may use to determine an Instagram influencer’s engagement rate:
Likes + Comments = Engagement Rate / Followers * 100
In most contexts, an engagement rate below 1% is considered dismal. Anything between 3.5% and 6% is extremely good, whereas anything below 3.5% is just mediocre.
Sincerity
Did you realise that in 2019, companies lost $1.3 billion due to influencer fraud? Influencers use deceptive techniques like joining comment pods and buying false followers.
You should never collaborate with anyone that pad their statistics. After all, doing so might tarnish your brand’s image and put you in violation of Instagram’s rules. Your account may be banned as a result, worst case scenario.
Avoid this by carefully screening potential influences. The number of a user’s followers on Instagram may be used as a rapid indicator of the profile’s legitimacy.
How Often You Update
Keep an eye out for how often a certain Instagram influencer posts paid material when browsing through their feed.
Influencers typically update their blogs once every several days. Too many promotions posted too quickly might make you question the authenticity of the site. There’s also a potential that the influencer has done business with a competitor or two in the past.
Reputation of Influencers
You should spend some time doing a basic background check on any shortlisted influencers as part of your preliminary investigation. You may expect to see their name in publications and press releases if they are a significant influencer.
You should also look into their previous partnerships to determine if they are transparent in accordance with FTC regulations. Are hashtags like #ad and #sponsored used in promotional posts?
If you do your homework, you can avoid working with any influencers that have a questionable track record.
Grade of Content
Quality material is produced by influential people. You can tell within seconds of visiting an Instagram influencer’s page whether or not their material is of high quality. Look at the sponsored posts on their page with extra care.
Is there a good balance between information and advertising? Does the brand name come up in a natural way? Do you think their posts are worth sharing? You may gauge the quality of their content by asking these questions.
Consult Your Audience
You want your Instagram posts to excite and interest your audience, right? Why not get their input on potential partners?
People who follow you on Instagram are probably fans of similar content makers and businesses. They will provide you with insightful recommendations for your next potential business alliance. You can increase participation and foster a sense of community by giving people a voice in the decisions that affect them.