Influencer Selection: Finding the Perfect Match for Your Brand

There is a sea of influencers ready to work with brands on every platform, but not all of them are the right fit for brand alignment. Influencer selection is a crucial process in building an influencer marketing campaign and knowing how to filter through to find the best match can be overwhelming. Here are a few tips on finding the right influencers for your campaign. 

Influencer Vetting: Evaluating Engagement, Authenticity, and Brand Alignment 

Stalking an influencer’s Instagram account can tell you a lot about them. You’ll discover their aesthetics, interests, what causes they support, and what type of content they enjoy creating. Typically, you’d probably notice their follower count and how many likes or views they receive on their channel as well and if they are high then it is assumed they are doing well with their content. However, just having a high follower, like, or view count, doesn’t mean that the influencer is really connecting with their audience. 

The best way to measure whether an influencer is having the greatest impact possible is through engagement rate. The average engagement rate on Instagram according to Hootsuite, is around 3% which means that 3% of their followers are engaging with the content. On TikTok, the rate is closer to 18% as shared by The Digital Marketing Suite. 

Let’s say you find an influencer with 200k followers but their engagement rate is .05%, that content isn’t going to reach most of their audience. Through research and working with agencies like CEG, you can discover which influencers have a solid following with a high engagement rate during your outreach.

Additionally, doing some research on the influencer is wise. Fully grasping their niche and the topics they talk about the most will help you decide if they align with your brand mission. Knowing their background, any controversies they may have faced online, how they respond to different content strategies, or if they’ve had difficulty working with brands in the past, is crucial for knowing if they will help your campaign be successful.

Understanding Influencer Audiences: Reaching Your Target Market 

When starting influencer outreach, the goal is to find a representative who can connect your brand to a greater audience. This is why knowing your influencer’s engagement rate is important because while collaborating with the influencer is the initial focus, you’re trying to connect with their audience. If there is a low engagement rate, you aren’t connecting with as many people as you could be. 

During the search for the right influencers, analyzing who is following the influencer and who is engaging will let you know if the campaign is reaching your target audience. Research audience behaviors, interests, and habits to gain a full understanding of how your brand can connect with them. Each platform provides an analysis of audience demographics so you can know where each audience is located, their age, and how they identify. From there, you can have an idea of any cultural nuances of each audience or specific trends they might connect with the most. This information will also let you know what percentage of the following are bots or fake accounts, clarifying further the accuracy of the influencer’s engagement rate. 

For health and wellness brands, having insights on if an audience has interests in products similar to yours, can open up the possibilities to who you can reach. Let’s say the influencer’s audience hasn’t expressed interest in hair supplements but they have expressed interest in skincare, they most likely will be intrigued by the hair supplements as they fall within the wellness sphere. 

Studying the audience will also shed light on other brands they follow, giving insight into who are the brand’s biggest competitors through influencer marketing. 

Choosing the Right Platform for Your Influencer Outreach 

While it is tempting to have influencers repost on different platforms, this strategy can put your marketing initiatives at a disadvantage. When choosing influencers for your campaign, knowing what kind of audience you want to market to is important because different demographics live on various platforms. In a study conducted by Sprout Social, they found that people aged 18-29 mainly engage on Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. People over the age of 50, tend to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest more. Having a clear idea of what type of audience your brand wants to reach will help influence your decision to work with influencers who have a following on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. 

As a health and wellness brand, knowing where that type of content resonates the most is also important. According to Dash Hudson, TikTok is the most popular platform for health and wellness content. This information might narrow your search during influencer selection. 

Effective Influencer Outreach: Crafting Your Message & Building Relationships 

After you’ve narrowed down your influencer selection, it’s time to begin outreach. When reaching out, make your mission and values clear to ensure brand alignment with the influencer. Talk about your product, goal, what the CTA will be, and be clear about compensation. While creating content can be incredibly fun and fulfilling, it is a business transaction for the influencer as well. They want to make sure the brands they are working with are professional. 

Here is a formula for creating your outreach message: 

• Write a quick introduction about yourself and the brand. Be flattering but to the point. 

• Through 1-2 sentences, explain why you’re reaching out to them. This can include why you selected them, the product they’ll be promoting, or the goal of the campaign.

• End with a clear CTA and address that there are no strings attached. Many influencers receive spam messages, you want to make it clear you’re not one of them.

Below is an example of putting the formula into practice:

Hi [Influencer Name],

We’re reaching out on behalf of @supplements [brand name]. We’re an all-natural wellness brand and we are obsessed with your page!

[Brand name] created one of the first pet supplements. We thought you would be perfect for this campaign and we know your fur babies will love this product! 

We would love to send you the product, with no strings attached. Let me know your address and we’ll send over the product ASAP! 

Thanks!

[Your Name]

Conclusion: Your Next Steps for Successful Influencer Outreach 

Take time to create your message. This is a collaboration that could potentially be long-term and you want to start on the right foot. Include all of the important business points while also being friendly and authentic. The magic happens in a genuine partnership, so approach it with professionalism and humanity. You’re all set to begin your influencer outreach in preparation for a campaign. If you have any questions, reach out and we’ll be happy to help you on this journey.