Over the years, we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses and influencers. Within this time, we’ve had to deal with one recurring theme: “How to choose the right influencer?”
To answer that question, we designed this piece.
Below you'll find all the steps and tricks involved in landing the right influencer for your brand. Stay tuned.
Before we dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing for business and how to choose the right influencer, let’s clear the air about how different influencers impact conversion.
Mega or Nano Influencers? (Reach or Niche)
There are Mega, and there are Nano influencers, and a few other tiers of influencers in between.
Mega and Nano are the big and small influencers in the game. Mega influencers possess a large following, a million fans upwards; Nano, just a little over a thousand fans.
Indeed, at face value, most business owners believe mega influencers are the real deal; they think that since mega influencers have a large fan base, which means more reach, they will automatically attract more sales.
But that’s not always the case.
Content from Nano influencers sometimes performs better than that of mega influencers. Why? Because they possess a niche-focused audience—people who actually listen.
Either way, before you begin your hunt for an influencer, kindly consider your market and the type of product you sell.
If, for example, your sell is shampoo or snack, go with a mega influencer; everybody uses such products.
But on the off chance that you are trying to market a business strategy that would help SaaS founders increase revenue from 10 million to 100 million, aim for Nano influencers; it's a niche-focused product.
That said, here are the top 20 questions you must answer, plus steps to take when doing influencer marketing for business.
What are your Campaign Goals and Requirements?
Marketing - no matter how simple or sales-free it might seem - boils down to a simple goal, “to attract more people to your brand and increase ROI.”
Influencer marketing for business is no different.
So if you’re scratching your head about how to choose the right influencer for your business needs, start by carrying out this exercise.
Identify your primary business goal
What do you want to achieve? Do you want to improve brand awareness? Increase website traffic? Boost signups or generate leads? Etc. Be ultra-specific about your goals.
Make your goals digestible; break them into actionable metrics
For example, if your primary goal is to improve brand awareness, you need to highlight the steps necessary to achieve that goal.
Take your time to do the maths. If an influencer promotes your content, does your website guarantee the frictionless experience users desire? Are your CTA’s well aligned? What about your shopping cart; is the check-out process seamless?, etc.
Choose the social media channel you want to influence
Brand influencers don’t exist in a vacuum; they rely on specific social media platforms, e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
But while most mega influencers thrive on multiple platforms, Nano influencers are limited; they might be popular on LinkedIn but not Facebook - endeavor to carefully highlight the exact social media platform you want to connect with your audience on.
How To Find Influencers That Align With Your Goals and Requirements?
At this point, we’re assuming you’ve either done the initial prep work itemized above or have enough knowledge to go about it. If Yes! Let's move to the legwork involved: finding the right influencer.
The easiest way to find credible influencers is by searching for hashtags
You see, most influencers use #hashtags to ensure their content meets their audience where they are. In the same vein, you can use similar hashtags to find them.
For example, if you are searching for an influencer who talks about content marketing, simply go to the desired platform, maybe Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn, and type #contentmarketing; you will find a handful of names.
Examine the bios of relevant individuals. Weigh their number of followers, the regularity of their posts, and how often they talk about the said topic.
Another way to find influencers is by relying on influencer marketing tools
There’re a truckload of influencer marketing tools and platforms online - including TrueFanz - that can help you holistically perform the due diligence and thorough search needed to meet and connect with high-value influencers.
These tools not only help businesses search for, evaluate, and reach out to suitable influencers but can also help manage business and influencer relationships - like an all-in-one hub.
On the downside, most online platforms that allow you to skimp through multiple influencer profiles require payment. You’ll rarely find a free tool. But if you’ve got the budget, it will save countless hours of doom scrolling.
What are the Major Factors that Influence an Influencer's Influence?
Influencer marketing for business is not a silver bullet to increased sales. It doesn’t always lead to high conversion, especially when the marketers involved don’t understand the core factors driving the overall strategy.
That’s why after setting goals, we don’t advise you to go hunting for the perfect influencer; it's a wild goose chase that would eventually yield minimal returns. Instead, with your business goal in mind, pick a handful (at least 10) then weigh 'pros and cons' by considering the following questions:
1. Are the influencers relevant to my brand’s offering?
Different influencers stand by different habits, values, and interests. They believe in different strategies and don’t always meet eye to eye. In other words, not all influencers out there would represent your brand well.
To find ambassadors who can knowledgeably endorse your products and be trusted as they do so, create a top 10 list of the best influencers with shared interest by considering questions like:
- What topic do they talk about often?
- Did they, at any point in time, endorse a competitor?
- Have they used your product or talked about it before?
- How well does their overall brand voice coincide with yours?
- What's their follower count?
- And finally, seek an estimate on cost.
Highlight the answers to these questions in a spreadsheet. If you don't, you might end up confused when weighing the pros and cons of one influencer against another.
2. Do the influencers on your list share similar values with your audience?
Next up, focus on your audience. We can’t over say this;
“Your audience is the primary benefactor of your influencer marketing efforts; if your endeavors are not tailored to meet their needs, it won't yield returns.”
So here’s the catch. People love listening to someone who knows what they’re talking about and can demonstrate a positive working knowledge and experience of your products and services.
- Are the influencers on your list industry professionals or figurehead, or more general influencers with a proven interest in a specific topic?
- Do people in your industry look at these influencers as role models?
- Does their content resonate with your audience demographics?
- Do their interest, personality, and posting methods align with that of your target audiences? Etc.
We know the questions are plenty, but we’ll say it again “We can’t overemphasize the importance of working with an influencer your target audience love and respond to.” Anything sort of that and your influencer marketing endeavors will tank.
Record your findings, then adjust your top 10 list accordingly, ensuring only influencers who portray the same brand values and like-interest with your audience make the cut.
3. What is the engagement rate of these influencers?
Finally, with a detailed top 10 list, or, probably - after all the chopping and cutting - top 5 list, it’s time to make a pick.
For that, you’ll need a deciding factor: something that provides a bird-eye view as to why one influencer is better than another.
And at this point, there's only one factor left, engagement rate.
- What's the quality of their reach?
- Do they have an active community?
- Who are they reaching?
- Which brands have they worked for?
4. How often do people react to their content?
The idea is to find how well an influencer's everyday effort mirrors the people you want to target. An influencer with low engagement won't impact your bottom line, so it’s critical to undertake adequate due diligence to prevent wasted efforts.
Conclusion:
Now that you have all the information you need about influencer marketing for business, plus tips on how to choose the right influencer, what’s next?
We believe it's high time you took a leap toward implementing the above strategies. Drop a message if you need a suitable influencer for your business.
