If you are determined to increase your marketing efforts, then consider working with influencers. Instagram influencers are a popular choice for brands because of the 200 million Instagram users who visit at least one account per day. Continue reading to find out how to choose the right influencer for your next marketing campaign.
What are your goals?
To understand your goals and to find the right influencers for you, it is important to first define them. These are the three steps to choosing the right influencer.
Target Audience
It is crucial to identify your target audience in order to find influencers who match this. You should research the demographics, age, and interests of your target audience to determine what your brand is trying to attract. This will help you find influencers with similar followers. You should be flexible, even if an influencer is 35 years old.
Budget
Before you contact influencers, it is important to establish a budget. Each type of influencer will ask for a different payment. It is important to note that not all influencers are paid the same amount. Prices will vary depending on what media content you want posted. You can narrow down which influencers you want to work with by setting a budget in your goal planning process.
Timing
The timeline of your campaign is another important aspect to consider when setting your goals. It is possible that you have an urgent need for the campaign to be launched. This could exclude influencers who may take longer to respond. Also, consider whether your campaign will be most successful during a sale or discount or a festive date or season. This is important so you can get the most out of your campaign and establish the availability for an influencer to fit your timeline.
Different types of influencers
After defining your campaign goals, it is important to understand the various types of social media influencers available. It is important to understand that just because an influencer has more followers, it does not necessarily mean they are a better choice for your campaign. Depending on how many followers they have, influencers can be broken down into five different categories.
The smallest number of followers is what makes a nano influencer. Although they may have 1K to 5K followers, it is important to keep in mind that many of their followers are often more valuable than others. These influencers are known for their high engagement rates. They will likely accept a non-monetary incentive such as the product.
Micro influencers are more popular (between 5K to 50K) and have greater experience in their field. They may have started their account to have fun but they might be more serious about their influencer career. Their engagement rates are still high and their followers trust them. You can receive a non-monetary payment or a fee sometimes, but it is usually very little.
Medium influencers are even more popular, with 50K to 100K followers. Here is when we start to see a difference. Some may expect a monetary payment. Others may have a manager who charges a fee. These influencers will begin to build their career and aim to be more professional. Engagement rates are still high.
A large number of followers follow macro influencers, with as many as 100K to 1M. These influencers are professionals who work on brand collaborations and are full-time. They may ask for a monetary incentive or charge a fee to manage their work. While their content may seem extremely experienced, it is important to remember that the engagement rate at this level is much lower.
Mega influencers have over 1M followers. They are usually celebrities who have become famous for their social media posts, such as actors or sports personalities. Most likely, they will have a professional manager who manages their social media accounts. Engagement rates are low and fees are high. They can also be believed by their followers to be selling fake content.
Analyzing profiles using an influencer marketing platform
We can see now how important it is that you set goals and prioritize your choices to make sure you choose the right influencer category. You can avoid the common mistake of thinking that the more influential the influencer is, the better.
These influencer types are often described above, but you might find yourself working with a micro influencer with low engagement rates or a macro influencer who has fake followers. To avoid this, you should consider working with an influencer marketing platform like Heepsy, to find influencers that you can trust will be suitable for your campaign.
Engagement rates
The engagement rate of an influencer’s account is one of the most important factors to watch out for. The industry average will vary depending on how many followers you have. It is harder to manage more followers. The higher the engagement rate, however, the closer the influencer will be to their followers. Whatever your campaign goals, you want to reach followers who are invested in the content of an influencer, not followers who scroll by.
Audience insights
Heepsy allows you to view many insights about the influencer’s audiences, including their age, gender and location. This information is crucial to ensure that your campaign target audience matches this audience.
This, along with other metrics that will help you determine if the influencer is real or fake followers, can also be done by investigating audience authenticity metrics.
Conclusion
You’re clearly on the right track by getting this far. It’s exciting to start a new campaign. But, it’s important that you understand the differences between influencers and what each one has to offer.
