Influencer marketing has become one of the most powerful strategies for brands. With influencers being everywhere, highly impacting customer’s buying decisions, over 86% of marketers find influencer marketing effective in meeting their brand goals.
By partnering with the right influencers, your business can enhance customer acquisition, increase ROI, and cultivate more personal connections with your audience. However, the key to success lies in the "how."
How can you find influencers that align with your brand? It all starts with understanding your target audience.
In this article, we'll explore why defining a target audience is essential for influencer marketing and how it helps you determine the type of influencer (micro, macro, etc.) that will work best for your brand.
The first step in finding the right influencers is clearly defining your target audience. This will help you narrow your search and find influencers with a relevant and engaged following that aligns with your brand. Consider factors such as age, location, interests, and values when defining your target audience.
Once you clearly understand your target audience, start researching influencer segments that align with your brand. Consider the content they post and how it aligns with your brand.
You can identify influencers that match your brand through Influencer Hero's discovery tool which supports major social media platforms such as IG, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Pinterest. With detailed filters, you can quickly look through different segments and identify the influencers who are the right fit for your brand.
Be willing to test different segments. As with everything within marketing, assumptions are only assumptions until they become facts by backing them with data. The best tool for decision-making is your data. Have the courage to broaden your view and take some risks when it comes to testing different segments; the payoff can be huge.
E.g., One of our clients, which sold products in the kitchenware segment, tested out influencers who create content around knitting. Underlying hypothesis: similar audience, as people interested in knitting, could also be interested in cooking. The campaign was a huge success.
Most sources emphasize the importance of engagement rate, however, we've discovered that its relevance can vary across different sectors.
E.g., We conducted in-house research based on 50 thousand influencer collaborations and found out that there is no correlation between performance and engagement rate when it comes to older audiences.
When targeting older demographics, we must remember that older people engage less (like, comment, share). This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are engaged; it is just that they take less action when it comes to using social media.
Look for authenticity: It’s important to work with authentic and genuine influencers. Look for transparent influencers about their partnerships and endorsements and who align with your brand’s values and mission. Avoid influencers who may have a history of posting sponsored content that is not authentic or relevant to their audience.
From nano to celebrity, influencers come in various sizes. By recognizing these different types, you can better tailor your campaigns to achieve specific goals. Here's a recap of the different types:
These are individuals who have a smaller following of 1k - 10k, but are highly active on social media. They promote brands and causes they genuinely love, often in exchange for free products or samples. They are suitable for increasing local and national brand awareness, promoting events, and showcasing seasonal product lines. They offer high engagement rates, a genuine connection to the brand, and cost-effective partnerships.
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These influencers have a smaller following of 10k-100k and act as mini community managers. They cultivate engaged audiences around a shared interest, and work with brands to create highly relevant and authentic content for their niche audience. They are a good fit for increasing brand awareness, product reviews, and product tutorials, as well as launching niche products. They offer high engagement rates, highly targeted, niche audiences, a genuine connection to the brand, and cost-effective partnerships.
These influencers have a following of 100k-500k. They have a well-established status and collaborate with brands to reach a wide audience with broad interests. They are a perfect fit for increasing national/regional awareness, driving web traffic, and launching products. Working with them can help increase brand awareness, boost sales, reach new audiences, and build a brand’s social presence.
These influencers have a following of 500k+. They help brands scale their campaigns and reach large audiences. They are professional content creators and choose brand partnerships strategically. They are a perfect fit for ad campaigns, driving web traffic, and affiliate campaigns. Working with them can help with content creation expertise, wide audience reach, and increasing brand awareness.
These influencers have a following of 1 million or more. They have a global reach and are well-known beyond their social media presence. They are very aware of their public image and choose brand partnerships and causes to support in line with their own values.
They are a perfect fit for large-scale ad campaigns, brand ambassadors, sponsored content, and event host or patron. Working with them can help increase global brand awareness, promote mass-market products, build brand image and reputation, and increase sales through celebrity endorsement.
Finding the right influencers to work with can be a challenging task. By following these tips, you can narrow down your search and find influencers who are a good fit for your brand and can effectively reach and engage your target audience. Through the Influencer Hero platform you can find the right influencers which match your brand values on all major platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest and blogs.
Read a step-by-step approach for Creating a Performance-Driven Influencer Marketing Program in our Ultimate Influencer Marketing Guide here.
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