As digital marketing continues to evolve, working with YouTube influencers—whether they’re micro or macro—has become a key strategy for successful brand promotion.
However, finding and vetting the right influencers who align with your brand's values and audience can be a challenging task.
In this article, we outline a detailed methodology using different tools, including Influencer Hero, Google, YouTube Analytics, Google Trends, Reddit and social media platforms to find and evaluate YouTube influencers in 2024, ensuring successful collaborations and impactful brand visibility.
Influencer Hero stands as an all-in-one influencer marketing platform, specifically designed to streamline the process of finding and collaborating with YouTube influencers.
Here’s how to use it:
Start by using YouTube’s search function. Input keywords related to your industry, product, or service to find content creators who are already engaging with your target audience. For instance, if you’re in the beauty industry, you might search for “makeup tutorials” or “skincare routines.” Pay attention to the channels that appear consistently in search results, as this indicates both relevance and authority in the subject matter.
YouTube’s Trending page showcases videos that are popular globally or in your region, across various categories. Although these trends can be broad, they offer insight into what content is currently engaging a wide audience. Additionally, explore the “Channels” and “Creators on the Rise” sections to discover emerging influencers who are gaining traction.
Once you’ve identified potential influencers, visit their channels to conduct a more detailed analysis.
Look at:
While not the sole indicator of influence, a high subscriber count suggests a wide reach.
Assess the average views per video and read through the comments to gauge audience engagement and sentiment. If they also live stream through a live transcoder then try to gather some insights about those streams as well.
High-quality, consistent content is key to maintaining and growing an engaged audience.
YouTube recommends related channels on an influencer’s channel page. This feature is invaluable for discovering similar creators who may have a slightly different audience or content focus but still align with your brand.
Consider using third-party YouTube analytics tools like Social Blade or VidIQ. These platforms provide deeper insights into channel performance, growth trends, and engagement metrics, helping you to identify influencers with a strong and active following.
Engaging directly with YouTube’s community can provide qualitative insights into an influencer’s impact. Participate in comment sections, note how the influencer interacts with their audience, and observe the community's overall vibe. This interaction can reveal a lot about the influencer’s relationship with their audience.
Examine any past brand collaborations the influencer has participated in. This can give you an idea of how they integrate sponsored content and the response from their audience. Look for authenticity and a natural fit between the influencer’s content style and the sponsored products or messages.
Google is a powerful tool for discovering influencers. Try searching with keywords related to your industry along with terms like “top YouTube influencers” or “YouTube creators in [industry].” Google’s algorithms help by showing websites, news articles, personal websites, and lists that mention relevant influencers.
Platforms like Instagram and Twitter are not just for socializing; they’re treasure troves for finding influencers. Look for hashtags related to your industry or products and see who’s posting about them. Influencers often cross-promote their YouTube content on these platforms. Influencers tend to have multiple social media profiles, so make sure to check their bios and look for YouTube links.
Google Trends offers insights into what’s currently popular. By analyzing trending topics related to your niche, you can identify YouTube creators who are discussing these topics and thereby hold a significant influence.
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Reddit, with its community-centric approach, offers a unique way to find influencers:
Participate in or monitor discussions in subreddits related to your niche. Influential community members often share valuable insights and recommendations.
Look for Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions with influencers. These can provide direct interactions and insights into their influence and audience engagement.
Leverage the platform's vast network of communities by searching for specific hashtags related to your industry or the type of content you're interested in. For example, if you're looking for beauty influencers, you might explore subreddits like r/Beauty, r/MakeupAddiction, or r/SkincareAddiction and look for discussions where users mention YouTube creators or share their videos. You can search for hashtags such as #beautyyoutuber, #makeuptutorials, or #skincareguru within these communities. By following these threads and observing which YouTube influencers are frequently discussed or recommended, you can identify potential collaborators who are popular and respected within the Reddit community.
Observe which YouTube influencers your competitors are partnering with. This can help you identify successful influencers within your industry and evaluate potential fits for your brand.
These metrics are crucial for understanding how engaging the content is. YouTube provides these analytics for creators, and some may share them with potential brand partners.
Ensure the influencer’s audience demographics align with your target market. Age, location, interests, and gender are key factors to consider. Consider video localization or subtitling to bridge language barriers and enhance audience engagement.
The influencer’s community should reflect values that align with your brand. This alignment ensures a more authentic and effective partnership.
The percentage of the influencer’s audience that interacts with their content. Higher rates indicate a more engaged and responsive audience.
Ensure the influencer’s audience matches your target market in terms of age, location, and interests.
The influencer’s content should align with your brand values and appeal to your target audience.
Finding the right YouTube influencers involves a comprehensive and multifaceted approach, where platforms such as Influencer Hero play a crucial role in streamlining the discovery and analysis process. It's essential for brands to engage in diligent research and utilize robust analytics to evaluate potential influencers.
By carefully considering key metrics, understanding the costs involved, and assessing the authenticity of influencers, brands can establish meaningful partnerships that not only enhance engagement but also drive substantial growth. This strategic approach ensures that collaborations are both effective and aligned with the brand’s marketing objectives.
Begin by utilizing the YouTube search function with keywords specific to your industry, product, or service. This can help you identify content creators who are actively engaging with your target demographic. Review the results for channels that consistently appear, as they are likely to hold authority and relevance in your niche.
Focus on several key metrics such as subscriber count, video views, engagement rates (likes, comments, and shares), content quality, and posting frequency. Additionally, use YouTube or third-party analytics tools to delve into audience retention rates and demographic match, ensuring the influencers’ audience aligns with your target market.
Yes, YouTube offers features like the Trending page and related channels recommendations. These can be instrumental in discovering influencers who are currently popular or share a similar audience to those you are already considering. Exploring these sections can widen your pool of potential influencers.
Community engagement is crucial. It not only shows how interactive an influencer is with their audience but also gives insights into the community's reception of their content. Participate in comment sections and observe the overall vibe to gauge the influencer’s impact and relationship with their audience.
Review the influencer’s previous sponsored content to evaluate how they integrate brand messages and the audience's response. Look for authenticity in their product endorsements and a natural fit between their content and the sponsored items. This assessment can help predict the potential success of your own partnership with the influencer.
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