Choosing The Right Influencer

Choosing the right person for your brand and product can be crucial for performance and brand perception. Ensuring you are strategic and prudent will yield both long and short term results even if the initial due diligence takes time and effort.

Some important factors you might want to consider are audience location, audience age, previous work and relevancy to influencers audience. If you want to target a particular region, ensure that the audience of the influencer is aligned with that region.

It is important to remember that this person will be a spokesperson for your brand, a beacon of your brand ethos, image and values - understanding the influencer and their personality should be considered. Not only to maximise compatibility between the influencer and the brand but also to minimise potential damage to the brand image in the event the wrong influencer and brand are partnering.

Consider the type of influencer you are bringing on board as a representative for your brand.

How can you make sure you pick the right influencer?

You can't be 100% sure you will pick the right influencer, but you can maximise your chances of choosing the right one. First, you should carry out your due diligence and make sure they fit the preliminary requirements for the collaboration.

Once you've identified them, it's a good time to try working with them - the best practice is to give the influencer creative reign on the content whilst following a brief. After the collaboration is completed, you will be able to gauge the success of the partnership by observing metrics and KPIs. Working on a couple of collaborations can really highlight who you might want to keep on the books for longer-term partnerships and those you don't, as opposed to just a single collaboration judgement.

What about agencies?

An agency that has the logistics and nuances figured out for you can make choosing the right influencers a whole lot easier. They typically have data on hand to qualify influencers for your project - they understand who will be best suited for your product and brand values most due to their close relationship to their influencers.

Some agencies will have more knowledge about a specific market you are trying to reach, this can particularly helpful when you want to become granular and grow certain customer bases.