Whether you’re marketing to Gen Z or any other demographic, influencer marketing is a valuable tactic. Although influencers are a worthwhile investment for any brand, it’s often difficult to find the one that’s right for you. It’s especially true when you are seeking a low-maintenance influencer.
Though most influencers are professional and easy to deal with, it’s not always easy to tell the good from the bad at first glance. A high-maintenance influencer can cause your brand more trouble than they’re worth. Hence, it’s important to find influencers you’ll work well together with. Using an influencer marketing agency can help. Yet, you need to do some testing yourself to see how well the potential influencer fits.
Low-maintenance influencers promote your company without requiring a cumbersome amount of effort on your part. Working with a low-maintenance influencer can ease the burden of some marketing work while maximizing ROI.
Finding the Right Low-Maintenance Influencer for You
Here are five ways to identify a low-maintenance influencer to help you get traction:
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Measure response time.
Brands and influencers need to stay in regular communication to constantly be on the same page. One way of checking an influencer’s reliability is to take note of how quickly they respond to emails, texts, and missed calls.
Influencers that are prompt in their responses demonstrate a professional attitude that can make them much easier to work with down the line. If an influencer takes a long time to get back to you, that may indicate a lack of interest or an unprincipled attitude. Paying attention to these small details can deliver greater insight into an influencer’s character.
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Do a trial run with your low-maintenance influencer.
It’s difficult to know in advance exactly what a low-maintenance influencer’s promotion of your brand will look like. In order to get a better grasp of what their operations look like, ask your prospective influencer to make a mock post for you.
You can learn a lot from an influencer based on a trial run. If they refuse to do one, that could be a sign of a high-maintenance personality. If they make a test post but it takes them a long time or is low quality, that shows that they’re probably not taking the business side of things very seriously. Find ways like these to test how your influencer will operate in a professional setting.
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Check for brand fit.
Any influencer that doesn’t fit the needs of your brand is naturally going to be high-maintenance. Vet your potential influencers for more than just follower count. Make sure that they’re on board with your message and goals as a brand.
Check their previous endorsements to see if the companies they’ve associated with in the past are similar. Any influencers who are used to working with your type of product will have a much easier time getting on board with what you’re doing.
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Try collaboration.
Far too often, companies have influencers do all of the posts. Not using your brand’s own social media accounts in conjunction with your influencer’s is a wasted opportunity. The more an influencer appears to be engaging with your brand, the stronger that association becomes.
Propose some cross-account collaboration with a potential low-maintenance influencer. Influencers unwilling to do more than just include your brand in their posts are likely focusing too much on their online persona. Low-maintenance influencers are willing to use their status to promote your brand in as many ways as they can.
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Match their interests with yours.
As important as it is to find low-maintenance influencers whose direction and personality line up with your brand’s, every good business relationship is a give and take. You never want your brand’s personality to overshadow the personality of an influencer — that would defeat the purpose of the influencer. Instead, any time you’re getting ready to deploy some influencer marketing, make sure that the content you’re pushing is a happy medium between your influencer and your brand.
All influencers lower the maintenance levels when you start to become more sensitive to their public images and professional needs. Make sure that every brand-influencer relationship you get into is a healthy one in which both parties are getting their desires fulfilled. Work with your influencer to develop content that doesn’t compromise on their image or your brand’s but instead combines the two to create something new and exciting.
A Long-Term Relationship with a Low-Maintenance Influencer
Finding the right influencer for your brand means finding a low-maintenance influencer you can work with. Checking for the right signs before you develop a long-term relationship with an influencer can ensure that you’re finding the right person for you.
