When promoting your business online, sometimes it makes sense to use an influencer for your social media campaign.
There are plenty of influencers out there who can provide you with a chance to get your brand in front of new audiences and potential customers.
Figuring out how to choose the right influencer, though, can be something of a challenge. Before you just agree to pay someone to help you with your next social media campaign, here’s what you need to know:
Is the Influencer Right for Your Campaign?
If you want to choose the right influencer, you need to understand the needs of your campaign. Knowing your goals can help you pick an influencer (or group of influencers) that fit the needs of the campaign.
In some cases, it’s not about having a huge a social media following. Instead, it might be about the niche. Does the influencer have good standing in the niche you’re looking at? That can be more valuable than someone with a wide audience that won’t be interested in what you’re offering.
Be clear about your goals, and then look for influencers that are likely to fit with what you’re looking for. Research such items as:
- Age
- Gender
- Interests
- Location
- Subjects covered on blogs or in social media posts
- Followers on social media
What’s Your Budget?
When you choose the right influencer for your campaign, you need to make sure it fits your social media campaign budget. Realize that some influencers charge more than others. You could easily run up your budget when adding influencers to your campaign.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing — if you have the right group of influencers so you can get a good return on investment. Just make sure you plan adequately to pay your influencers and that you have a budget for the campaign.
How Influential is the Influencer?
As you work to choose the right influencer for your social media campaign, don’t forget to look into how influential someone is. The reality is that no one can guarantee conversions. Indeed, any marketing plan is, to some extent, a risk. You could spend money on small results.
However, when you do your research, you are more likely to have success. You can gauge how likely your campaign is to offer good returns by looking at the track record of an influencer.
Look at the blog. Do people comment on the posts?
What about social media posts? Are people responding with retweets and comments on Facebook? Are there likes on Instagram? Repins?
Look at the different platforms used by the influencer to see what sort of engagement they get. If there is high engagement, there’s a good chance the influencer is a good choice for your campaign — as long as their audience is the target crowd you’re looking for.
If you want to choose the right influencer, it has to be done like any other decision in your business. Approach it with care, consider your options, and look for who will offer the best potential return on your investment.
