Whether you’re a restaurant launching new menu items, a business looking to boost awareness of your services or an organization selling tickets to an event, tapping content creators may be part of your promotional strategy. Nowadays, content creation is a full-time job, so the majority of influencers will require payment in exchange for promoting your business on their profiles. If you don’t know how to find the right influencers that will catch the attention of and will make an impact on your audience, your investment may fall flat. 

Below are key steps to take when identifying, evaluating and collaborating with influencers to ensure your marketing campaign succeeds. 

Start with the obvious – researching social media! 

Before you open any app, you need to first determine which platform you want to focus on. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are the top platforms for influencer partnerships; however, you may find that Facebook is where you achieve the most engagement. Take time to reflect on your target audience and how they use social media. Then you can begin researching influencers on that platform. 

With so many content creators out there, where do you even start? Most platforms have tools that can help ease the process – hashtags, locations, directories, etc. That’s where you can begin your search, finding popular, on-brand and trending influencers in various niches. Of course, you’ll want to verify the authenticity of the influencers’ followers and engagement by looking out for signs of fake followers or engagement bots. 

Follow industry media platforms 

Aside from browsing through social media platforms, you can also keep a pulse on industry-specific media. Find media outlets that align with your brand and listen to their podcasts, sign up to receive their newsletters and regularly look at their websites. Influencers may be featured as guests or spotlighted in some fashion. 

Think through your brand’s values 

This may be surprising, but your brand shouldn’t focus as much on the number of followers an influencer has when conducting research. Don’t pick anyone based on flashy follower counts or a perfectly curated Instagram grid. Instead, you’ll want to choose influencers who truly resonate with your brand and can amplify your campaign effectively and authentically. If the influencer doesn’t share values with your brand, the collaboration will come across as fake and consumers will notice. 

A lot of time and effort goes into finding the right person with a following that will resonate with your brand. A PR team can help you find the perfect influencer fit for your organization, so let’s get started today!