5 Tips on Picking Influencers for Your Instagram Campaign

An Instagram campaign is a very viable marketing effort to raise awareness for any brand.

Your IG page might not have many followers, but you sure want to reach more people. One of the greatest approaches to go about this is using influencers.

They usually have a lot of followers dedicated to their content. Hence, any product endorsement from them can go a long way in influencing the brand’s market.

Using the right influencers will take your Instagram marketing from where it is to a much more successful level. Granted, picking the best one might seem like a stressful process because of the factors you need to consider.

We’ll take you through five easy tips to select the right influencers for your Instagram campaign:

1. Know the influencer’s niche and audience

You might be a great fan of an IG creator. You may even feel the person has great content, but if his/her niche isn’t related to yours, that influencer isn’t appropriate for you.

You need to check the audience they represent to determine if it’s related to yours. So, the idea is to only enter a deal with someone who has a connection with your target markets.

For example, if you’re into the electronics business, your chosen influencer(s) should already have tons of posts related to this. The link might be that they’re a subject matter fanatic, technical blogger, etc.

This doesn't mean the marketer is the best for you, but it’s the first step to streamlining your search.

The niche is a common indicator of the type of audience the influencers have. However, such is not always the case on Instagram.

Investigating the audience is a suitable way to flag down fake accounts and creators with uninterested viewers.

Check their follower stats to see if the audience is the desired target for your brand. You can use demographic features on influencer marketing platforms to find well-aligned promoters.

2. Check the influencer’s statistics

After locating influencers in your niche and with your desired targets, the next move is to determine the statistics of their followers, posts, and engagement.

Using stats is a tricky but necessary way to streamline your selection. Mind you, an influencer with lots of followers may not be right for your brand.

On Instagram, there are influencers ranging from nano to mega. Nano- and micro-influencers usually have a small follower base, while macro- and mega-influencers have larger audiences.

Some businesses go for lesser-known promoters because we believe these accounts have a wider reach. As we’ve seen over and over, this isn’t always true.

Many social media experts still swear by micro-influencers’ opinions because they often have a more impactful effect on their followers than bigger names.

The vital statistics to watch out for are the number of posts and their engagement rates. An active creator should post at least once in three days.

Go through their page for any high-quality content. E.g., if an influencer has 40 posts and only five are of reputable quality, s/he isn’t suitable for your Instagram campaign.

The engagement level is such a powerful determinant of how well the audience is involved with the influencer's content. You want to pick someone with a high level of engagement.

And to determine this, just add the total number of likes and comments on a post, divide it by the number of followers, and multiply the result by 100.

To find an influencer's average engagement rate, calculate the rates of at least 10 posts and find the average.

You should also check the response rate of the influencer to their audience. Give higher consideration to people who respond quickly to comments.

3. Find out the influencer's reputation and value

A creator might be in your niche, with your desired audience, and with great statistics, and they still won't be right for you.

Like every popular figure, influencers have reputations. Some names are known for negative remarks and bitterness. Others are spirited and spread positive vibes.

So, always investigate the reputation of an Instagram influencer. Lively ones are often audience-pleasing, and they’re the best to work with.

Reputation isn’t all you need to select the right influencer; you also need to know how the person values your product or service. It will be wrong to use a lactose-intolerant influencer to campaign a dairy product.

The person might have never consumed dairy. He/she might not know the value of such products. Plus, the only experience they can relate to is being sick from a similar product.

To determine the value of influencers, check their Instagram bio, posts, stories, and captions.

You can pick out their likes and dislikes, plus what they will support and not support. This helps determine if they’ll represent your brand well.

4. Avoid influencers with pages full of adverts

This is vital in ensuring your campaign is received well by your target audience.

An influencer who posts sponsored content frequently will hardly help with getting the right recognition for your campaign. Because of their frequency, the audience might be disinterested or even mistake your brand for another.

Apart from a page full of ads, you should rule out influencers that upload three or more sponsored posts consecutively.

On the surface, this might not look like too many ads, but it is. The perfect influencer for your campaign should know how to balance sponsored posts with natural content.

5. Ask for their price range

You should’ve had a budget before deciding to employ an influencer. The final step is choosing one with a price range that fits your budget.

You can decide to raise it if the best influencer's price range is beyond your budget, and you think s/he’s worthy. This is easier for large businesses.

If you’re a startup or small business, after taking every step for selection, reach out to a few influencers who’re potentially beneficial to your growth and ask for their price tag. Select the one within or close to your budget.

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Choosing the wrong influencer will result in a waste of time, money, and effort. Influencer marketing is still incredibly effective in 2024, but you have to select someone carefully to get a good result.

Don't rush after numbers; go after positive influence, value, and engagement. And don't forget that engagement and influence are two distinct factors, with the latter being more important.