Finding The Right Instagram Influencer for Your Business

March 05, 2021

Influencers are online personalities who have some knowledge in creating content and relating with an audience on Instagram. These are people who, through social media, can persuade a group of people to carry out a particular action.

They're characterized by the ability to produce niche-based content in specialized areas, meaning you can easily reach a target audience. Influencers can be used to promote your brand via campaigns with these bloggers/vloggers, celebrities, social media icons, etc. 
 

Influencers x Instagram

Delighted young female influencer in casual clothes smiling and demonstrating fresh berries while decorating appetizing cake during recording vlog on smartphone in kitchenBrands are always looking for new methods and tactics they can apply to increase audience and engagement on the social platform. Engaging content and social conversations have a key role in achieving this. 

For brands that are just starting on Instagram, it can be a bit hard to build social currency and trust with your followers. Getting them to trust your product or service can be an uphill task and this is where influencers come in. They bridge that gap by being the go-between and a trustable source to recommend your brand.

Influencers attract multiple followers on Instagram who see them as trusted sources of information and guidance due to their knowledge of the niche in which they operate.

Brands collaborate with influencers, tapping into their influence and strong presence to market their products or services.
 

How influencers help market your business

Positive African American female beauty influencer recording makeup tutorial on cellphone while applying eyeshadow on clientInfluencers basically perform the following roles:

  • Create quality content for your brand

  • Recommend your products or services

  • Participate actively in conversations surrounding your brand or campaign

  • Showcase your brand and contribute social proof

With Instagram having over a billion users, influencer marketing is sure to be highly effective for your business. But certain factors have to be considered before selecting an influencer for your brand or campaign. These factors go a long way to ensure maximum efficiency of influencer marketing.
 

Factors you should consider when picking an influencer

Authenticity

Trusting your influencer is a very crucial step that determines what kind of relationship exists between you two. But sometimes you might find yourself asking if they are really genuine, especially to your business.

Apart from showing loyalty to your brand, your influencer(s) should be able to make their posts sound authentic. The right influencer for your business on IG would always make their sponsored posts sound genuine, not looking like a piece of content they're paid to just create.
 

The relation between your brand and your influencer

This determines the degree of relevancy an influencer has to your brand or a particular campaign you are embarking on. Influencers don't have to be directly relevant to your product but they need some degree of relevancy to the ad they would feature in.

A brand that deals with footwear would ordinarily have no link with an influencer in the science fiction niche. But a footwear ad could show the influencer spotting a pair of sneakers with a sci-fi theme. For optimum results, it's always best to find influencers in the field of your service or product. These are people who will have a following that directly fits your demographic.
 

Influencer's perception of your brand 

Woman in Yellow Turtleneck Sweater SmilingWhat do your influencers think of your brand? Do they even make use of your product or service in their personal lives? What are their perceptions of your brand? These are questions Instagram brand owners should ask themselves. Building a relationship with your influencer is much easier when you know what they think of your brand. 

Find out the positive or negative they mostly say about your brand on the platform. You'll know if they are the right choice of influencers for your brand or not.
 

Association with competing brands

There are thousands of influencers you can choose for your Instagram business, but an influencer who associates themselves with your competitor isn't one of them. Today, many brands are turning to influencer marketing, bringing in more customer engagement to their brand than ever before. However, working with your competitor's influencer isn't such a great idea.

Apart from the possibility that they might leak vital information to your competitors, there's a very clear sign of disloyalty. If an influencer is working for two direct competitors on Instagram, this only shows they're just in for whatever rewards they get. Building a good relationship with your influencer is key to getting their loyalty, and having them work with a competing brand is one of the worst ways to break that loyalty.

Instead, try getting an influencer who isn't marketing other similar brands. If the influencer agrees to influence your business other than your competitor's, then that's fine for your brand. Though this can increase the amount you're likely to spend, as these influencers can't leave more for less.
 

Level of engagement 

The level of engagement of your influencer determines what percentage of their followers are likely to show interest and reach out to your brand. Engagement rates show how much the audience of an influencer loves what they post.

With high numbers of likes, comments, and shares, an influencer's engagement level is sure to skyrocket, giving you a reason to market with them. How well they post quality content? How well do they market a business on Instagram? These are what you should consider when finding the right influencer for your Instagram business.

Notice how engaged your influencer can be online. Put into account how much of their followers engage in whatever your influencer posts about you. And finally, be aware of the results and feedback they get concerning your brand. This can greatly help you to know whether or not they're the right influencer for your brand.

Have in mind that an influencer who doesn’t get many engagements is a bad fit for your brand because it means their followers won't interact with the sponsored posts. The idea is to stay away from such influencers—micro or mega.
 

Popularity among your audience

Your current audience's view on prospective influencers is a factor that should also govern your choice. You shouldn't only consider the effects an influencer would have on new audiences but also the effects on the current one. Associating with some influencers could help break into a new market but could have adverse effects on your current audience, leading to drastic reductions in levels of engagement.
 

Level of reach to the target audience 

Group of multiethnic people gathering around female speaker in studioReach only describes the number of people on Instagram that see your influencer's content. Understand how large their following is, as well as what kind of return on investment to expect. 

Before choosing an influencer, make sure to have a great knowledge of your influencer's potential reach. By doing this, you can easily understand what level of investment your brand needs to reach a certain number of people on Instagram.
 

General perception

This involves highlighting the following factors: 

  • Why the influencer has the current following: An influencer who is actually infamous or has fake engagements would give your brand a bad reputation.
     

  • Work relationships and personality: Staying clear of influencers who are known to be difficult to work with or display poor work ethics would do your business a whole lot of good. Also, you put your brand's reputation at risk, associating with influencers notorious for engaging in unsavory activities, topics, or issues both online and offline.
     

  • Work portfolio: Taking into account previous associations an influencer has embarked on is also crucial when trying to evaluate their general perception. Influencers could earlier have engaged in topics or issues that might not be a good fit for your brand.

Influencers don't necessarily mean celebrities. Several non-celebrity influencers can help your Instagram brand get more engagements. Consider the factors listed above when searching for an influencer to help push your brand growth on Instagram.

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