It’s crazy to think that less than 10 years ago, the term ‘Influencer’ didn’t really exist. Nowadays, establishing strategic Influencer partnerships is integral to almost all PR & Marketing campaigns. When it comes to deciding who to work with, the question to ask yourself is simple: Are the Influencers you are working with, in fact, influencing?
We’ve prepared an A-B-C checklist to help you to answer this very question, & determine which Influencers are best suited to your niche.
1. Audience alignment
When working with an Influencer, it is important to request insights. This will provide you with key audience information including location & gender, as well as impressions, reach & peak engagement times. From there, you can make a judgment on whether the respective Influencer audience aligns with your brand’s target market. For example, if you’re promoting a service that is location specific, you’ll want to ensure that the Influencer you work with has a high percentage of followers located in the same city as you.
CASE STUDY: Stretch Studio
2. Bigger is not always better
Rather than focusing on follower count, it’s important to look at the quality of followers. If someone has 200,000 followers but they only receive one or two comments, then they’re probably not going to give you the most bang for your buck. As a general industry rule, you want to work with someone who has an engagement rate of over 2%. There are a number of digital software programs you can use to calculate engagement which we always recommend taking the time to do.
CASE STUDY: Euky Bear
3. Credibility
We recommend working with an Influencer who has credibility outside of social media as this will add more weight to the partnership. For example, if your product is a healthy snack bar, working with a qualified dietician or nutritionist will add integrity & help to instil trust in your product. No matter how niche your product is, we bet there is an Influencer out there who authentically aligns with your message. It is worth taking the time to seek out these Influencers as genuine endorsements are always more impactful.
CASE STUDY: Kolorex
By following this simple A-B-C checklist you will be much better placed to make the decision of which Influencer(s) to work with & how to ensure they actually reach your target audience. At Straight Up PR, we navigate the world of Influencer marketing on behalf of our clients, taking care of everything from Influencer selection to analysing the results. If you need help with an upcoming Influencer campaign or if you have any Influencer related questions, we’d love to have a chat. You can send an email at Hannah@StraightUpPR.com.au or contact us via Instagram DM. We’re at your service!