Over the last few years, influencer marketing campaigns have become more popular, more trusted by consumers, and more profitable for businesses. A recent study showed that 78.2% of marketing professionals in Europe and the USA claimed to have worked on influencer marketing campaigns in 2017 up from 65% how have claimed the same in 2016.

With their massive ability to engage a highly relevant audience and to create trustworthy content, Instagram influencers play a very requisite role in any brand’s marketing strategy. Not just B2C brands can rely on influencers, but also B2B brands can get huge benefits from such a technique in their marketing strategy.

Nearly 30% of marketing professionals in the USA and Europe and 42% in India said that identifying the best influencer to deal with was their main challenge.

Challenges When Implementing Influencer Marketing Programs in 2017

The Key 5 Elements to Look for in Your Influencer Marketing Plan:

In spite of its apparent advantages, influencer marketing can be a wasted investment if you are not working with the right ones. And despite it’s important to use single-metric methods like unique visitors or the number of followers as a measure of influence, it’s critical to look deeper.

1. Relevance

It is key when it comes to deciding the fate of your influencer campaigns. Just because an influencer posts beauty tips and tricks don’t necessarily mean they are a match for your cosmetic brand. You need to understand that not every beauty influencer has the same kind of target audience. Some may target millennials as their audiences. Others may target middle-aged women or moms.

So, it’s necessary to look at how aligned an influencer’s content is with your brand or messages. You need to read through that influencer’s archived posts to get a sense of what kind of consumer they are.

2. Engagement

Engagement is a vital indicator of how interactive an influencer’s audience is with his content. Ask yourself, do those followers interact, comment, and share the influencer’s content? What proportion of readers is returning vs. new?

3. Authenticity

This may sound counter-intuitive, but influencers who have less number of sponsored content appear more authentic and tend to be more trusted. Also, personal stories that implicate genuine use or mention of a product, service, or brand are more trusted than direct product reviews.

For example, a health brand could engage influencers to create a video or write a post about things on their bucket list and how that list can help them stay healthy and live a long, active life; instead of ask influencers to write a superior long review of your brand or product, which readers don’t really pay much attention to.

4. Frequency

It’s very clear when marketing any website, it often takes many exposures to get a visitor to click and check out your website, and you want to make certain they come back. So, there is a direct correlation between how often influencers post and their traffic and rate of return visitors.

When an influencer is consistently posting high-quality content on a regular basis, followers are more likely to return, bookmark, and share his/her content.

5. Reaching

There are 3 main channels that you should use in your influencer marketing social media campaigns: Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Reach is the total number of followers an influencer has on social media or its blog. Reach is very common when you try to market any website. It often takes many exposures to get a visitor to click and check out your website, and you want to make certain they come back.
When an influencer is consistently posting high-quality content on a regular basis, followers are more likely to return, bookmark, and share his/her content.

Related Guide: The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Influencer Marketing | AspireIQ

3 Practical Steps to Find the Ideal Instagram Influencer in Your Niche:

Step 1 – Use Google to Find Relevant Websites:

Follow this search way: (your industry) + “blog” [or “site”]. Then, use advanced search operators to narrow or expand your results, as needed.

Consider adding the top resources to your list; but put in your mind that it may be tough to get the attention of the experts running those websites, as they are likely to get a lot more inquiries than websites that are a bit further down the list.

Step 2 – Identify the Qualify Sites:

To determine if a potential influencer is worth adding to your outreach list, look for evidence of qualifying criteria on the sites that popped up on your SERPs, such as domain authority, social reach, and sharing habits.

Don’t forget to follow your instincts. If you visited the influencer’s website and it just doesn’t look or feel like it would be a good fit for your brand, it’s best to leave them off the list.

Step 3 – Find the Correct Contact Details:

Ideally, you will want your request for participation to go through the appropriate channels, but sending an email to an unknown “Info@” address or blindly submitting a contact form may not be enough to get your message in front of the influencer him or herself. Instead, try reaching out to your own network to see if you have any mutual acquaintances, or search the influencer’s social profiles to see if you can turn up a direct email address.

Related Guide: Find the Right Influencers for Your Audience Guide | Sysomos

5 Things to Consider When Using Instagram Influencers Marketing

1. Your Margin

It’s a good idea to think about how much time and energy you have to work with an influencer. Will partnering mean a revitalized advertising plan, increased revenue, and an opportunity for new and constructive relationships — without burning you out? Is your company financially healthy whether it’s large or small? Then go for it! If you’re operating in more of a survival mode, then time might be best spent shoring up the foundations of your business.

Working with an Instagram influencer takes time, money, and effort. It’s worth it if you’re ready. When owning a business, being aware of your own energy margin is important, too. Le-Vel Thrive Reviews may help you find ways to increase your vitality.

2. Their Reputation

As you join Instagram (if you haven’t already) and begin to browse accounts, make a list of influencers who you think might be a good fit. Then do some thorough searches on various search engines and the news to get a read on their reputation.

If you associate with them, their notoriety will affect yours. For example, former reality TV personality Doug McLaughlin (with over 130k followers) consistently focuses on family life, luxury, and integrity. His general online presence and reputation bear this out. Make sure your potential influencer is an asset!

3. Their Tribe

Who follows the accounts you’re considering, and who follows them? A quick scan will reveal a great deal about who an Instagram influencer values, and who finds their content valuable. You might find similar companies/competitors, and followers who fit your ideal client profile. Who else are their partners? Might their partnerships preclude working with you?

It’s not necessary to fully answer all of these questions, but taking a few quick notes will help you later. The number of followers is an important metric of influence, but depending on your niche, a less well-known influencer might end up being a perfect fit. Finally, take a look at how the influencer showcases their sponsored products or services, and how they interact with their followers.

4. First Contact

Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential Instagram influencers, it might be tempting to comment saying “let’s connect” or inbox them right away. If possible, resist that urge! It’s far better to first observe from a distance, follow if appropriate, and interact carefully — keeping in mind your influence and leverage as a company.

It’s likely that the influencer has a full-featured website, with detailed contact information that will point you in the right direction. Crafting a professional, well-worded email to the right person is worth the time and effort, and gets the relationship off on the right foot. Establish a positive, constructive tone early in your collaboration.

5. Your Relationship

Congratulations, you’ve started a partnership with an Instagram influencer! You can count yourself among a growing number of businesses that are using this innovative, powerful method of creating impactful connections with customers. Keep in mind that the journey with your influencer is just beginning.

Once you’ve agreed to work together, communicating about payment, aesthetics, methods of promotion, and many more specifics are just a few topics you’ll be exploring. It’s important to set up a trusting, transparent relationship that benefits both of you as you proceed in your relationship.

Related Guide: Influencer Marketing 101 Handbook | Buzz Marketing Group

Final Thoughts

There’s a ton of resources out there to help you outline a stunning influencer strategy to hire the ideal influencer. Bear in mind that partnering with an influencer brings you a range of benefits to your brand. Whatever your end goal is, remember that influencer marketing can get expensive, choose influencers carefully because the more mistakes you make, the more money you’re just throwing away.