The social media influencer market is constantly growing, with new content creators joining the field every day. But as anyone who has started a campaign from scratch can tell you, sourcing relevant influencers can be more challenging than it first seems. The volume of creators can make the space feel crowded and not all influencers are the same when it comes to relevance, engagement and audience quality. Finding the right influencer that fits your brands style and values is one of the most time-consuming parts of the entire campaign. If you’re looking to find the best influencers for your brand, the good news is there are plenty of ways to find the right influencers for your brand, read on to discover our list of essential tips, resources and places to start your search.
Editorial
A great jumping-off point in your influencer research is Google. Carry out a few structured searches using the key characteristics you’re looking for. For example, ‘London-based Vegan Influencers’, ‘UK Street Style Influencers’, or ‘UK Mummy Bloggers’. If you can think of the influencer niche, someone has probably written a blog or piece of editorial about that category. Comb through these articles to find and follow content creators who align with your brand, and have a following you might be able to afford to access.
Your Own Profile
If your brand is already active on social media, there’s a chance you’ve already attracted several relevant micro-influencers. You might even have message requests from creators interested in collaborating. Look at who follows your brand, tags you in posts, mentions your products organically and regularly engages with your content. These creators are often your best starting point because they already know your brand and are more likely to create authentic content around it.
Even if they don’t consider themselves “influencers” yet, creators who genuinely enjoy your brand often produce more believable and relatable content than someone doing a purely paid collaboration. User-generated content can also uncover smaller micro or nano influencers with highly engaged audiences that may otherwise be difficult to discover.
It’s important not to just throw product or collaborations at anyone who asks. Download an engagement-measuring tool to your browser, like WeFind, to examine all potential collaborators’ page performance. A basic benchmark is for them to have at least a few thousand followers. As for engagement rates, the standard is 1.5-3%, anything above is a bonus. This standard really comes into play once you start carrying out collaborations, as other influencers will notice and begin reaching out to you. Don’t forget, you are allowed to graciously decline, “at this time”.
Hashtag Research
If you’re posting on Instagram or TikTok, you should be using hashtags. If you aren’t, contact us immediately. But if you are using hashtags, the highly optimised hashtag discovery pages are a great resource. Spend some time exploring each hashtag you regula
rly use. Instead of searching for generic hashtags like #travelinfluencer, search for more specific hashtags that fit your brand’s niche such as #luxurytraveluk. The most specific your search is the more relevant the results will be. Scroll through the ‘top posts’ tab and look for posts with an aesthetic you like, appropriate geolocation and accessible audience size. Remember to hit the save button on all content that inspires you. This will save you lots of time trawling back through feeds, trying to track down a specific post you really liked.
On TikTok, you can also search for keywords which is an incredibly powerful tool for discovering creators as it brings up creators who are most relevant to your search instead of ones that are just using that hashtag.
Competitor Research
As you should be doing when planning your content strategy, looking at competitors or interest-adjacent companies’ influencer work is an excellent way to find the best influencers for your brand. It’s also a great way to understand how that influencer’s audience reacts to a brand like yours. Review the comments on the collaboration posts and see how the engagement rate compares to their usual content before reaching out. Remember to not just copy the influencers that they are using but use them to discover similar influencers. If your competitors are working with specific individuals, it’s not recommended to approach those particular influencers. However, they could be a great place to discover lookalike accounts. Read on to find out how.
Lookalike Accounts
An underrated way to find the best influencers for your brand is the ‘Suggested’ tab available on every profile’s Instagram page. Carry out all the above research activities to find a selection of suitable influencer accounts. Once you’ve found an influencer you like, tap the downward-facing arrow next to the ‘Following’ button. This action will open up a banner of accounts that Instagram thinks you might also be interested in. The accounts displayed are selected based on a mix of what the platform thinks you like, and the qualities of the page you’re looking at. Set some time aside to do a deep dive, bookmarking or following relevant accounts you might want to work with in the future.
You should also pay attention to creators who are already organically talking about your industry, destination or product. These influencers are often easier to work with because the partnership feels more natural from the beginning.
Selecting the Best Influencers for Your Brand
As you conduct your influencer research, you’ll soon start to develop a better idea of what, and who, it is you’re looking for. Note down qualities you like and then collate these to build a selection criteria. These could be elements like audience size, engagement rate, ideal locations, certain posting styles, colour schemes, aesthetics or tone of voice. Then, cross-reference these criteria with your company’s own social presence and branding. These must align well if you want to maximise every campaign’s results.
Influencer marketing is a highly reactive, ever-changing and specialist field. The process is time-consuming, and it’s easy to waste valuable budget and time if you don’t get it right. Click here to read our list of key mistakes to avoid when getting started. If you’re brand new to the Influencer Arena and are seeking support finding the best influencers for your brand, contact us to discover how we can handle the entire process, from research to reporting.
