How to Find, Hire, & Work With Social Media Influencers in 2022
Soniya Khubchandani
August 2, 2022
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Influencer marketing is already worth over $13 billion in 2021 and growing fast. Influencers can help your brand tap into new markets and reach a wider audience.
However, finding the right ones is not as simple as it sounds.
There are a lot of things you need to consider when searching for the best influencers. From their audience size and engagement rate to their ability to create quality content, you must ensure they are a good fit for your brand.
This guide will show you everything you need to know to find the perfect influencers to grow your brand.
Steps to hire influencers for your next influencer marketing campaign
Hiring an influencer can be tricky. It takes a lot of time to properly vet an influencer and ensure they're the right person for your brand. Here is a step-by-step process to ensure you get the best influencer for your next campaign.
Define your campaign goals
What are you looking to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign? This is an important question before beginning your search for an influencer. Defining your goals will help you determine the type of person you should look for and what kind of content they should be creating.
Here are some things to consider when setting your campaign goals:
- Who is your target audience?
- What message do you want to communicate?
- What action do you want people to take after seeing the content?
Once you understand what it is you hope to accomplish, finding an influencer will be much easier.
When defining your goals, you should keep the following in mind:
Be realistic
Don't set impossible objectives that no one could hope to achieve. When setting numerical targets, make sure they're specific and measurable so you'll be able to tell if you've hit them or not.
Think about the bigger picture
Keep your goals aligned with your organization's broader goals to ensure that your influencer marketing campaign is making a real impact.
Monitor your competition
See what other businesses in your industry are doing and try to set goals to help you stay ahead of the curve.
Examples of goals for influencer marketing campaigns include:
- Build brand awareness
- Increase website traffic
- Drive sales
- Increase social media followers
- Get press coverage
- Add a personal touch to your brand
- Reach a new audience
- Generate leads
- Increase brand loyalty
Make sure you clearly define your goals to track if you have reached them or not. If not, don't be afraid to adjust your digital marketing strategy.
Define your target audience for the campaign
Your target audience is the group of people who you want to reach with your influencer marketing campaign. Determining your target audience before starting your campaign is important because it will help you choose the right influencers to work with and create content that resonates with your audience.
Tips for defining your target audience
- Who would be interested in your product or service? Consider their age, gender, location, interests, and other factors relevant to your campaign.
- Consider what kind of relationship they have with your brand. Are they current customers? Potential customers? Or just general followers who are interested in what you do?
- What kind of content would appeal to them? What topics are they interested in? What tone should you use?
For example, let's say you're a clothing brand targeting millennial women. Your target audience would be females between 18 and 34 who live in urban areas and are interested in fashion and trends. To reach this audience, you would work with digital influencers with a similar aesthetic to your brand and create content that appeals to their interests.
Defining your target audience before reaching out to influencers will help you create more strategic and effective partnerships.
Have a budget in mind
When budgeting for an influencer marketing campaign, be sure to have a clear understanding of what your goals are. Without this, you may overspend
on unnecessary aspects.
When planning an influencer marketing campaign, keep these tips in mind:
Set a budget
Be sure to allocate enough resources to your influencer marketing campaign to make it work, but set a realistic budget for your campaign and stick to it. This will help ensure that you don't overspend.
If you have a smaller budget, go after smaller influencers that show signs of growth and high engagement with their audience. Starting a relationship with a micro-influencer can help your brand as you both continue to grow.
Get quotes from multiple influencers
Don't just go with the first influencer you find. Instead, reach out to a few different people and get quotes from each. This will help ensure you get a fair price for the services rendered.
Research the going rates
Get an idea of how much influencers typically charge for their services so you can create a realistic budget. Rates can vary depending on reach, engagement, and audience demographics.
Take additional costs into account
Aside from fees charged by influencers, there may be other costs associated with an influencer marketing campaign, such as content creation and advertising. Make sure you clearly understand what's included in the fees charged by influencers and make adjustments if necessary to accommodate other costs.
Set aside a contingency fund
Unexpected costs can always come up, so having a little wiggle room in your budget in emergencies is essential.
When allocating your marketing budget, it's important to be mindful of how much you spend on each strategy component. Influencer marketing can be a great way to reach new audiences and build brand awareness, but it's essential to be strategic about it.
Pick the social media platform
Once you have decided on the budget for your influencer marketing campaign, it's time to choose the platform on which you want to create the campaign. Each social media platform has its user base, with different demographic distribution and audience interests.
The most popular social media platforms for influencer marketing are YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. However, there are many other platforms out there that can be just as effective, depending on your goals.
Tips for choosing your platform effectively
- If you want to target a specific audience or region, then select a platform that is popular in that area. For example, if you want to target millennials in the US, then TikTok would be a good choice.
- Consider the type of content your target audience engages with most. If they tend to consume more video content, then finding a YouTube influencer would be Instagram or Twitter.
- Consider your budget and resources. If you have a limited budget, it might be better to focus on one or two platforms rather than trying to cover all of them.
- Research your competition. See which platforms they are using and how they reach their target audience. This will give you some ideas on where to focus your efforts.
After considering these factors, it's time to produce content for your chosen platforms. Remember to focus on quality over quantity; don't be afraid to experiment until you find what works best for you and your audience.
Create a campaign brief
An influencer marketing campaign brief ensures that everyone involved understands the objectives, goals, and expectations.
A well-written campaign brief should:
- Keep the campaign organized and on track
- Empower influencers to make decisions
- Ensure they are creating content that aligns with your brand voice and values
When creating a brief for your campaign, be sure to include the following elements:
- Campaign objective: What are you hoping to achieve with this campaign?
- Target audience: Who do you want to reach with your message?
- Key messages: What points do you want to communicate through your influencers?
- Budget: How much are you willing to spend on this campaign?
- Timeline: When do you need results?
- Reporting: How will you measure the success of this campaign?
- Call to action: What do you want your target audience to do after viewing the campaign?
- Payment information: What is your payment method (if applicable)
- Channels: Which channels will you use to promote your campaign?
- Deliverable: What do you need from the influencer?
A well-crafted social media influencer campaign can be an extremely effective way to reach a large and engaged audience. Creating a detailed brief can help ensure that your campaign successfully achieves its objectives.
Build a list of potential influencers
Now that you have a campaign brief ready for your next influencer marketing campaign, it's time to find the right influencers. The best way to do this is by identifying relevant influencers and content creators in your niche.
To narrow your search to find a potential influencer, ask yourself:
- Who are the leaders in my industry?
- What social media platforms do they use?
- How much influence do they have over their followers?
- Which influencer will fit my campaign budget and goals?
Here are some ideas to help you find the right influencers for your campaign.
Use influencer marketing platforms
Several platforms connect brands with influencers, such as Upfluence and Klear. These platforms make finding the right influencer for your niche easier by letting you filter results according to a category, social media platform, location, and price range.
You can also start by searching for your target keywords to see which influencers have already spoken about those topics. You should see some of these influencers engaging in conversations with their followers as marketers do. This shows they are active and willing to communicate.
Take help from influencer marketing agencies
If you're not finding the right fit or want to leave it to the experts, some agencies and social media managers can help you find the right influencers. While working with an influencer marketing agency is the most expensive route, it guarantees results and is a good option for brands without enough in-house resources.
Finding an influencer that matches your brand's values, has proven results working with agencies on past campaigns, and is popular among your target audience is essential.
Browse influencer marketplaces
These marketplaces provide a vast database of social influencers in several niches and offer tools to automate your outreach. An influencer marketplace can make finding the right influencer easier by including specific details such as location, reach, engagement rate, audience demographics, etc.
Do a native search on the chosen media platform
You can use several search operators on most social media platforms to help you find influencers who talk about your industry. This can be as simple as typing in the name of your industry, followed by 'blog' or 'blogger'. You can also use tools like Buzzsumo to help you build a list.
Vet your list of potential influencers
It's vital to vet the influencers before you contact them to ensure that the influencers are a good fit for your brand. Here's what you should look for:
● Size of the audience
● Engagement levels with the audience (likes, shares, comments, etc.)
● The type of content they create and share
● Their values and their approach to marketing
● Their willingness to promote other brands
● The type of audience they appeal to
Vetting your influencers list will help you determine whether or not they will be a valuable asset to your marketing campaign.
For example, suppose you are looking to promote a new line of sustainable clothing. In that case, you will want to ensure that the social media influencers on your list are interested in eco-friendly fashion and have a large following of people who are also interested in sustainability.
Find contact details for outreach
Now that you have shortlisted influencers, it is time to start reaching out and building relationships with them. The first step is finding their contact details, but this can be easier said than done.
Here are a few tips on how to find the correct contact details for your outreach.
Check social media platforms
Many influencers are marketers and list their contact information in their bio section on various social media platforms. So, start by checking Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Pinterest.
Check Google
If you still can't find the influencer's contact information after checking all their social media accounts, try searching for it on Google. Use an advanced search operator such as "site:linkedin.com intitle:their name" or "email**@**. ", which should help you find the influencer's LinkedIn profile or email address.
Use a tool
You can also try using an email finder tool like Hunter. Enter the website URL where you think the person works, and it will give you a list of all the email addresses associated with that domain. You can also use their browser extension to find emails of webpages you visit.
Check their website
If the influencer has a website, check for an email address there. You can also read through the site to better understand what they do and how they could be relevant to your brand.
Once you find contact details for an influencer, it's time to reach out!
Craft your pitch
Reach out to influencers with a highly personalized email pitch. The subject line should be clear and to the point.
You should include the following details in your pitch:
- A brief introduction to yourself and your brand
- An explanation of how you think you could work together
- The reason you are reaching out to them in particular
You don't want to waste their time, so get straight to the point. Make it as easy as possible for influencers to respond by only asking one question in your email. Be sure there is a prominent call to action where they can reply if interested.
Your goal is to show that you understand their work, why their audience would care about your product or service, and how it could benefit them.
Tips to craft a solid influencer outreach email pitch:
- Do your research on the influencer's audience and content.
- Write a subject line that is descriptive of your pitch, without being spammy or generic.
- Make it personal by addressing the influencer by name in your subject line and the email's greeting.
- Describe why you are reaching out to them in the first sentence.
- Keep it short and sweet.
- Make it easy for them to respond.
- Provide a few different ways for the influencer to contact you.
- Offer something of value, such as a free product sample, in exchange for their time and effort.
Be sure to thank the influencer for their time and mention that you look forward to hearing back from them soon.
Sample email pitch template for influencer outreach
Hey [Name],
I came across your blog while researching influencers in the travel niche. Your post on [topic] was helpful, and I love your writing style!
We've recently launched a new product we think you and your readers would love [Product]. It's designed to help people like you [benefit here].
I was wondering if you'd be interested in reviewing our product for your blog? Please let me know if this sounds like something you might be interested in. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my message, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks,
[your name]
💡 If you need help with crafting a professional email pitch, consider Copy.ai. It's an AI-powered copywriting software that can help you write great email pitches in seconds.
Negotiate payment terms and deliverables upfront
It's crucial to confirm payment terms with influencers before you start. If you are paying by the hour, discuss the hourly rate and how long an average blog post takes to write. This will ensure no surprises on either side when it comes to payment. If you pay per post, negotiate the word count and the number of images for each post.
Setting expectations and deliverables upfront can prevent problems later on.
For example, if you simply ask someone to "write a couple of blog posts" and they only write one, you might be disappointed. However, if your agreement states they need to write two blog posts weekly, what you expect from them is clear.
Overall, setting expectations is key to a successful influencer marketing campaign. You can avoid misunderstandings later by being clear about what you want from the start.
Sign a legally binding contract
The next step is to sign a contract. A contract ensures that both parties clearly understand what is expected of them and the consequences if they do not hold up their end of the bargain. Legal counsel should review the agreement to ensure that all of your bases are covered.
It's important to remember that you don't only need a contract when it comes to paying influencers for their posts; it is equally important when offering free products in exchange for promotion.
Here are some tips for drafting a successful contract:
- Be clear about your goals and objectives for the campaign. What do you hope to achieve? How does the influencer fit into this picture?
- Outline what you expect from the influencer regarding content, frequency, etc. The more specific you can be, the better.
- If you offer compensation, whether in the form of a product or cash, specify this upfront.
- You should include a clause that allows you to terminate the contract at any time if either party fails to meet their obligations. This will protect you from having to continue working with someone who isn't following through on their commitments.
- Get everything in writing! A verbal agreement is not enough—ensure both parties have signed and dated copies of the contract for their records.
- Have a solid plan for monitoring and measuring results so that you can assess whether or not the campaign was successful.
- Make sure both parties are on board with all aspects of the contract before signing off — including influencers, their agents, or managers, if applicable.
With these tips in mind, you should be well on drafting a successful contract that will help ensure your next influencer marketing campaign is a success!
Collaborate on content development
Collaborating on content development allows you to ensure that the final product meets your standards and represents your brand in the way you want.
Additionally, collaborating with an influencer can help give you insights into their audience and what type of content they respond well to, which can be valuable information for future campaigns. Finally, working together on content creation will help build a relationship between you and the influencer that could prove beneficial down the line.
Here are some tips for collaborating on content development with influencers effectively.
Set expectations
Influencers and content creators can have different workflows and methods for content creation. Be sure to set clear guidelines regarding the requirements of your campaign at the outset so that you are both on the same page. This will ultimately make it easier to collaborate on content development.
Send examples and references
Whether you already have a specific idea in mind or want to leave the creative process up to the influencer, providing examples of content you like will help her understand your vision.
You can do this by identifying similar brands that are creating compelling content or by highlighting pieces of content from within your brand that aligns with your campaign objectives.
Create a timeline
It is necessary to create a content development timeline and adhere to it to avoid disruptions or delays. This way, both of you will know what to do and when to do it.
Be flexible
Even with the best-laid plans, things can sometimes go off track. Try to be as flexible as possible regarding deadlines and content requirements when this happens. After all, the goal is ultimately to produce high-quality content that meets your objectives.
Check-in
It is essential to check in with the influencer throughout the campaign to ensure that everything is on track. This will give you time to make any changes or adjustments needed before it's too late.
Provide data
If possible, provide data from previous campaigns to show how your brand has been successful with other influencers.
Validate the content deliverables
Once the campaign has started, you'll want to ensure that the influencer delivers content that aligns with what was agreed upon. This is important for two reasons. First, it ensures that you're getting the deliverables that influencers promised. Second, it helps to protect your brand's image and reputation.
If an influencer posts something that doesn't align with your brand's values or message, it could reflect poorly on your company. That's why validating the content they're posting throughout the campaign is important. Some tips include:
- Regularly check in with the influencer during the campaign.
- Keep the communication lines open and ensure they have what they need.
- Make it clear to them that you're available if they run into any problems or have questions.
- Require sign-off before any influencer content goes live.
- Have a transparent process for dispute resolution laid out in advance.
Doing these things will help ensure that you end up with high-quality content that accurately promotes your brand and speaks to your target audience.
Track results
It's important to track results to ensure that your influencer marketing campaigns are effective. This will allow you to see what's working and what isn't to adjust your influencer marketing strategy accordingly.
You can track a few different metrics, but some of the most important ones include engagement rate, reach, and conversion rate.
Engagement rate
Engagement rate measures how often people who see your content interact with it. A high engagement rate means that people like what they're seeing and are more likely to convert into customers or take the desired action.
Reach
Reach is the number of people who see your content. An extensive reach is great for brand exposure, but it's less valuable if those people aren't engaging with your content.
Conversion rate
Conversion rate measures how many people take the desired action after seeing your content, whether signing up for your email list, buying a product, or getting a free trial. A high conversion rate means people like what they see and are more likely to take the desired action.
The most important metric is the one that ties directly to your business goals. The reach will be more important than the conversion rate if you're trying to increase brand awareness.
However, the conversion rate will be critical if you sell products or services online.
Engagement rates can also be helpful for understanding which types of content resonate best with your audience so you can create more of it in the future.
Now that you know all the elements of launching a successful influencer marketing campaign, it's time to start!
Final thoughts on how to hire influencers
If you're new to influencer marketing, start small and focus on a single campaign. You can expand your efforts as you get the hang of it and start seeing results. Managing multiple campaigns at once can be tricky as there are so many moving parts, but with time and practice, it will become second nature.
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