You’ve finally decided that influencer marketing is for you, but now you’re faced with your first daunting challenge: from YouTubers to bloggers, young to old, newly trending to firmly established influencers, which one is right for your business? The sheer number of influencers can be overwhelming enough to dissuade you from even beginning to try but, never fear; by following these steps, it can help you to find that one in a million influencer that is right for your business.

What do you want to accomplish?

What are your goals for your business, product or service? Clearly defining your goals at the beginning of this process can help you better understand who you’re looking for and what you’re looking for them to do. These goals will determine the type of content you want to create and further narrow the types of influencers to consider.

What platform?

How can you best showcase your product, business, brand? Will words do it justice? Or will a video better explain your service? Influencer popularity varies from platform to platform; just because a YouTuber has a Facebook doesn’t mean they will have the same engagement on both. Knowing your preferred platform will allow you to maximize the impact of your influencer marketing campaign.

Does the target audience match?

If you create a partnership with an influencer, you want to ensure they are reaching the right people; there is no point in partnering with an influencer with a large audience if no one in that audience is interested in your product or service. It may seem like a no-brainer, but identifying a target audience isn’t always easy. Even when it seems like your influencer is targeting the people you’d like to reach, it’s important to see whether or not they are they succeeding in reaching and influencing them? If they’re not or it’s hard to tell, it’s time to move on to bigger and better connections.

Is your budget realistic?

How much can you really spend on your efforts? Do you have any non-monetary benefits to offer, like a complimentary product? Having a realistic idea can help you choose where on the popularity scale your budget can take you. Your startup can’t afford Kim Kardashian-West, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of the game. There are a variety of influencers reaching all types of consumers at varying costs; it just takes a bit of searching to find the right fit for you.

Are they legit?

Buyer beware. There are many fake accounts that allow influencers to buy followers, so it’s important to make sure your search isn’t just a numbers game. Check to see if follower to post engagement is realistic. If an Instagram account has 54,000 followers, but only 25 likes per post it’s likely those followers aren’t legit and your post will not have the reach those initial numbers indicated.

Do they do sponsored posts?

Check out their recent posts. Do any have #sponsored or #ad? Some influencers choose not to partner with products and companies in this way, for various reasons. If this is the case, it’s unlikely your product will change their mind. It may be a waste of time to pursue this influencer when there are others that would be a better fit for your needs.

Do you have time to devote to this?

The above is just the beginning of finding your dream influencer. It takes time, research, thoughtful planning, negotiation and at first will lead to a lot of unanswered emails and flops. Do you truly have time to devote to this? A full service agency like Faam can reduce your workload and stress. Connect with us today and we can help create a plan to reach your audience and achieve your goals.