How To Pick The Right Influencers To Market Your Products

When purchasing a new product, what are you most likely to do?

Many Americans, including myself, look at the comments and reviews of products to hear from real people and what they think about the item before purchase.

Influencers, essentially, are personified reviews. 

“When you align with an influencer, not only do they bring their audience, but they also bring their audience’s network as well. Because of the loyalty of their audience, an influencer has the ability to drive traffic to your site, increase your social media exposure, and flat-out sell your product through their recommendation or story about their experience.” – Neil Patel

Because influencers have such a strong “power” when it comes to the purchase decisions of their followers, it is important for your business to invest in the right influencers or your brand.

Below, we have the five tips that are sure to get you the best influencer for your next campaign: 

1. Do your research 

The first step to finding the right influencer to represent your brand may not be the most obvious. To find the perfect influencer, look through who is following your account. The accounts with the highest number of followers should be who you contact for influencer marketing campaigns.

“Choosing an influencer who is already a fan of your product or service makes it easier to persuade them into promoting your brand,” writes Chris Ake of Forbes.

2. Use hashtags  

Another useful way to find the right influencer is to search hashtags that you have generated for your company’s profile. This way you can find influencers who are already interested in your product.

Again, like Ake says, searching through hashtags for your product or market on Instagram will help you to find the top posts for that specific hashtag.

3. Google  

If you are having difficulty finding influencers through hashtags or in your current following, it’s always smart to resort to Google.

Start out by searching for influencers or bloggers in your city. The next step is to get specific with your search by searching for bloggers or influencers that fit your target market.

An example from Ake is, “If you own a local juice bar in Michigan, try searching ‘health/fitness blogger in Grand Rapids.’”

4. Consistency

Once you have found some potential profiles for your influencer campaign, it’s time to narrow down your choices. One way to weed out influencers is by how consistently they post.

If an influencer is only posting a couple of times a month, then you and your business are definitely not going to get enough reach for your product or service.

According to Holly Hamann of Convince and Convert, “it often takes multiple exposures to get a visitor to click and check out your site.”

Additionally, when an influencer “is consistently posting high-quality content on a regular basis, [followers] are more likely to [click on a link] and share.” 

5. Authenticity

This may sound counter-intuitive, but influencers who post honest, genuine reviews of products they are being sponsored tend to be more trusted and appear more authentic to their audience.

Hamann says, “personal stories that include genuine use or mention of a product, service, or brand are more trusted than straight product reviews.” 

The right influencers can lead your campaigns to success. Once you find the right influencers for your business, focus on building long-term relationships with them. This will ensure your campaign will generate the best results!

Claire Erickson is currently a blogging intern at LadyBossBlogger.com. Claire has just returned from studying abroad at the London College of Fashion and will finish her senior year studying retail merchandising back at her home university – University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). She is looking forward to having a future in buying, trend research, or planning.