Influencer marketing can be an effective addition to an overall digital marketing strategy or a specific marketing campaign. A social media influencer can help in raising brand awareness, driving sales, or conveying ideas or messages behind a particular cause.
However, hiring a random social media personality with a large number of followers would not guarantee success in meeting desired marketing goals and objectives. The effectiveness of influencer marketing starts with choosing the right influencers.
Remember that the success of influencer marketing or its positive contribution to a marketing campaign is only as good as the influencers a brand or organization hires. But selecting the most suitable individuals requires an understanding of key points for consideration.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing the Rights Influencers
1. Number of Followers or Audience
One of the basic factors when it comes to influencer selection is the number of followers or audience a prospective social media personality has. This can be readily determined by a quick review of his or her social media accounts.
Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube provide readily available data about the audience size of a particular online personality. Note that a large following fundamentally translates to a large organic audience reach.
The basic assumption is that an individual with a large number of followers can reach more people. However, it is important to note that this metric should not be the sole factor to consider when choosing the right influencers.
2. Social Media Engagement
Note that the number of audience might not translate to actual organic reach. Another factor to take into consideration is the amount and depth of engagement. An individual might have a large following but the majority of his or her followers are not engaging with his or her content.
The level of engagement can be determined by the number of likes or reactions, comments, and shares. It is also possible for marketers to ask the prospective influencer to provide them with an audience insight that can be pulled from his or her account.
3. Quality and Profile of Audience
Remember that the number of audience does not guarantee maximum organic reach. Some individuals, in their attempt to bolster their online status and become influential, have resorted to paid services aimed at increasing their number of followers and engagement using dummy accounts.
Furthermore, part of influencer selection is ensuring that his or her collective audience profile is suitable to the identified target audience or target market of a particular brand, product, or idea the marketers intend to promote or communicate.
An individual might have a huge following composed of a diverse audience. But marketers will benefit more from choosing someone with a lesser number of followers who are aligned with the demographic profile of the brand they are promoting.
4. Social Media Platform
There are a lot of social media platforms out there, and a large portion of the digital population actively uses two platforms. Even online influencers have maintained their social media presence across different platforms to ensure maximum reach.
But some social media personalities are more prominent on a particular platform. Hence, in influencer selection, it is also important for marketers to determine the most suitable platforms that effectively and efficiently deliver their marketing messages.
5. Types and Quality of Content
Similar to platform as a factor, another important point to consider when choosing the right influencers is the type and quality of content they produce and publish. Some online personalities specialize in photos others are more focused on videos.
There are also individuals who specialize in producing and uploading humorous content such as memes, punchlines, or video-recorded skits while some are more focused on product demonstration and written or video-recorded reviews.
Quality is also an important consideration. Products with mid-range to high-end price tags appeal to the audience who frequently engage with high-quality content. Poor content and negative public perception toward a particular personality can affect brand image.
Other Factors to Consider in Influencer Selection Process
The aforementioned factors collectively advise marketers not to dwell on the size of the following of a prospective social media personality. They must also take into consideration the level of engagement of his or her audience and the quality of his or her followers.
It is also important to review and take note of the suitability of his or her audience profile with the intended target audience, which platforms he or she uses, and the type and quality of content he or she produces and uploads.
Other factors to consider are the associated costs or the talent fee, the duration of the engagement, and the content-creation arrangement. Influencers are cheaper than celebrity endorsers. But they can still be more expensive compared to digital advertising.