So now you want to hire an influencer to promote your business – that’s great! Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, influencer marketing has been one of the top digital marketing strategies that businesses resorted to. When done right, influencer marketing is incredibly effective in improving brand recognition, increasing customer conversion, and even in making you stand out from stiff market competition!
If this is the first time your business would be spending on influencer marketing, it’s tempting to go the easy way and just choose the influencer with the highest follower count within your budget, but this might not be the best route to go in. You might want – and please do – to consider three more things to be discussed in detail below.
1. Engagement Rate
In the world of influencers, oftentimes there is a downside to having a huge follower count. The bigger the following an influencer has, the less engagement there is on their content. Engagement rate may be computed differently by different people, depending on which metrics they consider as “engagement” and which metric they would select as the base (e.g. number of followers, reach). Some of the metrics that are considered as engagement are likes, comments, shares, post clicks, and views.
Obviously, we want to have a high engagement rate when choosing an influencer. A high engagement rate means that people are interacting with the content put out by the influencer. It also indicates that people find the content interesting enough to spend a few more seconds to do something else other than to scroll past it — such as leaving a like, sharing it, or adding a few words in the comment section. Furthermore, a good engagement rate means that the influencer knows their audience well. They are able to make content that sparks conversation which means that they can easily create something that will attract customers to your business.
What is an acceptable engagement rate? It actually depends on several factors such as the social media platform used and the industry where the influencer fits in (e.g. Arts & Crafts, Beauty, Fashion). In general, this article suggests that the ‘sweet spot’ for an influencer engagement rate is 3.5-6%.
2. Audience Demographic & Content of the Influencer
Once you have hired an influencer to promote your brand, you’ve selected not just the influence themself, but you have also selected their audience. This is why it is crucial to know the demographic of the audience of the influencer, because you want an influencer with a following that is as similar as possible to your target customers. For example, if your business is selling make-up products, you would want to find an influencer with a relatively young demographic, possibly majority of whom are women.
Audience demographic is hinged on the type of content that an influencer makes. Using the same example, an influencer that produces content about everyday make-up looks or make-up tutorials would be ideal for a cosmetic brand. A beauty influencer would have a relatively young audience, most of whom would be ideal potential customers for the business as they are most likely already into make-up.
3. Brand Values
Your influencer must exemplify the values that your brand stands for. Brand values are crucial for a business, oftentimes also playing a role in the marketing of your products. Still working on our earlier example, say that your cosmetic brand is cruelty-free and vegan. This should be taken into consideration when selecting an influencer. Given this, the wise decision is to hire a vegan influencer.
The influencers you hire to promote your brand will ultimately share in the image of your brand. Planning a good influencer marketing campaign starts with hiring the fitting influencer. Selecting an influencer is a balance between finding an effective influencer (engagement rate, sufficient follower count) and making sure that they accurately reflect your brand.
Don’t know where to start looking for influencers? Visit www.pop-star.me or email our Accounts Group Head at jamie.garcia@pop-star.me for more information on how PopStar Philippines can help you in your Influencer Marketing today.