Are Your Influencers Influential?

The buzzword in marketing today is influencer marketing. Finding influencers isn’t difficult, but getting the good ones are.

The ongoing COVID 19 crisis has increased the importance of influencer marketing 

Why does influencer marketing seem to have such a solid foundation? Ultimately, the factors that differentiate this type of marketing from the traditional marketing approach are the same authenticity, content creation experience, reliability, communication skills, and passion etc.

The Influencers represent your brand/company. In essence, they will be the speaker for your company. People will associate the things they say with their brand.

What exactly should you look out for in an influencer?

• Authenticity

People can gauge misinformation. There is general distrust and therefore they discount fake news and fake people.

The power of persuasion increases when the message is authentic. This makes influencers apt as spokespeople may be more than a celebrity. Consumers value relatability twice as high as popularity. They trusted qualified influencers more than plain celebrities

• Trust

Maintaining trust between influencers and the audience is extremely important. Trust is very important in decision-making.

There should also be trust between brand and influencer. This means offering public transparency about sponsored content, being fair in product reviews and content, acknowledging our mistakes, and, among other things, selectively reaching sponsors who meet their target audience and needs.

Breaking the bond of trust can severely impact the brand.

• Aligned

They don’t have to agree with everything the brand thinks of but should agree with the core values of your business. Most of their opinions should resonate with your brand.

If your business is health-conscious, would you want someone talking about smoking representing your brand?

• Relatable

Evaluate the relationship the influencer has with his followers. Do they have a connection? Relatability & empathy with their followers are essential for a good influencer because they can understand their followers and the position they are in

• Passion

Passion cannot be faked. And fakes have a ring of hollowness which many people can catch.

Influencers are role models for their followers. The passion & excitement of influencers is persuasive. Followers learn more about their passion, follow each step, ask questions, share stories.

The best influencers can convey that passion in both original & sponsored content. Without passion for the area of interest, influencers wouldn’t get followers. And without a real interest or passion for the brand’s product, your campaign will not benefit from the amplification which comes with authentic influencer marketing 

• Responsive & Consistent

An influencer does not need to post every day but she would need to do so in a quality manner at regular time intervals. They need to be active and interact with their followers. Consistency is required as influencers should not waver in the quality of content.

• Authority

An influencer needs to show his authority, for followers to respect them for the content they post. A person with authority knows to communicate proper information which makes followers believe them. 

• Good Content /Creative

For an influencer to stand out and have many followers, content should be relevant and presented well, be it copy, art, videos, photographs etc. When there are tons of content available, influencers need to look at all aspects. Creation is not easy. Depending on the post there can be such seemingly inane aspects like location, clothes, which can play a part in the quality. There is a lot of logistical work which also goes into production. Most people think it is very easy to post content but for original content, it can take months 

• Community Management & Engagement

Influencer marketing is primarily based on the strength of relationships with influencer followers. A large part of an influencer’s job, apart from caring for their followers, is promoting an authentic connection between them and their audience. Answering questions from their followers, holding competitions, dealing with passionate disagreements; Everything is a part of everyday work.

Good influencers are actively committed to their audience. This does not mean that the audience has to be large, although it does have its advantages. If your influencer follows an active and consistent posting schedule and takes the time to comment, share, and likes social media to keep the conversation going, he’s a watchdog. If you want people to talk about your brand, you need someone to talk to other people.

Fashion influencer Elle Ferguson cites the time she spends interacting with her community as being responsible for her success. Authentic influencers like Ferguson play an active role in the lives of their followers, commenting, liking, clarifying – all of which lead to strong relationships.

What use is all this passion if influencers don’t use it to connect with their followers? The whole point of working with influencers is engaging with the audience through them. 

• Brand Influencer Fit

Having an influencer that matches your brand persona is a great way to further promote the brand and show your audience that you are you. If your influencers share the same values and pursue the same goals, the audience will see the connection. You don’t want a delicate fashionista for adventure gear!

These are all pointers to help to engage the correct influencer. There are various other quantifiable metrics available like the number of followers, number of likes on each post, reach etc. which add more rationale to your selection criteria.