Collaborating with influencers is one of the best strategies for reaching a younger audience today. But even if it sounds attractively simple, there are a few things marketers need to consider. It is extremely important to find the right influencer(s) for your own campaign. That’s why you can read some tips on how to choose the right influencer(s) here.
The many benefits of activating influencers on InstagramConsider these steps before finding your influencersCollect all the data you can getUse dedicated tools and the Kolsquare platform
Clearly, influencer marketing is a relatively new form of marketing (at least in combination with social media) and should be treated as such. Unlike traditional strategies such as ads and advertising messages, influencer marketing campaigns can be very important for your brand, but especially for the personal brand of influencers. Therefore, a quality influencer program is extremely effective in increasing sales and ROI, as according to Influencer Marketing Hub , the industry is expected to grow to around $16.4 billion by 2022.
As of fall 2021 , CBCN reports that Instagram has over two billion monthly active users worldwide . The online newspaper, however, only gives these figures according to employees who obtained this information during internal discussions, but who can no longer speak about it publicly. Indeed, Instagram hasn’t released user numbers since 2018, when the number of monthly users topped 1 billion. This can be explained by the concerns of lawmakers and regulators about the excessive control of the market by Facebook, or rather by Meta.
To learn more about how Instagram works, read our article on the Instagram algorithm in 2022 .
Either way, it’s clear that Gen Z still favors Instagram as their go-to social media platform, despite TikTok’s popularity among digital natives. Although the Chinese video app is seeing a steady increase in the number of marketers choosing the platform, Instagram will remain in the lead over the next three years, as the following chart from Insider Intelligence illustrates .
Insider Intelligence chart
The many benefits of activating influencers on Instagram
As stated earlier, businesses with influencers have many advantages, over conventional marketing strategies, and even outside of the potential for higher ROI. As Influencer Marketing Hub calculated in 2020 , the ROI for every dollar spent is $5.78 back.
More benefits are increased brand awareness through authentic influencer campaigns. On the one hand, brand awareness can of course be achieved through an influencer marketing campaign, on the other hand, a separate brand ambassador program may be something you might want to consider.
To learn more about setting up a brand ambassador program , check out the Kolsquare blog!
Globally, micro-influencers are growing in importance in 2022, according to statistics from Influencer Marketing Hub. Their market share, which was 89% in 2020, increased to 91% in 2021. This is because followers tend to think that micro-influencers are more authentic, reliable and credible. Additionally, experts from the Forbes Communications Council predict that small businesses will continue to choose to work with micro-influencers. Since their audiences are highly engaged, campaigns will prove more lucrative while minimizing advertising cost per action, as micro-influencers have fewer followers.
Consider these steps before finding your influencers
Apart from all these attractive reasons, however, marketers cannot rush to the platform and choose a star influencer. The truth is, not everyone can sell everything , and not everyone with a large number of followers is a good fit for your brand. Therefore, make sure you understand your target audience and the range of consumers you want to attract with your product. Consider their age, gender, interests, income and employment status, as well as their favorite brands.
Additionally and before engaging with an influencer, determine your brand’s strengths , qualities and differentiators and define your brand’s public identity and message. It will be extremely useful for you to find the right influencer for your next marketing campaign and to decide who will promote which item or product of your brand.
Once you have identified all of the above, set your goals and objectives to effectively and successfully target the right person to work with. It is therefore advisable to write a clear brief before taking any action and contacting potential partners.
Collect all the data you can get
Now let’s get to tips on how to find influencers on Instagram (see top Instagram influencers ). The easiest way to get started is to review your brand’s own followers . This is how you can find out who is already talking about your products and who is convinced by them. Since authenticity is key, this can be a smart way to connect with your brand’s fans. By browsing their profiles, you want to get an idea of the content they share, their engagement rate, their communication style, and their posting habits.
Analyzing your brand mentions is almost as simple and useful. By comparing the data with that of your followers, you can establish an even more detailed picture of who is talking about your brand . To get an idea of the most influential voices in the industry, you can also check out lists of influencers who are important to your niche, such as fashion or photography.
Additionally, you may also consider taking a look at hashtags. Either you’ve created your own hashtags , or you’re looking for ones that are relevant to your brand and product. Instagram search’s “top post” feature helps you find the accounts that have the most followers and most likely have a business account.
Along with the campaign planning process, it is strategic to integrate the particular characteristics and talents of influencers with the features and format requirements of the app.
Use dedicated tools and the Kolsquare platform
While you can and should always use Google Search, dedicated tools and platforms can help you even more by saving you time and resources and providing useful and insightful information.
