How to Work with the Best Influencers for Your Business

Contrary to some opinions, the best social media influencers are not the ones with the most followers or the ones that all top brands want to work with. Although there are many criteria by which we can analyze the quality of influencers, one thing is certain, an influencer is only as good as their ability to reach your target market. Influencers with super-niche content tend to have a very particular audience, and the more their audience matches your brand, the better the conversion and higher the ROI. 

Below, we have gathered 4 top ways in which businesses can work with the best influencers. Although the best influencer marketing strategy may vary from industry to industry, we wanted to highlight those tips that are beneficial across different businesses and sectors.  

1. Invest in the Influencer Vetting Process

Whether you are working with an influencer marketing agency, a digital PR agency, or you decide to hire an internal team, be sure to spend some time vetting influencers. You can search for influencers directly on Instagram by typing in a keyword that is relevant to your businesses and selecting some popular posts or just manually searching for high engagement posts. The better and longer your influencer list is, the more likely you will be to find those influencers that are best suited for your business.  

2. Be Sure to Negotiate the Best Terms

Many influencers will respond to collaborations or partnership requests by simply stating their posting fees. Some may not even respond to your email, or they may forward your message to their agency. Whether you are looking to work with influencers on sponsored posts or simply gift the items in exchange for coverage, be sure to get a great feel for market prices and best practices when it comes to gifting. If you feel that an influencer should be willing to work with you based on a small gift, and then you find yourself without any responses, increase the gift value by offering more or adding an experiential experience with the gift. For example, if you are a flower shop, you can try and offer tickets to the local botanical gardens in addition to your customized bouquet of flowers. 

3. Stay on Top of Partnerships and Posting

Many influencers may accept a partnership and then simply stop answering emails or your requests to post. To prevent this from happening, be sure to stay on top of your partnerships and collaborations by checking in often with them and requesting updates. You can also urge immediate response by limiting the number of spots available for the campaign and communicating to influencers that unless you receive a response right away, this campaign spot will be awarded to someone else. 

4. Be Sure to Assess the Performance of Several Influencers Before Deciding the Best Strategy

Brands often jump the gun by working with many influencers at once. By dividing the campaign into smaller parts, brands can work with only a couple of influencers at a time and assess the performance and conversion of each. Once they get an idea about the best performing influencers, they can adjust their strategy for the following batch of influencers for the campaign. This type of data assessment offers the brand an insight into the best converting influencers and allows them to exclusively vet those out or make them into brand ambassadors. 

Conclusion

Businesses can work with the best influencers by carefully assessing their influencer marketing strategy and hiring only those types of influencers they know will perform well. By investing in the vetting process, negotiating best terms, staying on top of the partnerships, and assessing the performance of earlier influencer campaigns, businesses can maximize their return on influencer partnerships and increase their revenue.