Imagine a niche hotel trying to stand out among other properties in a saturated and competitive market. They connect with a local travel influencer known for giving their audience authentic reviews and experiences. Within a few short months, the hotel is booked to capacity from this collaboration.
According to DigitalMarketingInstitute.com, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations and, even better, 40% have purchased something after seeing it on social media. This is how powerful influencer partnerships can be. Of course, finding the right influencer is crucial for success. These are the questions you need to ask as you evaluate your options.
Who is their audience?
Make sure you check their followers’ demographics and interests. You want to ensure their target audience is aligned with yours.
Are they authentic with their content – especially from their previous sponsored posts?
You want to partner with an influencer who’s creating real content while genuinely connecting with their audience. The way they handle their account and engagement is how they will interact with your audience. You want to see honest, transparent communications to help gauge the legitimacy of their followers.
What’s their reputation?
Thorough research is critical here. You need to ensure the influencer doesn’t have any negative reviews, especially in the niche related to your brand. Look at their previous partnerships and see if they were successful in those collaborations as well.
Is their engagement rate real?
Many influencers buy bots and followers. This is probably the most vital question to answer when you’re vetting an influencer. Compare their total followers to the number of views on reels, likes and comments. Do the comments ring true, and is the influencer responding to these comments? Engagement metrics (views, likes and comments) should land at around 2-3% of their total followers. So, if they have one million followers and less than 20k-30k in engagement, that’s a red flag, and you need to reassess.
What’s their communication style?
Their tone on social media should be aligned with your brand’s voice.
Uncovering the answers to these questions will put you on the right track to finding an influencer that resonates with your values, goals and branding. Not only will this effort build transparency and trust with your own followers, it will help drive traffic to your website and put heads in your beds. According to smartinsights.com, influencer marketing can deliver robust ROI, 11x higher than standard marketing efforts. With results like these, it’s no wonder MarketsandMarkets has estimated that the global influencer marketing platform sector will be worth $50.3 billion by 2028, up from $10.6 billion in 2023.
At Dana, our social media team members are experts in pairing brands with influencers as well as strategizing and executing both organic and paid campaigns. Ready to partner with a pro? Contact Lynn Kaniper at 609.266.9187 ext. 117 or lkaniper@danacommunications.com today.
