Influencers possess the unique ability to connect with millions of people on a personal level through social media, building a connection with them that goes beyond traditional advertising. As consumer attention is highly competitive and trust in traditional advertising continues to decline, content creators have become key figures whose opinions and recommendations are of great importance to many people. The natural way in which influencers promote products offers a far more effective marketing strategy than other forms of advertising such as TV adverts or online banner ads. However, while the idea of working with influencers is enticing, choosing the wrong partners risks wasting resources and, at worst, damaging the brand’s image. The challenge is to identify content creators who not only have a wide reach, but are also authentic, at best credibly represent the brand’s products and values and cover the desired target group through their community.
In this article, we’ll look at the different ways you can find influencers that are a perfect fit for your brand and audience. From using specialised platforms to manual research, we’ll take a deep dive into the world of influencer marketing and offer practical tips to optimise your strategy.
Influencer marketing platforms such as influData offer powerful search and analysis functions to find exactly the right influencers for your brand. Thanks to filter options such as location (country/city), number of followers, categories (e.g. Fashion & Style, Travel & Adventure) and engagement rate, you can achieve precise results and save valuable time that you would have to spend searching and analysing manually. You gain deep insights into the creator community – e.g. gender and age distribution – and can compare them with your target group. These tools not only give you a comprehensive overview of potential cooperation partners but also allow you to recognise suspicious activities such as fake followers or other influencer fraud. For example, if a content creator deliberately manipulates follower numbers, engagement or performance in order to demand higher prices for collaborations, influencer platforms such as influData enable you to recognise such irregularities at an early stage – before a collaboration is even considered. These tools also provide the opportunity to monitor creator campaigns, enabling you to gauge the success of influencer collaborations. Additionally, some platforms feature social listening capabilities, allowing you to track user reactions to both your posts and those of influencers, in order to avoid potential shitstorms. However, if you are currently unable to use such a tool for financial reasons or due to a lack of capacity in your team, we now present further options for successful influencer research.
Searching hashtags on Instagram or TikTok is an easy way to find content creators in your niche. Search for relevant hashtags in your industry and look at the respective posts to identify potential influencers (e.g. #outfitinspiration, #sustainableliving, #recipeoftheday). By closely examining profiles that align with your brand, you can also observe which relevant influencers engage with the content on these profiles and whom these profiles follow. This gives you the chance to find similar content creators who could also enrich your campaign. However, it is important to note that this method can be time-consuming and does not offer detailed analyses. For example, you will never be able to find out for sure whether the influencer’s audience matches your target group very well or whether there is suspicious activity, such as bought followers or bought engagement, on a particular account.
A reliable influencer marketing agency can help you find ideal influencers for your company and make the collaboration seamless by taking on some of the operational tasks. In addition to identifying suitable content creators, this also includes communicating directly with the influencers, negotiating contracts, creating briefings and evaluating the campaign. Especially if your team resources are limited or you lack the expertise, it can make sense to leave these tasks to an agency. However, it’s important to choose an agency with a proven track record and deep industry knowledge to get the most out of your campaign. One challenge of this method is that agencies can often charge high prices. Therefore, it is crucial to check various references beforehand to ensure that the investment is worthwhile. Additional tip: Many companies that work with agencies now also use influencer marketing tools themselves, such as influData, to review and analyse the agencies’ influencer proposals. This ensures that all parties involved are satisfied with the selection and that the data proves the brand fit.
Ask your network for recommendations for influencers or contact industry associations and groups. Talking to other companies and experts can provide valuable insights and contacts. This will help you find out who they have already worked with successfully and which influencers are particularly memorable. You can also find out which influencers have stood out negatively and why this was the case. This information is extremely valuable as it can help you to evaluate potential cooperation partners more accurately and select those who are best suited to your brand. Ultimately, this exchange allows you to make informed decisions and develop a successful influencer marketing strategy. But be careful: using influencers for your company who have already worked for the competition or have promoted similar products/services to your own may damage the influencer’s reputation and make their recommendations for your brand untrustworthy. So make sure that you either don’t work with the same creators or that their advertising message is designed in such a way that it skilfully uses previous applications of similar products/services.
A simple Google search can present you with a wealth of content creators in your industry. For example, by searching for relevant keywords such as “beauty influencer” or “fashion influencer”, you can find a diverse selection of influencers who are active in your field. Use different search combinations and narrow down the location (“… from Germany” or “… from Berlin”), for example, to discover different types of content creators. This may lead you to lists of agencies, social media companies or various online magazines that can introduce you to potential cooperation partners. Note, however, that this method can be time-consuming and does not always provide the most accurate results. Above all, it is not necessarily guaranteed that the creators are a good fit for your specific target group. A qualitative analysis of the accounts, for example for suspicious activities such as follower or engagement fraud, is also not possible with a Google search alone. Nevertheless, it is a good starting point for gaining an overview of potentially relevant influencers and making initial contacts. Once you’ve compiled your own list of content creators, it’s important to check their profiles thoroughly to make sure they really match your criteria.
Identifying influencers who perfectly align with your company and target audience is not just a crucial step; it’s the foundation of a successful influencer marketing strategy. This is because selecting the right content creators can significantly influence the success of your campaigns and, ultimately, your brand’s success. By combining different methods and proceeding carefully, you increase the likelihood of finding influencers who not only have a wide reach but are also authentic, share your brand’s values and have an engaged community that resonates with your target group. It is therefore important to not only pay attention to superficial metrics such as the number of followers but also to consider the quality of the engagement, the relevance of the content for your target group and the fit with your brand.