As a business leader, we know you’re on a quest to find the best marketing strategies to grow your brand. You’re looking for ways to increase your revenue and reduce your expenses so that you can increase your profits. And if you’ve been a reader of our articles, you’ll know that we’ve been talking a lot about Influencer Marketing lately. About its advantages and benefits for businesses. Plus, the types of influencers you can work with based on your company’s goals.
In this article, we’ll take you deeper down the world of influencers. We’ll help you navigate the digital space, so you can find influencers for your brand.
Table of Contents
The magical world where to find influencers for your brand
Welcome to the world of influencer marketing! As a business leader, you know that building a robust online presence is vital for growing your business. But with so many channels and platforms to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know where to find influencers for your brand.
One strategy gaining popularity in recent years is working with influencers. Influencers are people who have built up a large following on social media. They are admired and respected by their fans, and business leaders think they’re crucial in influencing consumers during their buying journey.
But in this endless world of the internet with all kinds of personalities – from white knights to trolls and everyone in between, where do you find influencers for your brand? More importantly, where can you discover magical influencers to help you grow your business?
The short answer is: EVERYWHERE.
These magical creatures as scattered around the internet – across different platforms and mediums. From Instagram to TikTok, YouTube to blogs and forums, there are influencers on almost every platform. A recent study found that 61% of influencers are on Instagram, making it the most popular platform for influencer marketing.
But don’t limit yourself to just one platform. Influencers come in all shapes and sizes, and the key is to find the right fit for your brand.
So come on, let’s go on an adventure to find influencers for your brand!
The magical quest to find influencers for your brand
Before you go on a quest scouring the internet to find influencers for your brand, you first need to know what kind of magical creature you’re on the hunt for. It’s hard to go on a quest without a clear outcome in mind because then, you’ll be running in circles.
Here are some steps you need to take to decide what kind of influencer you need for your business.
Identify your brand’s value, persona, image, and message
You first need to know what kind of ideas, feelings, and thoughts you want people to have when they come across your brand. That’s why you need to identify what kind of brand you are.
Who are you? Are you a fun and outgoing brand for the masses? Or are you a serious and conservative luxury brand for the elite?
Knowing these things is the first step to find influencers for your brand because this would help you figure out which influencer/s to partner with (and avoid). Remember: you wouldn’t want someone who has ZERO resemblance to your brand representing you.
Establish your goals
Once you know what your brand stands for, you need to establish what goals you want to achieve for your influencer marketing campaign. Do you want to introduce your brand to new markets? Are you looking to penetrate your existing market deeper? Do you want to change how people see you? Or do you want more people to be curious about your brand?
A clear goal will be beneficial in your quest to find influencers for your brand because your goal dictates what type of influencer you need. And what kind of content they need to produce for your brand.
Get to know your audience
Once you know who you are, you must learn about your target customers. Beyond their demographics, you need to know their interests – hobbies, entertainment, aspirations, etc.
Knowing what they like (and don’t like) helps you find common ground between your brand and your customers. For instance, if your customers are teenagers and you’re trying to sell them the latest smartphone, you’ll need to know how your brand fits their life.
Do they need a phone that can record them doing a sick ollie in the skate park or a phone where they can play all the latest mobile games?
If you know what your customers want and what you have in common, the following steps to find influencers for your brand will be a walk in the park.
The influencer jungle
Now that you have all the work cut out for you let’s go to the easy part: find influencers for your brand
Check your competitor
The first thing you want to look at is your competitors. Shocker, right?
But really, it’s important you evaluate your competitors and see whom they are using as their brand’s influencers because it can point you in the right direction. You see, influencers who are already influencing for your competitors will most likely be out for the running as your influencer.
The good news is that from your competitors’ influencers, you can quickly identify which niches and influencer groups you can tap. For instance, your competitor is using the #1 gamer in the country to endorse their brand. Then, you can use the number one team or the 2nd to 5th ranked players in your country.
A competitor review is one of the easiest ways to find influencers for your brand.
Observe your consumers
The next place to visit in your quest to find influencers for your brand are the taverns (social media platforms) your consumers go to. Check out whom they watch on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Observe who are the trendsetters and respected figureheads in the different sub-cultures they belong in.
Scouting these channels would give you an insight into possible partners and influencers for your brand since you know whom your consumers trust.
You can stalk your customers by using third-party research and insights databases.
Mingle with the influencers
There are many places where you can mingle with these influencers –virtually and physically.
But one of the best ways to find influencers for your brand (and connect with them) is to join various groups and events these people participate in. Here, you can directly ask them about their audience and explore the possibilities of a partnership.
Just make sure you’re 100% transparent with them on the expectations and deliverables. Plus, vet them well and ensure they’re aligned with what your brands stand for.
Work with a partner
The easiest way to find influencers for your brand is to work with agencies and other experts. These groups can make the process easy and smooth since they’ll handle everything you need – from searching to vetting to negotiating.
On top of that, working with influencer specialists would give you more peace of mind since you have people who are experts in running influencer campaigns. This allows you to not stress over the little things and focus on what you do best – running your business.
At GGWP – we can connect you with different gaming influencers so that you can reach a wider (and younger) group of people.
Capturing your very own magical influencer/s
Once you have a list of potential influencers – whether from your quest or an expert’s work- you now need to evaluate your candidates and pick the right ones.
When choosing, always remember the following:
- Do they fit with the image you want to build for your brand?
- Are they respected and influential in their community?
- Do they have enough reach and engagement to make a difference?
- Can they create authentic and engaging content for your brand?
- Do I want my brand to be associated with this person?
- Which stage of the customer journey do they have the most impact on?
From there, you can now choose your influencer/s and work with them in creating engaging content for your brand.
Find the best sponsorships for your stream
Get hired by the hottest brands all in one place. No cold emails necessary.