When Instagram was first launched, it was promoted as a platform where users could share photos of their everyday lives and collect likes and comments. For many, it was simply a place to share vacation snapshots of memories with friends and family. However, the focus of the platform has shifted somewhat over recent years.
Although there have always been businesses promoting their brands on the platform, these days, most have shifted to a more organic and individual approach to advertising. is proving to be a highly effective strategy, especially when those brands collaborate with Instagram influencers.
However, the biggest mistake you can make as a brand is searching for the most popular influencer with the biggest following. It’s far more important to understand how to find influencers on Instagram who align with your core brand values and personality. It’s also far more important to focus on an influencer’s level of engagement rather than their audience size.
So, what does this mean for you as a brand? Let’s explore.
One of the hardest aspects of Influencer Marketing is finding the right influencers for your campaigns. After all, there are so many out there, so how do you know which one will give you the biggest return on your investment?
With this in mind, let’s take a look at 5 simple tricks to help you understand how to find influencers on Instagram that will ensure your campaigns are a success.
The first tip in this guide on how to find influencers on Instagram relates to your strategic plan. Before you can even begin searching for the right fit, you need to clarify your campaign objectives and outline your goals and metrics.
What are you hoping to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign? Do you want to raise brand awareness or drive more sales? Will your campaign promote a new product line or are you looking to build an online community of engaged potential customers? If your goal is driving more sales, which part of the sales funnel will you be targeting
It’s important to clarify your objectives from the start as they will guide every decision you make during the campaign planning and launch process. For example, if you are looking to expand your reach, then a macro-influencer will probably perform better. However, if you want to boost customer engagement then you will probably be better off collaborating with a micro- or nano-influencer.
Your objectives will also determine which metrics you need to track in order to measure the success of your campaign. Should you be monitoring engagement or conversions? Reach or impressions?
Once you’ve clarified your key objectives and you know what you’re looking for, the next step is reviewing influencer metrics to see which candidate would be best qualified to help you reach your goals. You can of course do this manually, but this can be very time-consuming. One solution to streamline the process is using influencer software to do the hard work for you.
Influencer software provides you with valuable insight into an influencer’s past performance. You can review their average likes and video views and gain insight into their audience demographics and interests. However, when it comes to finding the right influencer for your brand, the most valuable metric you can track is an influencer’s engagement rates. Essentially, this is how often they post, and how regularly their audience interacts with their promoted campaigns. How many likes, comments, and shares do they get? How often do they respond to follower interactions?
Ultimately, the higher an influencer’s engagement rate is, the more likely that their followers will take an interest in your brand.
The final tip in this guide on how to find influencers on Instagram relates to your own brand. It’s important to find an influencer whose core values and personality align with your own. In other words, they are able to effectively reflect your brand voice.
Do they hold the same beliefs as you? Do they have similar interests? Have they worked with any of your competitors in the past? Is their content authentic and organic? Would they effectively represent your brand, or is there any risk that they might damage your reputation?
You also need to take a look at your own target market and compare it to an influencer’s audience. Do they share the same demographics? Are they likely to be interested in the key messages of your campaign?
The more research you do into an influencer’s values and audience, the easier it will be to determine how good a fit they might be for your brand. And that, ultimately, is the key to understanding how to find influencers on Instagram who can make your campaigns a success.