How to find the right influencers for your brand

Did you know that influencer marketing is projected to become a whopping $16.4 billion industry in 2022? That means partnering with the right influencers can be more important than ever to position your brand for success.

That said, finding the right influencers for your brand is not always easy. It requires a whole lot of research to identify the perfect combination of product and influencer. 

To help navigate the world of influencer partnerships, I’ve put together a guide on ways to identify just the right influencers.

Hashtag search

Hashtags are a great, free way to search for specific topics on social platforms. I suggest searching for hashtags related to your brand’s industry and some more general hashtags to find influencer content, like #sponsored, #ad, #influencer, #blogger, etc. 

Pro tip: you can follow certain hashtags to stay up to date on hashtags relevant to your brand.

Google search 

A simple Google search is another easy way to find influencers or bloggers that align with your brand. Simply search for keywords related to your brand and add “influencer” or “blogger” to your search. This will help you find people writing about topics related to your industry or find social posts that mention these topics. 

Want to be updated as new posts go live about your desired topics? I suggest setting up Google Alerts. This will show you pieces as they are published so that you can have potential influencer ideas delivered straight to your inbox. 

Research competition 

One of the best ways to find potential influencer partners is to see who is working with or mentioning your competitors. We do this a lot in our media relations work, and influencer relations is not that different. If you see someone posting about a competing brand, that means they are likely interested in covering topics related to your industry.

Followers and brand mentions 

Take a look at who is following you – are there any influencers already following you or mentioning your brand? This is an excellent way to look for individuals that are already passionate about your business. Influencer partnerships with true fans will feel more authentic to their audiences, and the influencer is more likely to go above and beyond for your brand. 

Influencer Marketing Platforms 

Influencer marketing platforms do the hard work for you. They help you find influencers quickly and easily, by searching through a database of vetted influencers where you can filter by reach, category, engagement, and more. You can conduct outreach and can even track and measure your campaigns using them!

These databases make influencer research a lot easier, but unlike the other research examples I previously mentioned, there is typically a cost associated with these platforms. Some useful influencer marketing platforms include: Upfluence, Julius with HYPR, and  TRIBE.

Once you’ve done your research and found some potential influencer partners, I suggest crafting a killer pitch and reaching out to these individuals to get a sense of pricing and next steps. Don’t be afraid to follow up.

Follow these tips and guidelines to find potential influencer partners for your next influencer marketing campaign.

Julia Loudy

Julia loves promoting brands she believes in and flexes her media relations muscles on accounts like Virginia Distillery Company and Colonial Williamsburg. Prior to joining Hodges, she worked for Golden Word helping beverage and lifestyle clients achieve their PR goals.

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