Influencer marketing has become an indispensable pillar of modern communication strategies. Collaborating with influencers enables you to reach your target audience in an authentic and engaging way. However, identifying and selecting the right influencers can be complex and time-consuming. That's where an influencer marketing agency like ours comes in. At 18h08, we support you from A to Z in implementing your influencer marketing strategy. We'll help you find influencers, and make sure your needs are met to ensure your campaign is a success.
In this article, we take you through the various stages of influencer sourcing.
Step 1: Understanding the Campaign Objectives
Before you start sourcing, it's essential to understand your campaign objectives. At 18h08, we start with a meeting with your team to define the specific objectives you've set for yourself.
Do you want to raise your profile, generate sales, launch a new product or improve your brand image? This phase is essential to help you find an influencer.
Example:
An organic cosmetics company may want to boost sales of its new skincare range. What will be important here is the use of natural ingredients and the benefits for the skin. It's also important to know the brand's values and the messages it wishes to convey to its audience.
By understanding your objectives, 18h08 can align its sourcing strategy to meet your expectations precisely and efficiently.
Step 2: Defining the target audience
Once we've established your objectives, we'll talk about your target audience. Knowing your ideal audience (age, gender, interests, online behaviors, etc.) helps you choose the most suitable influencers. At 18h08, we use analysis tools to identify the most relevant market segments.
Example:
For a sportswear brand aimed at young adults, we can identify popular influencers. The target audience will be between the ages of 18 and 35, and will be fitness enthusiasts. In this case, we use market segmentation tools to analyze demographic and behavioral data. This ensures that the selected influencers truly resonate with your target audience.
By precisely defining your target audience, 18h08 ensures that the influencers chosen are not only relevant but also capable of creating an authentic link with their audience.
Step 3: Influencer search
The next step is the search for potential influencers. 18h08 has specialized tools to search and filter influencers according to various criteria: number of followers, engagement rate, niche, and location. The agency uses large databases and advanced algorithms to find and identify the most promising influencers. If you'd like to know more about this part, take a look at this article.
Example:
For a travel campaign, we use platforms like Traackr or HypeAuditor. These tools enable us to find influencers specialized in travel. They must therefore have a high engagement rate and an audience made up mainly of travelers.
In this constantly evolving environment, it's very important to keep up to date. That's why we pay close attention to analyzing trends in the travel industry. That way, we can make sure that the influencers you choose match the criteria of your target audience.
Step 4: Relevance assessment
Once we've identified potential influencers, we need to assess their relevance. During this stage, we check whether the influencer corresponds to your brand image and values. 18h08 carries out a detailed analysis of their content, audience and communication style. We also examine the influencers' previous collaborations to make sure they haven't promoted competing products or messages that might clash with your ideas or brand.
Example:
For an organic brand, 18h08 verifies that the influencer regularly shares content on well-being, health and the importance of natural products, and that his or her audience is sensitive to these issues. The agency can also consult comments and interactions on the influencer's publications to assess the authenticity and commitment of his or her community.
By carefully assessing relevance, 18h08 ensures that the chosen influencers represent your brand in a credible and convincing way. This reinforces the consistency of your brand message.
Step 5: Authenticity check
Once relevance has been verified, it's imperative to check the authenticity of influencers to avoid profiles with fake subscribers or artificial interactions. At 18h08, we have specific verification tools to ensure that the influencer's audience is real and engaged. This verification includes analysis of like/comment ratios, follower growth, and any anomalies in engagement data.
Example:
We may discover that a fashion influencer has a high percentage of inactive or purchased followers. In this case, we decide not to work with the influencer despite his or her high follower count. Our agency uses fraud detection tools to ensure that the influencer does not resort to unethical practices that artificially inflate their engagement.
By guaranteeing the authenticity of influencers, 18h08 protects your brand from the risks associated with fraud and ensures that your resources are properly invested to achieve the best results.
Step 6: First contact and negotiation
Once the influencers have been found, verified and selected, 18h08 contacts them. This first interaction is essential to establish a relationship of trust. 18h08 presents your brand, the objectives of the campaign, and the terms of collaboration. We also negotiate terms, mission conditions, remuneration, content expectations and deadlines.
The agency makes sure that expectations are clear on both sides, and that influencers understand the brand's message and values. This saves you time - no need to think about negotiation or conditions, we take care of everything.
Example:
For an electronics campaign, 18h08 can negotiate with a tech influencer to produce a series of unboxing videos and product tests. In this case, it's in exchange for a fixed fee and free products. The agency can also agree additional terms such as Instagram stories, sponsored posts and contests to maximize the campaign's impact.
In short, by taking care of the initial contact and negotiation, 18h08 creates a solid foundation for a serene and successful collaboration.
Step 7: Setting up the campaign
Once everyone has agreed and all the conditions have been met, the campaign can begin. At 18h08, we work closely with influencers to ensure clear and consistent communication of your brand's message.
This includes creating detailed briefs, validating content before publication, and supervising publication dates. The agency also provides effective coordination to ensure that content is published in sync with the campaign schedule.
Example:
In a fashion campaign, 18h08 can provide influencers with style guides, specific keywords to use, and campaign hashtags to ensure consistency across all posts. The agency can also organize photo shoots and launch events to generate additional content and increase audience engagement.
By orchestrating all aspects of campaign implementation, 18h08 ensures that every detail is taken into account to maximize the impact and reach of your message.
Step 8: Performance monitoring and analysis
Last but not least, we monitor and analyze campaign performance. 18h08 takes care of finding influencers, but it also tracks your results in real time, analyzes your data, and provides you with detailed reports.
Commonly used metrics include number of impressions, engagement rate, link clicks and conversions. The agency uses this data to evaluate campaign effectiveness and identify areas for improvement in future collaborations.
Example:
For a campaign to promote dietary supplements, 18h08 measures the increase in sales during and after the campaign, as well as interactions on influencers' posts, to assess the direct impact. The agency analyzes consumer comments and feedback to gain qualitative insights into the campaign's perception.
By providing detailed analyses and comprehensive reports, 18h08 enables you to measure the real impact of your influencer campaign and make the best decisions for your future campaigns.
Conclusion
Finding and sourcing influencers is a meticulous process that requires expertise and rigor. From understanding campaign objectives to analyzing performance, every step is important. Calling on an influencer strategy agency like ours, you're putting your trust in experienced professionals to ensure the success of your campaign.
If you follow these 8 steps, you put all the chances on your side to select relevant and authentic influencers. They'll be able to carry your message to their target audience in an effective and engaging way.
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