5 Tips to Find the Best Influencers for your Brand

The truth is, influencer marketing has taken social media by storm. Influencers are the “all in one” package! They’re the new “it” girls and guys of the internet, but at the same time, they feel like your best friend. They are as popular as top models and big celebrities, but they don’t seem as unreachable. Unlike models and huge celebrities, influencers are “just like regular people.” You trust their opinion as much as your own family or friends. Influencers are like your older siblings. They are experts at most things, can give the best advice, and when you need inspiration, you look to them for guidance.

With their valuable opinions and expertise, influencers have the power to shape their consumer base and literally control what their fans want, buy, and even think they need. Not only do their followers seriously value their opinion, but their high-quality content alone can effectively drive sales to any company or product they partner with. The concept that influencers are not unreachable is what drives their success and the success for the brands they collaborate with. Because well… you too could be just like them and live a fabulous life if you wear the things they wear, eat at the ritzy places they dine at and follow in their footsteps.

Right now, you’re either completely agreeing with everything I have said or you think the whole idea of influencers is absurd. Either way, the reality is that influencers are thriving. It might be time to jump on the bandwagon and get the in on how to find these magical influencers that will make your company’s sales goals become a reality.

So here it is, the five tips to finding the best influencers for your brand!

Google duh…

No, just kidding, it’s not that easy, but this is a great start. When searching for influencers pick a niche and target audience. Once you know what you’re looking for, you are on the right track. Looking for fitness influencers, beauty influencers or fashion influencers? Type in key words like “top (fitness, beauty or fashion) influencers.” You can even make this as specific as if you are looking for influencers in a specific region. Type in key words like “Top fashion influencers in Southern California” “Best beauty bloggers in Los Angeles.” Goggle is the best way to lead you in the right direction to start your search.

Related: How to Identify if an Influencer is Impactful to Your Brand

Check out Instagram

The drop down arrows on Influencer’s Instagram profiles are the best way to find multiple influencers in the same niche. Once you find the perfect influencer account that fits your brand, Instagram makes it so easy to stay within that niche. Just click the drop down arrow at the top of their profile underneath their follow button and boom! You’ll be shown multiple accounts just like theirs.

Find Companies Similar to Your Brand or Products

It is highly likely that most, if not ALL companies are doing some sort of Influencer outreach. A great way to find influencers advertising specific products is to find products similar to your company’s products. Say I have a beauty company looking for beauty influencers, specifically those who focus on hair. I would choose a few companies similar to mine and go to their Instagram profiles. For instance, I would choose: Aussie Hair, T3 Micro and Herbal Essence. They all repost photos that their influencers create and most likely will tag their influencers in their posts. Head over to any companies Instagram feed and it is so easy to find similar influencers to advertise your product.

Do More Research, If Necessary

If you don’t want to pick the same influencers that a similar company has partnered with, then try checking out the company’s tagged photos. This is where you can come across a good amount of micro-influencers that are posting about the company’s product but don’t have an official partnership with that brand yet. Although there might be a huge amount of tagged photos to filter through, just keep your eyes on the high quality photos and you should be able to find some gems.

Related: Metrics You Should Be Asking Your Influencers For

Hashtags, Hashtags, and More Hashtags!

Although, my least favorite, finding influencers through hashtags is also another good way to guide you in the right direction. But keep in mind that this should be your last resort. Not to say hashtags are the least effective way of going about influencer hunting, but this is probably the most challenging and time-consuming way to find influencers. Because hashtags are used so often as a way for influencers to drive traffic to their profile, hashtags can often become diluted. For instance, if you are a beauty company looking for influencers, just searching #BeautyBloggers is not the best way to go about it. When hashtags have a lot of posts, for instance, #BeautyBloggers which has over 13 million posts, you are not going to want to spend literally ALL YEAR sifting through the good vs bad posts. So try to get more specific with your hashtags and really only use them if you are trying to find Influencers in a specific geographical region.   

And there you have it. The 5 tips to find the best influencers for your brand. The biggest thing to remember is to make sure the influencer you reach out to is a good fit for your brand. Utilize these tips and you’ll be sure to find the perfect influencer for you. Happy hunting!