The creator economy is estimated to be worth $250 billion, and it's changing how brands launch campaigns or promote their products.
But a successful campaign takes more than signing someone with a large following.
The best partnerships will help you reach engaged (and relevant) audiences and build brand awareness.
So, how do you find the right influencers and creators for your next launch?
We’re sharing our top 11 tips to help you find your perfect match.
Tip #1: Define your goals
The ultimate goal for brands using influencers and creators is to reach new audiences.
Marketing specialist Adrienne Sharpe says setting expectations is key in achieving your desired outcome.
“You're essentially paying the influencer for access to their audience,” explains Adrienne.
"So, you have to be clear about your campaign's goals — and what you hope to achieve. This will help them create content that will serve both of your interests."
Are you looking to build brand awareness? Drive sales? Generate more leads? Think about how your collaboration will fit into your broader social media marketing strategy, and then set SMART goals.
NOTE: Influencer marketing partnerships can cost anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. Defining your budget at the beginning stages is important too.
Tip #2: Establish your influencer and creator personas
Finding the right influencers and creators for your brand is a bit like using a matchmaker or a dating app. Having an "ideal creator" in your mind will help you define the qualities you're looking for and narrow your scope.
These are a few questions you can begin to ask yourself and your team:
What is your ideal creator’s niche?
Who is their audience?
What’s their personality type and how does it align with your brand voice?
What are their values and do they align with your brand?
Use as much detail as possible — keeping your target audience in mind.
And remember to be realistic about who they’ll connect with — for example, if you’re an eco-conscious brand, steer clear of influencers and creators who promote fast fashion.
Let us help with the heavy lifting. Book a demo today to see how Later's influencer search tool can help you meet your creator match.
Tip #3: Use an influencer marketing platform
If you’re looking to set up your influencer marketing campaigns for success, using a platform like Later is the way to go.
With it, you can:
Search our influencer index (with over 10M contactable influencers and counting!)
Access discovery tools that filter by industry, primary platform, and more
Manage outreach and communications — all in one place
Streamline payments, budgets, and reporting
And if you want to take it a step further, you can let our marketing services team manage your influencer marketing campaigns for you.
This means we’ll handle everything from strategy, to sourcing influencers, to execution and tracking results.
Tip #4: Monitor influencers and creators talking about your brand
Collaborating with the right people can be as easy as looking in your own backyard.
"When you find influencers who are already talking about your brand, it makes it easier to reach out for a potential collaboration," says senior marketer Kurtis Smeaton.
"Of course, you'll need to vet them first. And if they're a brand fit, it'll make their endorsement more genuine," explains Kurtis.
"Their paid content is more likely to have an impact on their audience, as there's already a level of trust established."
TIP: Set time aside to frequently monitor your tagged posts, comments, DMs, and branded hashtag to find influencers and creators who are already engaging with your brand.
Tip #5: Look at Who Your Target Audience Engages With
Finding influencers that resonate with your target audience is an important step in the search process.
To do this, look at your existing community. Select anywhere from 10 to 15 followers who represent your target audience, and check out their following lists.
What type of creators are they already following? What’s their niche? Are you seeing any common trends in their content? How in line are they with your brand?
Having a thorough understanding of your audience’s interests is an important step in your persona building (see tip #2).
Tip #6: Consider Nano Influencers & Creators
Engagement > follower count, always.
In fact, nano and micro influencers tend to have higher engagement rates than creators with bigger followings.
So, working with multiple nano influencers can be an effective strategy if you’re looking to tap into small, hyper-niche audiences.
But if you don’t have the bandwidth to coordinate dozens of nano influencers, finding and working with a smaller number of micro influencers can be a great option too.
PRO TIP: Calculate potential influencer partners' Instagram engagement rate with Later's free tool.
Tip #7: Monitor Relevant Hashtags
Keeping track of branded hashtags or a collection of hashtags you frequently use can be especially helpful in sourcing creators for your next campaign.
Activewear and lifestyle brand 437 encourages the use of the hashtag #437 on both Instagram and TikTok:
And the branded hashtag has racked up over 40M views on TikTok alone — with thousands of influencers and creators tagging them in posts.
Discover the best hashtags for your Instagram strategy in seconds! Sign up for a Later account to get started:
Tip #9: Keep an Eye on Your Competitors
While we’d never recommend copying someone else’s marketing strategy, keeping an eye on the competition can give you a good sense of what’s resonating — and what’s not.
Take note of influencers and creators who've commented on your competitors’ posts or tagged them in content. Why? There’s a strong chance they may like your products too.
Plus, checking out your competition will give you a heads up on which influencers and creators could have a conflict of interest.
Tip #10: Look at an Influencer & Creator’s Key Performance Metrics
Evaluating an influencer’s metrics is vital in determining if they'll help you reach your goals.
Once you find a creator you’re interested in, Adrienne recommends doing some digging before approaching them.
“Look through their followers and the comments on their posts,” she says.
“Are they full of bots? Spam accounts? This will help you gauge the genuineness of their community and engagement.”
For best practice, have a good scroll through an influencer’s previous posts, do a thorough Google search, and ask any contacts you have in the influencer marketing industry.
Tip #11: Ask Your Community for Recommendations
What better people to ask about a future collaboration than your own community?
Your followers likely follow a ton of other brands and creators, meaning they’ll quickly be able to tell you who they’d love to see you to partner up with.
One of the best ways to do this is by putting out a question sticker on your Instagram Stories or posting a callout on TikTok.
Asking your audience means yielding suggestions you might have never considered. Plus, there’s nothing like a good callout to strengthen the sense of community on your page.
With these 11 tips, you’ll be equipped to find the right influencers and creators for your next campaign.
Play your cards right and you could be one step closer to developing some longterm brand ambassadors!
Later's influencer marketing tools let leading businesses discover their estimated ROI, find new creators, and manage their campaigns. Schedule a call today.
