Working with influencers is a great way to connect with your target audience, spread brand awareness, and generate more sales.
And with a market value of $21.1B (and counting), influencer marketing is clearly here to stay.
So, if you're hoping to partner with more influencers this year, we're sharing the top questions you need to ask before you sign the dotted line.
Table of Contents
- Why You Should Work With Influencers
- #1: Who Is Their Target Audience?
- #2: Are They Familiar With Your Brand?
- #3: What Type of Content Do They Produce?
- #4: What Is Their Engagement Rate?
- #5: Which Social Media Platform Is Their Strongest Performer?
- #6: How Do Their Values Align With Your Brand?
- #7: Can They Share a Rate Card?
- #8: Do They Have A Media Kit?
- #9: What Does Their Ideal Brand Collaboration Look Like?
- #10: What Is Their Lead Time for Deliverables?
Why You Should Work With Influencers
Working with influencers can be a game-changer for your business, as it let's you:
Remove the barriers of traditional advertising
Tap into highly engaged online audiences
Build long-term relationships with your target customer
Generate sales or leads
While influencer marketing is still a new form of marketing, many brands have seen great results from investing in it — whether it's MAC Cosmetics partnering with multiple creators for a skincare launch or Mejuri consistently working with Micro creators to build awareness of their jewelry line.
Speaking of partnerships, Later Influence™ is an influencer marketing platform trusted by top enterprise businesses to plan, grow, and manage their influencer programs. Schedule a call to learn more.
10 Questions To Ask Influencers Before Your Next Campaign
Ready to find influencers for your next campaign?
These 10 questions will help you determine which influencer is the right fit:
#1: Who Is Their Target Audience?
Choosing an influencer with an engaged following is one thing, but if they aren’t the right audience for your product or service, you’ll likely see little to no return.
Take note of the type of followers who are regularly commenting on and liking an influencer’s posts. Are they the type of person who would be likely to engage with your brand?
John-William Barger is a travel and lifestyle influencer known for his beautifully produced content.
This collab with MacArthur Place was a natural fit, full of luxury, warmth, and inspiring serious travel FOMO vibes.
TIP: If you need help finding influencers for your next campaign, bookmark this: How to Find Influencers & Creators for Your Next Social Media Campaign
#2: Are They Familiar With Your Brand?
It's important that the influencers you work with know who your brand is and what it's about.
Have they used your product (or services) before? Do they know who your competitors are? Are they familiar with your industry?
While the influencer doesn't have to be a current customer, it'll make future collaborations feel more authentic if they can easily speak about your brand with some awareness of who you are.
TIP: Check to see if the influencer follows your brand (or similar brands) on social media, engages with your posts, or has previously tagged (or mentioned) you.
#3: What Type of Content Do They Produce?
It's important to evaluate the type of content the influencer produces.
Are they known for creating highly visual posts or on-the-go, un-edited, videos?
By understanding the type of content an influencer produces, you can identify if their brand aligns with your goals and if their audience is the right fit for you.
TIP: For a breakdown of different content types, read this blog: 28 Creative Brands on TikTok to Inspire Your Feed
#4: What Is Their Engagement Rate?
While engagement rates are a helpful starting point, they’re not the end-all, be-all for creator performance.
If your campaign goals are more focused on brand awareness, you may work with influencers who have more followers (and a lower engagement rate).
However, if you're looking to drive clicks or conversations in the comments section, you may consider working with Nano or Micro influencers who typically have higher engagement rates.
PRO TIP: Calculate potential influencer partners' Instagram engagement rate with Later's free tool.
#6: How Do Their Values Align With Your Brand?
A smooth-sailing partnership is made even better when brands and influencers share the same professional vision and values.
So, when it comes to working with an influencer, an important question to ask is: How well do they align with your brand’s values?
If you’re struggling to see the connection, the chances are your audience will too.
Consumers are hyper-aware of sponsored posts — especially if the partnership seems forced and unnatural.
TIP: Later's influencer marketing platform empowers enterprise businesses to run campaigns with ease. Schedule a call here.
#8: Do They Have A Media Kit?
Creative media kits are a must-have for all influencers, as it's essentially a business card, CV, and portfolio all wrapped up into one.
Take time to review influencer media kits thoroughly — and make sure they include:
A bio: Who are they? What are their interests?
Social stats: What are their most popular social media accounts? How many followers do they have? What's their engagement rate? Do they also have a blog or newsletter?
Audience demographics: Where are their followers located? How old are they?
Rates card: How much do they charge for posts (or for a content bundle)? Do they offer solely sponsored content or UGC-inspired content too?
Previous partnerships and results: What type of content have they created in the past? What were the goals and results of the campaign?
Testimonials: What do previous partners have to say about working with them?
By reviewing their media kit, you’ll be able to conclude whether the influencer aligns with your brand and overall goals.
#9: What Does Their Ideal Brand Collaboration Look Like?
Many influencers like being involved in campaign ideation, while others prefer complete creative autonomy.
So, it’s worth understanding both how a creator (and your team) prefer to collaborate.
This will help inform how your campaign will run, if timelines will need to be extended, and how in-depth your briefs will be.
#10: What Is Their Lead Time for Deliverables?
Unsurprisingly, not all content types are created equally.
Between TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and many more, different content types will have different lead times.
Understanding a creator’s lead time for each deliverable will help you plan your campaign timelines more efficiently.
And there you have it — the ten questions you should ask in the discovery phase of your next influencer marketing campaign.
They'll help you make the right decision with working with an influencer or choosing someone who is more aligned with your overall brand (and goals).
Later's influencer marketing platform does it all — including matching enterprise brands with the best influencers for their next campaign. Schedule a call, today!
