Finding influencers can be tough. Finding the best influencers for YOU can be even tougher. I feel like people have their own tactics that have worked for them in the past but don’t you ever wonder if there’s a better way? A better tool?
I hope you takeaway something new from my perspective. These are my top 5 ways to find the perfect influencer (for you!).
Look in your own database. It’s so important to keep track of the influencers you’ve used in prior campaigns. Make sure that you’re using a great CRM to track every data point. Create fields such as how they were to work with, what their content is about, and a few fields with ratings such as from 1-5 how likely are you to work with them again. To scale an influencer practice is all about being efficient and creating systems so whenever you hire someone new – track their work and categorize them in as many searchable ways as you can. Avoid text fields that will dissuade your team from filling out the information and instead give them multiple choice fields to choose from. I always recommend that the first place to look for influencers is your internal database.
Utilize search and discovery platforms. I’ve pretty much explored every single influencer Discovery platform there is and my honest takeaway is that there is not a one-size-fits-all. There are tools that are more focused on small businesses and some that have a price tag that only a large business could afford. My manager friends tend to look for list building and campaign management tools but my agency friends usually want the whole kit and caboodle.
I will say this to those of you who immediately discount the power of these search and discovery platforms: the most valuable commodity you have as a business person is your time and yes some of these tools are pricey but they definitely shortcut manual searching with their huge databases that can be filtered down to find incredibly niche influencers.
Here, I want to save you time. Go to our tech page where you’re going to find demos of some of my favorite influencer tech tools all in one place. Get a sense of them, see if they fit your needs and if you decide to pull the trigger, join our membership because we offer discounts on many of them.
Do your due diligence. If you’re hiring an influencer to promote your brand on social, you should be asking for analytics and vetting their credibility. Let’s start with analytics. While some of the search and discovery platforms I mentioned before automatically pull in influencer analytics, the only way to 100% ensure the accuracy of this information is to ask the influencer for their first party data. Yes, these are screen shots of the back end of their accounts. You want to see what the platform has tracked and verify it with your own eyes. Always ask for data from the last 14-30 days to also make sure it’s current.
You’re also going to want to make sure this is the perfect influencer for you by running a little credibility check on their brand. Ask people in our Slack board if they’ve worked with them and how it went. Do a quick google of them to see if they’ve been involved in any scandals. This is a step that a lot of people bypass but it’s arguably one of the most important in terms of finding the right influencer for you to partner with.
Trust your gut. When you start to reach out to these influencers it’s the beginning of your working relationship. Are they or their managers responding right away? Do they have an attitude in their initial response or do they seem kind and enthusiastic about working with you? I just feel like women have these incredible gut instincts we don’t use enough and so I’m encouraging you to tap more into your gut instinct to pull the plug on someone early if something doesn’t seem quite right. It’s much harder to do later once they’ve breached their contract or was a nightmare to work with. Save yourself that hassle and trust your instincts.
And finally, the best way to find the perfect influencer for you is to check out Pam Zapata’s masterclass on the topic. She’s my good friend and the CEO of Society18. During this masterclass Pam will walk you through all of her experience sourcing influencers from the agency side and now using her perspective on the management side. Her agency is focused exclusively on creators of color so if you want a better understanding of how to infuse diversity into your campaigns, she’s your girl. As always, masterclasses are included in a WIIM membership but non-members can join too (and both can watch the replay) for just $20. It’s a great way to get a taste of the membership. You’ll want to go to our events page to learn more.
Hope to see you at an upcoming event soon!
JESSY GROSSMAN
Founder of Women in Influencer Marketing and CEO of Tribe Monday
Jessy Grossman is a long time entrepreneur in the digital media space. She’s passionate about supporting women in business and being at the forefront of innovation. She’s been quoted in Forbes and was awarded a spot in the “Influencer Top 50” by Talking Influence. In less than two years she created one of the fastest growing talent agencies in the country. Amidst unprecedented growth, she sold the multi-six-figure agency and pivoted to focus on her long-time passion project: Women in Influencer Marketing (better known as WIIM). Founded in 2017, today WIIM is the premiere professional organization for those who work with influencers. The community offers networking and new business opportunities, career services, continuous education and more. Jessy also does consulting, advising and influencer marketing recruiting with her company Tribe Monday. You can find inspiring stories and more about Jessy on the WIIM Podcast. Check out iamwiim.com and tribemonday.com for more information.
