How To Hire an Influencer: A Step-by-Step Guide

Influencers hold immense power not just on social media platforms but in people’s minds and hearts. Not only can they sway their fans’ opinions, but they can make brands trendy and products sell out overnight. That makes social media influencers the perfect partners for taking your brand from zero to hero! 

But to get there, you need to know how to hire an influencer the right way. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you exactly how to do it, step by step.

Why Hire an Influencer To Promote Your Brand?

Hiring influencers is one of the best ways to reach your target audience in a more native and seamless way. That’s because these popular creators already have a strong, established connection and bond with their fans. When they talk positively about your brand, people are more likely to listen and consider supporting it, too.

According to data from Edelman, 63% of consumers believe what influencers say about brands over the brands themselves. Instead of hard-sell ads, influencers create authentic, personal content promoting your brand. This makes it way more palatable and relatable to people, making them more receptive to the promotional content.

Influencer marketing is also a terrific way to enhance your brand’s credibility on social media. It’s one thing for a brand to run ads promoting its products. But when a trusted influencer—a real human being—recommends a brand, it seems way more legit.

Whether you’re trying to sell products or advocate for a movement, Instagram influencers can help you make relevant noise online. So, if you want to go all-out on social media marketing, hire Instagram influencers to get the job done.

What To Look for in a Partner Influencer

Want to work with influencers for your campaign but not sure which ones are a good fit for the job? Here’s a checklist of things you should look at before you hire social media influencers:

• A significant follower count: The fanbase size of a potential influencer partner shows you how many people your brand can reach. If you’re looking to launch a brand awareness campaign, it might benefit you to reach as many users as possible. In that case, the more followers an influencer has, the better.

• High engagement rates: The point of hiring an Instagram influencer is to get them to convince their fans to check out your brand. One way to tell whether their followers have a solid relationship with them is by checking their engagement. Micro-influencers are known to be the most engaging type of influencer. According to Trend.io, they have an average engagement rate of 6%, which is super impressive by industry standards!

• Authenticity as a creator: People will trust, listen to, and gravitate toward a creator who oozes brand authenticity and relatability. Work with likable influencers who talk to their followers like their real-life friends. Guaranteed, those fans will listen to their fave influencer rave about your brand!

• Posts high-quality content: Make sure the influencers you hire create the type of content your target audience enjoys. It should be exciting, impactful, and helpful to their everyday life.

• Experts in their field: Influencers who know what they’re talking about shine brighter than others. Look for creators who are renowned in their niche and knowledgeable about your industry. This increases the likelihood of people listening to them when they talk about your brand.

How To Hire an Influencer in 6 Steps

Hiring the right influencers is crucial if you want your campaigns to resonate beautifully with your audience. Want to properly scout for potential partner influencers and hire them to make high-quality content aligned with your brand? Here are six vital steps to follow when you’re looking to hire social influencers.

1. Identify and Shortlist Influencers Your Target Market Loves

Make a list of influencers with a target audience similar to yours. That way, you know that your influencer’s content will reach the right people.

You should also choose influencers based on your campaign goal. If you want to boost awareness for your brand, look for mega-influencers with high reach. But if you’d rather prioritize conversions, go for micro-influencers, who are known for their high engagement rates and tight-knit communities.

You can look for potential influencers by manual research or enlist the help of influencer marketing platforms instead. You could even audit your top competitors on social media to see which influencers they’re hiring. Try to get creators with bigger fanbases and higher engagement than theirs!

After identifying influencers you want to hire, trim down your options and create a shortlist. From there, pick the best creators for the job.

2. Reach Out to the Influencers To Ask if They’re Interested in a Collab

Now for the next step—influencer outreach. Contact the influencers you want to hire to express interest in working together. You can do this through a casual DM or a professional email—whichever you prefer.

In your message, be friendly and express admiration for them before getting all serious and professional. Then, talk about your project and why you think they’d be the best ambassador for it. Ask them if they’re interested in potentially working together, and wait for their response.

3. Formally Discuss Project Terms and Compensation

If their response is favorable, you can move on to actually talking about the project you had in mind. Tell them about that new product you’re launching or the advocacy campaign you need help with. Brief them on all their deliverables and deadlines, too. 

Of course, you’ll need to compensate them for their work, so align on that as well. When everything’s good to go, sign a contract and let the partnership commence!

4. Guide Them as They Create Content for Your Brand

Set creative guidelines for your influencers to work with as they produce content that lets your brand shine. Align on what visual aesthetic and language to use, as well as the key message for your campaign. 

However, make sure to still give your influencer creative freedom to post as authentically as they can. Once you’re happy with their content, give them the go signal to post it for their fans to see.

5. Measure the Results of Your Influencer’s Content

Track your influencer content’s metrics to see how successful the campaign was. You can either monitor these through a third-party app or ask them to share their Instagram Insights data with you. 

Look through your brand’s sales as well to see if your influencer marketing efforts made a dent in your revenue. This allows you to assess whether the partnership was effective.

6. Maintain a Positive Long-Term Relationship With Them

Finally, put those influencer relationship management skills to work and keep in contact with your partner influencers. By keeping in touch, you can develop both a friendship and a professional relationship with them. 

That makes it easier to tap them should you have any campaigns they’re perfect for in the future!

Reach More People on IG With the Help of Popular Influencers!

Working with influencers is an excellent way to reach your audience in a more native, non-pushy way. These creators know how to make authentic, creative content that engages their fans and convinces them to patronize certain brands. When they put your brand in the spotlight, you can bet their fans will flock to your page.

It’s one thing to know how to hire an influencer, but it’s entirely different to become an influencer yourself. If you dream of becoming a social media star, you must build a community of fans. That’s where Path Social comes in.

We promote your content to your target audience through strategies like influencer mentions and organic promotions. Soon, you’ll see your Instagram following grow every day.

Don’t believe we can do it? See what we’ve done for influencers like Terrell Conyers, who made it big and gained 29,000 followers. Turn your influencer dreams into reality and get more Instagram fans with Path Social!

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