Who Is An Influencer

What is an influencer? The name is pretty accurate. In our world, an influencer is basically a blogger or social media personality with a lot of influence in their vertical. If you get a good influencer on your side and working with your brand, it can open you up to a whole world of new possibilities, with a brand new set of eyes on your product or service.

It’s important to the qualities of a good influencer, so you know your brand is in good hands. Let’s take a look at some of the qualities.

It may seem obvious, but a great influencer needs to be all around likable. An influencer who takes the time to build a positive reputation for themselves to clients and customers alike is someone who is going to take the time to do the same for your brand.

It may seem silly that someone wouldn’t take the time to be liked by their followers, but there are influencers out there who alienate segments of their audience. You don’t want that person.

Passion

A good influencer is a passionate influencer, someone who truly cares about their vertical. Passion equates to a hunger to learn more. They want to know everything that’s happened, happening and will happen. They stay up to date with the latest trends and know when trends are going to fizzle out. A passionate influencer can talk endlessly about all aspects of their vertical, and they can do it with confidence.

You can trust that an influencer who is passionate will take the time to learn what your brand is about because you are a part of their space. They want to make sure the partnership works because they know what you’re all about and how it aligns with their audience and their field of expertise.

Engagement

What good is all that passion if the influencer isn’t going to use it to engage with their followers? The whole point of working with an influencer is to tap into their audience base through them.

A good influencer actively engages with their audience. This doesn’t mean the audience needs to be huge, though that has its own benefits. If your influencer keeps an active and consistent publishing schedule and takes the time to comment, share, and like on social media to keep the conversation going, they’re a keeper. If you want people talking about your brand, you need someone who is going to talk to the people.

Authenticity

Not much can turn followers off like inauthenticity. True lovers of the vertical are going to be able to spot a fake from a mile away, and that’s not something you want to be associated with. When your influencer is authentic, they build trust with their followers. The followers genuinely listen to what they have to say. If they say your brand is something they should check out, it’s something the followers are going to check out.

Mind for Marketing

It’s great when an influencer is an expert in their space and engages with their audience, but they also need to know how to market. Good influencers don’t just take payment and post content to make a quick buck; they can integrate your content with more subtlety.

When they don’t beat their followers over the head with obviously sponsored content, it increases their likability and authenticity while showing their followers that the influencer genuinely cares about your brand and finds it beneficial. A good influencer knows this is a win-win and will take the time to market your content the right way.

Authority

As with the other qualities in this list, authority is an important piece of the puzzle. If someone has passion but doesn’t have authority, no one is going to listen to them. Someone who is an authority has the knowledge and the expertise to convey accurate information in a way that people believe. People go to this influencer to find the facts. They trust what they read. Their authority is your authority.

However, that knowledge and expertise aren’t the only ways to tell if someone is an authority. Simply looking at their website is an instant tell. Is it clean or cluttered? Formatted well or hard to navigate? Are there grammar errors, or does everything seem to make sense? A beautiful website with minimal grammar mistakes (i.e., anything besides honest typos here and there) is the mark of someone who is an authority in their space.

Visibility

This is where the bigger audience comes into play. A good influencer knows how to be seen. They can pull in followers to create a large audience that cares about what they have to say. The influencer knows how to work social media to their advantage. For example, they most likely know the best times of day to publish certain content to get the most response. This is a small but key component to being a successful influencer, one you want on your side.

Great Brand Persona Fit

If you read the previous newsletter article about brand persona, you know it’s an important way to connect with the right audience. Having an influencer that is a fit with your brand persona is a wonderful way to further promote that brand persona and show your audience it’s truly who you are. If your influencer ultimately shares the same values and has similar goals, the audience is going to see the connection. You don’t want a rough-and-tumble outdoorsy blogger for your chic, reserved brand.

As you’ve probably gathered, a lot of these qualities work hand-in-hand. It takes one for another to work. If you take your time and do your research when you’re looking for influencers, you can end up with the perfect brand ambassador. If you don’t want to do all that work, CopyPress can do that for you.

7 Qualities of a Good Influencer

“How do I find the right influencers for my business?”

It’s a question we get a lot.

Finding influencers isn’t the hard part. But GOOD influencers who will actually increase revenue and exposure in your area? Well, that’s another story…

There’s more to look for in an influencer than geographic location. Think about it like this.

This person is going to be representing your brand and hopefully building a partnership with your business. Essentially, they’re going to be a spokesperson in their circle for YOUR company. People are going to associate the things they say with YOUR brand.

So what exactly should you be looking for in an influencer?

Here are 7 traits to look for when using influencer marketing and questions to ask for each.

1. Personable

Someone who is agreeable, sociable, and pleasant. You don’t want your social media marketing campaign backfiring because an influencer representing your brand doesn’t get along with their followers.

Sneak a peek at their profile and notice the way they interact in their community.

Do they connect with their followers?

Are they friendly and warm?

How do their followers respond?

If they have negative feedback, how do they handle it?

2. Aligned

They don’t have to agree with EVERYTHING you believe in, but definitely keep in mind the main values behind your business and make sure it lines up.

If your business is health-conscious, would you want someone perpetually posting about heavy drinking or smoking representing your brand?

Probably not. Ask yourself,

Does this person seem to have similar values as the business?

Are they vocal about their opinions?

How do their opinions align with what your company believes in?

Do they support other brands? If so, do these brands contradict or compete with yours?

3. Relatable

Notice the connection a potential influencer has with others.

Relatability and empathy are qualities that make up a great influencer because they have the ability to put themselves in the shoes of the people they’re speaking to.

Does it seem like their followers seem to relate to the content they share?

Do they have sympathy towards others’ experiences?

Is there genuinity and authenticity in their posts?

4. Responsive

Don’t get carried away thinking an influencer has to be posting content every single day, but make sure they are active on their designated social media platform.

Also, notice how well they communicate with you once you’ve expressed interest in a partnership.

Do they actively engage with their followers?

Are they responding with thoughtful comments, not just likes?

How quickly do they respond, to you and their followers?

5. Consistent

Consistency and reliability create a solid foundation between an influencer and a business, not just with you but on their social media.

Ideal influencers tend to have a theme on their page, making it more appealing to followers.

Do they post consistent, high-quality content?

Do they regularly utilize all features of their social media platforms like stories, videos, boomerangs, etc.?

6. Tech Savvy

To consistently post high-quality content that has a theme, an influencer needs to be tech-savvy.

From editing photos to automating posting, you want to find influencers that know their way around their chosen social media platform.

Is their content well-made?

Do they use high-quality pictures?

Do they have a consistent aesthetic to their page?

Is their page interesting to look at?

Do they edit their photos well?

7. Creative

Social media can be a creative outlet for a lot of people. Between all the different editing tools and updates, the possibilities are endless.

Look for an influencer who edits like a boss and stays on top of new updates. The best influencers are always experimenting with new apps to keep their content fresh.

Is their content original and creative?

Are you interested in their posts or does it seem generic and dull?

Do they use clever captions with their pictures?

Finding the perfect influencers can be tricky and time-consuming

Having a clear understanding of your goals and values of your business is essential.

Taking the time to establish criteria and find influencers who fit your brand is so important. The influencer will be representing your company in what will hopefully be an ongoing relationship.

And not to toot our own horn, but that’s kind of why the concept behind Localfluence is so genius.

Tell us your opinion in what way you see an influencer