Influencer Platforms: How to Choose The Right One for Your Business
The influencer marketing platform market is expected to reach a staggering US $24 billion in 2024.
The majority of companies using influencer marketing plan to increase their budgets and almost 90% of marketers say that influencer marketing provides the best ROI. So, it's not surprising that influencers on various social media sites are becoming more coveted than ever before.
However, while the opportunities are there, many companies are finding the process of reaching the right influencers a challenge. Without prior experience, building momentum can be tough, and even sourcing suitable candidates can seem complicated.
Because of that, more companies are turning to influencer marketing platforms, which can be instrumental in finding the right person to work with.
But how to choose the right platform? And do you need it in the first place?
Let's answer these questions below.
Is Using an Influencer Marketing Platform Worth It?
Before we can go into the details of choosing the right influencer marketing platform, it's important to understand why you should consider the option in the first place.
After all, some companies are able to forge prosperous relationships with influencers without the need for a third-party platform, reaching out to them directly instead.
But while it is possible, doing it yourself comes with many challenges.
Sure, if you already have a network of influencers that you've worked with, you may have the means to source more influencers through them. But even if that's the case, you likely won't have as many options and will miss out on some of the available opportunities.
And if you're just starting out with influencer marketing, navigating the various challenges and putting together a successful campaign from scratch is even harder.
Therefore, an influencer marketing platform simply makes sense. You gain complete control over who you work with, can choose from many candidates, and can evaluate your options based on a wide range of criteria.
Questions You Should Ask
Choosing the right influencer marketing platform doesn't have to be complicated. But you must know the right questions to ask to find a platform that can help you find the best influencers to work with.
Let's go through some of those questions below.
How Many Influencers Can You Choose From?
The success of your influencer marketing campaign will largely depend on the fit of the person that you end up working with. They must be aligned with your brand and products, and they must have an audience that is primed to respond to your message.
Because of that, one of the most important considerations when choosing an influencer marketing platform is the pool of influencers that they can offer.
The logic behind this is pretty simple - the more influencers you can choose from, the better the chance that you'll find a candidate that you can be happy with.
At the same time, if you're working with a limited number of candidates, that will probably mean that you will have to make compromises, one way or another.
You might have to go with an influencer with a broader audience, which can make your message less effective. Or, even if you do find a good fit, they might end up being out of your budget, forcing you to spend more than you're comfortable with.
Having options is crucial if you don't want to feel pressured into moving forward with someone who doesn't check off all the boxes, so look for a platform with a significant number of influencers and micro-influencers you can work with.
At Collabstr, you can choose from more than 10,000 influencers, which means that you can find an excellent fit in almost any industry.
Are the Influencers Vetted?
Another crucial consideration when looking for influencers is whether they can be trusted. When choosing a public figure to work with, you're not only investing your money but are also putting your reputation on the line, so you need to be able to trust that there won't be any surprises that could cause damage.
What vetting also means is that the influencers must actually have an active and engaged audience and still be active creators who are growing themselves.
The content that they create must also meet certain requirements - it must be of high quality, not violate any regulations, and be acceptable and exciting to the audience that you want to reach.
Some platforms don't offer any vetting and leave the users to judge the influencer's quality on their own. But there are those like Collabstr that take the time to ensure that every influencer already meets specific criteria and can deliver on their promises.
Every company has strict deadlines, which means that you should be able to rest assured that the people you work with will follow through on the agreement and deliver on the results that are promised.
Is the Process Straightforward?
One of the main advantages that an influencer marketing platform can offer is the simplified process of sourcing and partnering up with influencers in your niche.
That's why it only makes sense that when you choose a platform, you want it to be simple to use and convenient, even if you don't have any prior experience working with influencers.
And while usability and UX are improving every year, some platforms are still lacking in this crucial area of their service.
But what should you look for?
Well, here are just a few essential features.
- The platform should make communicating with influencers as simple as possible. Ideally, you want to keep all of your communications in one place. That's not only convenient but also ensures that you can receive support should something go wrong.
- Another crucial aspect is the possibility to clearly define what you're looking for and have influencers reach out to you. That way, you'll save a ton of time and won't have to sort through thousands of candidates that aren't a good fit or aren't interested.
- Finally, the platform should have a simple proposal system, so that you don't have to worry about tricky negotiations and can focus on adding value together with the influencers you end up choosing.
What Data and Analytics Are Provided?
More often than not, the choice that you end up making will come down to the information that you have available. Because of that, the more you can learn about the candidates that you're considering, the better the chance that the campaign will achieve the goals that you set out.
But in order to do that, the influencer marketing platform must provide you with sufficient data and insights about the influencers so that you can know more about who they are, as well as the performance of their posts.
When you launch your collaborations, you must also have a convenient way to measure the results.
That means that the platform must provide analytics, and allow you to track crucial data such as impressions, engagement, and other metrics that you find important.
This way, you can build on your current performance, gaining a better understanding of what's working, and what you might need to change to achieve better results.
It will also allow you to find the influencers that are the best match with your brand, and who have the audience that is the most likely to convert.
Does the Platform Have a Good Reputation?
Running influencer marketing collaborations isn't an exact science. There are so many variables at play that it can often be impossible to know for sure whether something will work out or not.
That's why, as a business, you must make sure to eliminate as many of the risks as possible.
And one of the simplest risks to mitigate is choosing an influencer marketing platform that has an excellent reputation and a long list of happy customers that are willing to vouch for its services.
Collabstr is used by more than five hundred brands and has established itself as one of the leading influencer marketing platforms on the market.
Meanwhile, if the platform doesn't have an established customer base, it might not be the best choice, since it not only doesn't have a proven track record but might also not have as many influencers you can work with.
How to Run a Successful Influencer Marketing Campaign
Choosing the right platform is an important first step. But then, you must also find the right person to work with and figure out how to run a successful influencer marketing campaign.
To help you get started, let's look at some of the most important things to consider.
Put Together the Details
If you want to attract the right influencers, you must put together a campaign brief that lays out precisely what you're trying to achieve.
Some of the things you should outline include:
- What type of message you want to create
- Which social media platform you want to work on
- What kind of content and post you want
- When you want to launch the campaign
- What your budget is
- Who is the ideal audience that you want to reach
Providing this information to the influencers will ensure that you get relevant responses from people that are in a position to help you.
The more specific you can be in your brief, the easier it will be to choose the right candidate, and the less time you'll have to spend sorting through people that just aren't a good fit.
Determine How You'll Measure Success
Once you know your goals and the platform you'll be running your campaign on, you'll need to figure out what metrics and KPIs you'll focus on.
Having clearly defined goals and a precise way to measure them is the only way to know whether your investment was worth it, what results you were able to achieve, and how you can improve the future performance.
At Collabstr, you can find a range of built-in analytics to measure your results, including impressions, engagement, and overall sales.
Go Through the List of Applicants
While there are many ways to discover influencers, the great thing about using a platform like Collabstr is that you don't have to worry about seeking them out on your own.
Instead, you can get influencers to come to you and respond to your request according to the requirements that you put into your brief.
This way, you can choose from a list of vetted and pre-qualified influencers, which dramatically reduces the time needed and maximizes your chances of making the right choice.
Work Out the Details
Once you choose an influencer, you'll need to work with them to develop the strategy and make sure that they understand what's expected.
Be as specific as necessary about the type of post that you expect, what you want to achieve, and provide background information about your brand, audience, and product selection.
However, be mindful that the influencer has spent a long time building a relationship with their audience, so be open and responsive to their input, adjusting your campaign according to what they think will work best.
Once the campaign goes live, don't leave everything to the influencer either - promote the post through your own channels to get as broad of a reach as possible.
Review Your Results
Finally, once your campaign finishes, spend some time evaluating your results. As mentioned before, working with Collabstr ensures that you'll have all of the essential data on the platform and can quickly compare how different influencers work for your brand.
Over time, the insights that you gain will allow you to make even better decisions and develop valuable relationships with the key influencers in your market.
Influencer Marketing Platforms Are Here to Stay
Influencer marketing is becoming more popular each year, and the next step in its evolution is already here. Instead of having to seek out influencers manually and go through a lengthy vetting process, you can trust platforms like Collabstr to take the guesswork out of the equation.
Using an influencer marketing platform, you can start getting specific proposals from influencers in your niche as soon as today, allowing you to focus on providing value to your audience and growing your business, which is why now's the best time to invest in influencer marketing.
