Not just any popular person qualifies to be an influencer. And then not just any influencer will be a good fit for your brand. Influencer marketing goes beyond using a famous person to recommend your business. History has shown that not using right influencer for the right brand ends up producing disastrous results. Below are some of the most important qualities a person should have before he or she is considered an influencer. Keep in mind that working with a wrong influencer projects your brand to the wrong audience. Don’t be in a hurry to work with just about anybody. Take your time to pick the right fit for your brand; it will be far more effective.
- Likable : We have seen that not all famous people are liked. Now for you brand you want to go with someone who is really liked. This is to make sure that people do not transfer their dislike of a person to your brand, you don’t want that kind of unwarranted and unmerited negativity around your brand. The influencer should also be able to appeal to your target audience, he or she should be liked by your target audience
- Influential: This is the very first quality that makes one an influencer. Being influential means actually having the power to influencer people’s decisions or choices. Not just every famous person is influential. People actually have to work to gain influence. So go with someone who has shown that he or she is influential enough for their endorsement of your brand to positively and significantly affect your sales. If they cannot influence your target audience then what’s the point?
- Has an active following: Another attribute of an influencer is having a large followership. But since it has been proven that fake accounts can be set up and followers can be bought; this attribute has to be emphasized. An influencer should have an active following. You can gauge their activeness by how much likes, comments, retweets, tags, shares etc the said person garners with his or her online activity.
- Creative : Creativity here ensures that the said person is not just a one hit wonder. It ensures that the person is capable of not just getting attention, but keeping it. Creativity also ensures that the said influencer will be able to come up with the kind of content that will definitely push your brand forward without using any of the boring conventional marketing methods that people have grown wary of.
- Is One the right platform: The right platform for a brand depends on what the brand is about. A brand that is about technology will be better of projected on Youtube or on a blog than on Instagram. Same way a brand about food or fashion is better on Instagram. Leverage on the unique qualities and the strong points of a platform to figure which would be best suitable for your brand.
- Original: Originality here means they should actually be what your brand preaches. For example; you cannot use a celebrity who is has permed hair to project a natural hair products brand. Same way you cannot use an famous person who has photos of animal fur jackets littered all over her wall to project a vegetarian brand. People are actually smart and can see through your strategies. If it looks like you are playing with their intelligence it might put them off.
- Should be in your niche: The influencer for your brand should be in the same niche as you. The influencer being in your niche already guarantees that they have and will successfully influence your exact target audience.
Working with the wrong influencer will be ineffective and thus a waste of money and resources. Do it right or don’t do it at all.
