It’s 2023, and you just sponsored an influencer with millions of followers to post about your product.
… And maybe you feel like you just sold your left kidney to pay for it.
It won’t be long until you realize that you’re not going to generate the returns you want with this approach. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Table of Contents
Here’s the problem
Too many brands are blindly choosing celebrity influencers to post about their brand, without doing the proper research beforehand.
The solution?
Prioritize engagement over followers.
There are three ways to verify an influencer’s engagement:
- Read the comments on their posts. Do they look like bots, or are they real and thoughtful interactions?
- Their endorsement history. What kinds of products have they endorsed before? If they’re endorsing similar products regularly, their audience is probably a good fit for your product.
- The performance of their previous endorsements. How do their sponsored posts perform compared to their other posts? This will give you an idea of how they will perform for your brand.
The bottom line?
Follower count does not automatically correlate with engagement rate.
And if you’re ever in doubt, ask for their audience analytics.
That way, the next time you hire an influencer, you’ll see good results—and you’ll feel better about the deal, too.