How to hire influencers?

Have you ever considered hiring an influencer to promote your brand?

Influencer marketing is a digital marketing strategy that has been constantly expanding in recent years. 

However, this type of strategy is sometimes criticized or poorly designed, since people end up making poor choices when choosing creators, which makes them unable to communicate and pass their ideas on to followers in a natural manner.

Establishing a beneficial relationship requires brands to stop creating pre-formatted actions and setting strict rules. 

Instead, they should be more concerned with real experiences and sincere dialogs. That is why it is important to establish both qualitative and quantitative goals when hiring an influencer.

To learn more, keep reading!

Digital influencer or creator?

Before we go any further, we need to understand what is a content creator once and for all.

For a long time, people got used to the term digital influencer. This happened because these people exercise some type of influence on their audience.

However, as time went by, it became clear that the work of individuals with a large fan base on social media goes even further – they are mainly content creators. That’s why the term creator defines them so well.

Is working with creators worth it?

In one word: yes! This is a booming market. 

Major brands invested small amounts in this type of media in the past, but some businesses today have stand-alone budgets of millions of US dollars for longer-lasting contracts with personalities that are only well-known on digital media.

According to a survey conducted by MarketingHub, Influencer marketing is the fastest-growing customer acquisition method and businesses earn on average USD 7.65 for each USD 1.00 spent on influencers.

But it is important to keep in mind that this marketing is very beneficial when the personality’s influence arises from the work of creating authentic content.

There are thousands of creators in the same niche and some stand out from the rest. This occurs because they manage to create and personalize content focused on their target audience, to the point of changing habits, behaviors and actions.

How can you forge a strong relationship with creators?

A strong relationship between a brand and a creator is the fruit of a significant amount of research and conversations. 

For both sides, the actions will only be effective if there is an affinity between the brand, the content creator and target audiences.

It may seem obvious, but it is not uncommon to come across actions that seem to be trying too hard. 

The engaged user follows the creator’s life, understands their routine and knows their habits. That’s why the public quickly perceives the abrupt insertion of a product or advertising if the creator suddenly begins to use a product or frequent a different establishment – something that doesn’t fit into that routine.

When researching these professionals, it is possible to identify which are promoting these actions as work and which are there as a hobby or for fame.

A good creator has a media kit, official communication channel and a business team, as they are used to carrying out business transactions with various brands. This indicates that they are actually concerned about their image and assess which brands they should be associated with.

Other criteria should also be observed, including:

Knowing your public and that of your creator

When researching possible partners, you must be very familiar with your brand’s target audience and check if it is compatible with that of the content creator.

For example, if a brand sells natural and fitness products, it should look for someone who exercises regularly and encourages healthy eating. In the end, those who are following that profile are certainly searching for tips on a healthier life.

Make a list of possible names

First of all, you should consider how much you are willing to spend and where you’d like to reach.

If your brand sells products online and makes deliveries all over your country, the list could be longer. 

In cases of local or regional businesses, it would be better to seek creators from your city or state.

Another factor to be considered is if you desire spontaneous media from web celebrities, for example, who in some cases do not have a specific focus and only share their lives, or if you are searching for content creators.

These professionals are usually a lot closer to their followers, therefore achieving much stronger engagement.

Analyze the content and check engagement quality

As we’ve told you, creators usually have media kits containing a summary of their work, results of actions and engagement figures. 

Analyzing this in advance is important, but you must check social media to make sure these numbers are real.

Also, there are bloggers that participate in influence groups, where they exchange likes, comments and engagement.

Content analysis is also important when checking if the partner has affinity with the brand’s positioning. 

Some businesses speak freely about politics and engage in social causes. As such, if the person never takes a stance on the issue or has already made comments contrary to the brand’s beliefs, you are better off not associating the product to them.

What are the main questions when hiring influencers?

We know that the majority of entrepreneurs have a lot of concerns when it comes to hiring influencers.

Nothing is better for working them out than talking to major creators who have tried-and-true experience in the digital market.

Dani Noce and Paulo Cuenca, creators of a well-known pastry and lifestyle website, whose YouTube channel has over 2 million subscribers, talked to us about influencer marketing: 

Check it out:

Why should people hire creators to promote their business?

The creator manages to pass their credibility to the brand, i.e. the trust their audience have on their opinion. That way the business is perceived by their followers as having its own personality and brand persona. 

This is very important because brands don’t usually have a clear persona one which clearly portrays what they represent. 

By working with a creator, the brand then becomes embodied in the figure of the creator.

Having this image as your brand representative adds unattainable value. It is much more than awareness, more than ROI or anything else.

Is there an ideal time to start working with content creators?

The ideal moment to start working with a creator has already passed – it was yesterday. Today, you may already be too late.

Does that mean that those who still haven’t started can no longer take advantage of this strategy?

Of course not! 

But as soon as you start working with this strategy as of now, it shows that you don’t want to be left behind and don’t want to waste any more time.

It doesn’t matter if you are a small or medium-sized brand – the time is now. 

Even for those who haven’t designated specific funds for this, positive results become apparent as soon as they start working with creators. If you use this strategy well, you will quickly see results.

What are the main criteria for hiring a creator?

Engagement is always very important, but knowing whether your brand persona has to do with the creator’s brand persona is even more important. In other words, if you have the same intentions.

You also have to make sure that a specific creator has credibility in what he is saying.

When talking about the content creator, common sense is always important.

For example:

If he worked with a bank for 1 year, it would be wise to wait a while before beginning to work with a completely different one.

Some brands aren’t worried about that. However, if the creator just stopped working with a competitor, it’s not healthy to start working with someone who offers the same product or service right away.

That’s because a creator who makes strong content inserts that brand into their life, meaning it has a living narrative line and not a dead editorial. 

So, if the person just changes brands and you aren’t paying attention to that, it’s as if the creator had somehow betrayed their own life if they don’t provide a good explanation to show why they changed brands. 

This slowly undermines the credibility of that creator. As a result, the brand that hired them will also fail to experience strong results.

Is it possible to form a partnership with a creator?

The first thing you have to understand is that partnership in the world of creators covers everything that does not involve money. In other words, the brand doesn’t want to pay and only offers a product or service in exchange for a content.

In an ideal scenario for the content creator, it is interesting for the brand to approach them by showing that it really likes the type of work they do and, from there, suggest co-creating together.

The creator doesn’t need a ready-made script. After all, they know their audience. It is better for the brand and content creator to come together and decide what can be done.

This is something that rarely happens today because people are scared of losing control and believe that working with a creator means accepting a lack of control over everything that is said about their business.

How much should you pay the creator?

One of the biggest issues of brands and creators is not knowing how to price this work. 

This may often happen because people still don’t understand where the amounts paid are involved.

It is important to be careful with the myths that appear in the market when determining the amount to be paid to the creator. 

People say it costs X or Y, but truth be told, you need to account for exactly what is going to be worked and it’s not an easy task to arrive at this amount.

One tip is to think of the work as a media and talent purchase, but without forgetting that there is also a right to use of image, exclusivity and the type of delivery to be made.

The creator’s credibility in the market and engagement with their target audience also weigh in when deciding how much to charge or pay.

What is your best tip for those who want to hire influencers?

The best tip for those who want to work with creators is to consume that person’s content.

In this market, people are buying things without knowing what they’ll get.

If you were to take any company’s classic procurement department as an example, they would see who the supplier is and understand the reasons it is charging that end value.

Working with creators shouldn’t be any different: know what they are delivering by following their content. In other words, consume what you want to buy.

Why should you invest in a long-term relationship with creators?

Influencer marketing should work like any other advertising type – it needs to be planned, built and analyzed. There should also be a contract to clarify the duties and rights of each party and define the expectations and values invested.

Informality may result in poorly designed actions, with few results as a consequence. 

In some cases, it might be interesting to hire a marketing agency to intermediate these actions.

If hiring is initially beneficial, the brand may offer a longer contract and create short-, medium- and long-term actions. This type of strategy is very efficient, since the content creators insert new brands into their lives over time.

This is what Adidas, for example, has been proposing. The actions do not seem forced since there is linearity in the insertions, therefore showing that there is truth behind that announcement. 

At the end of the contractual term, both parties can evaluate the results and decide whether continuing the partnership is viable and interesting, or if it is better to seek new contracts.

Why start now?

If you have never signed a contract with creators, it’s high time to seek new forms of engagement. Start small, invest slowly, research extensively and analyze.

The advantages of good co-creation are numerous and may increase not only brand sales, but also branding, brand recall and even image following a crisis.

Strive to hire real content creators who talk as equals and know how to react well to criticism and unusual situations. The public reacts better when it knows that the brands/influencers are transparent.

Many brand campaigns with creators fail because they don’t understand the real communication goal. To avoid this scenario, it is important to establish very clear objectives from the beginning.

As a brand, be clear and, along with the creator, think of the best ways to insert your goal into the narrative he will use.

Do you want to learn more about the content creator universe? Learn more about how they can help your digital marketing strategies..