The past year has transformed a number of industries, and although the influencer marketing industry has continued to flourish, it hasn’t been without its changes and adaptations.

And over the last year, one thing that has become even more apparent is the need to create the perfect match between brands and influencers.

Brand love is pivotal to creating a successful influencer marketing campaign, as is building trust and creating an honest and organic relationship between everyone involved.

And to help brands find the perfect match, I shall explain how to do exactly that.

Finding the right influencer to collaborate with can be a pretty daunting task. It isn’t quite as simple as choosing somebody with a large following. Gathering data, conducting research and developing a relationship with an influencer is all part of the task in hand.

Unless, as a brand, you have access to industry insights and invaluable data, it can be difficult to find your dream match. However, by working with an influencer marketing agency, all of the hard work is done for you.

Here at Influencer Matchmaker, we have access to industry data and insights which can help aid your search in finding the right influencer. Rest assured that everything will be taken into consideration – from social media platforms, engagement rates and niche to helping form trusting relationships, an influencer marketing agency can do it all.

Also Read: The Evolution of B2B Consumer Preferences

Brand love is pivotal

When working with a social media influencer, it is important to decide on your main goals and objectives and what it is you hope to achieve by working with an online creator.

The aim of the game is to build brand love, right? And the best, most organic way to do so, is by teaming up with somebody who already knows and loves your brand.

Influencers spend their time engaging with their audience, garnering all-important trust and respect.

If an influencer has previously spoken about your brand organically, then their audience are much more likely to positively reciprocate paid-for campaigns and collaborations.

Explaining that influencer marketing is more effective than the blanket approach of traditional advertising, Liam Chilvers, founder and managing director of OP Talent also says, “They [influencers] have to be relatable. The people watching them largely share the same interests, and if people are watching a YouTube channel, they are there for the creator.”

And so, by utilizing the power of influencers and their loyal following, brands and business are able to build brand love and more importantly, trust.

How to utilize influencers and their content

It is no longer viable to simply send an influencer a product in return for free press and content creation.

Time, effort and expertise goes into delivering such high-quality content and brands must begin to decipher where they’d like this content to sit.

Content can be created and shared across an influencer’s social media platforms in order to raise brand awareness, but it can also be utilised on the brand’s channels, too. In this way, influencers can act as a brand advocate as well as allowing the brand to offer their audiences a friendly and relatable human element, as opposed to using social media as a hard sales tool.

When it comes to working on collaborative content, it is crucial to ensure you are not only working with the right influencer, but with the right platforms, too.

Just because a social media platform is proving to be particularly popular, doesn’t mean that it will generate positive results for your brand.

It is important to ensure that your niche, goals, audience and social media platforms all align in order to achieve the best results. Find out what works for you and if you don’t know, then an influencer marketing agency will be able to do so for you.

And not only that, but influencers have wider ties to all aspects of media, too. They are innovative creators, storytellers, advice-givers and as 2020 has shown, an influencer’s genuine personality and interests are what sets them apart from the rest.

Also Read: How to Balance Attracting New Customers and Retaining Loyal Ones

Think outside of the box

In the early days of influencer marketing, it was all about promoting a new product and its launch. But today, it is so much more than that.

Influencers can be used to raise brand awareness, generate sales, attend events and create an honest and authentic relationship between brands and potential consumers.

For example, we recently partnered Celebs Go Dating with a number of popular influencers including Mark Ferris and Rachel Leary. The objective of the campaign was to raise awareness of the TV show ahead of the new series.

This is a fine example of combining the efforts of modern and digital media with its more traditional forms, too.

It must also be said, that just because an influencer specializes in a certain industry or has a particular niche, it doesn’t mean that that’s all they are capable of.

Former SAS: Who Dares Wins Star Ollie Ollerton, for example, is renowned for his efforts within the health and fitness industry. However, he also has a passion for motorcycles, which is another area in which he is able to create interesting and compelling content for brands.

Consider influencers who not only share the same interests, but the same values, ethos and end-goals, too.

This will make all the difference.

So, are you ready to find the perfect match?

Also Read: Using the Quadratic Formula for Your Ad Campaigns