Who Are Social Media Influencers?
According to DataReportal as of July 2022, there are more than 4.7 billion social media users all over the world and the number is growing at an uncontrollable pace, which you can view by referring to the image provided, and for understanding how to find the right influencers on Instagram, it’s a very relevant data.
To describe these users of social media are scattered across different platforms of social media networking we have a few more data coming from the same website, DataReportal.
- Facebook – 2.936 billion users
- YouTube – 2.476 billion users
- WhatsApp – 2 billion users
- Instagram – 1.4 billion users
- WeChat has 1.28 billion users
- TikTok – 1.02 billion adult users above 18 years
- Facebook Messenger – 1 billion users
- Telegram – 700 million users
- Snapchat – 617 million users
- Douyin – 613 million users
- Kuaishou – 598 million users
- Sina Weibo – 582 million users
- QQ – 564 million users
- Twitter – 486 million users
- Pinterest – 433 million users
- Reddit – 430 million users
- Quora – 300 million users
The data above are a few top social media performers and the list can to an infinite extent, shows why the entrepreneurs are giving so much importance to these social media platforms.
This is why the concept of social media influencers is so popular now that everyone is either looking to become a social media influencer or thinking to hire one for his brand.
Social media influencers are the people who have gained a reputation among the various users of social media owing to their knowledge which they like to spread to others through their posts, and in the process of doing so, they have acquired a huge number of followers.
Most brands love to hire social media Influencers who are related to their Niche because at one point they cost less than the celebrities doing ads on television and on the other hand because they are related to the Niche of the brand, viewers feel more connected to the ad.
If you are also looking for an Influencer and willing to learn how to find the right influencers on Instagram, the first thing to know is what are the different types of Influencers, and who can be the best fit for your Niche.
Types of Influencers
There are multiple ways to categorise the influencers, but we will only focus on two prime methods, the basis of the number of followers and types of content.
Categorisation of Influencers based on the number of followers
Mega-Influencers
People on social media who are mostly movie stars, social activists, sports persons, Musicians etc, have more than 1 billion followers on their accounts. Most of these mega-influencers have gained their popularity through offline means and even before getting into social media, they have a huge fan following.
In most cases, they charge heavily for their services, so if you are looking to hire them for your business, you must be prepared to pay a heavy amount to them.
Macro-Influencers
Just below the range of Mega-influencers, we have Macro-influencers who are mostly B-grade actors and experts in their Niche who continuously like to engage users through their posts. You will find that these macro-influencers have somewhere between 40k to 1 million followers and are at the most Niche centric level.
Though compared to the Mega level the influencers in this level are cost-effective but you need to be the most cautious while dealing with the influencers of this level as most fraud influencers also fall in this category.
Micro-Influencers
These are people coming out of commoners and due to their constant efforts and devoted followers, they can acquire followers between 1k to 40k. It is easy to hire a micro-influencer, but again the most important part is, to choose an influencer judicially.
As a brand, the importance of this micro-influencer can’t be minimised because a bunch of them can be hired altogether and their combined efforts can be helpful to improve the business.
Nano-Influencers
Though Nano-influencer has followers of less than 1k, they have the potential to become great influencers of the future. As a brand, if you can recognise these nano influencers at the very beginning of their career, they can be highly beneficial as the limited number of followers that they have can be a highly niche-specific audience.
Categorisation of Influencers based on Types of Content
Another important methodology of categorisation of Influencers is the type of content they generally create, and while studying how to find the right influencers on Instagram, this content is very important to be considered.
Bloggers
Since the beginning of the digital era, blogging is a tool most commonly practised by influencers, and people love to read their favourite bloggers or topics.
Bloggers can use their skills of writing to promote a product by describing it in their blogs and making the followers aware of the features of the product.
Just like other cases discussed above, while selecting the blogger too you need to take care of the Niche in which they mostly like to write because most of their followers belong to a similar interest group, and only when you target a group concerned with your subject the chances of success are low.
YouTubers
These influencers are video content creators and are known for their work and also by face, which might not be the case with bloggers. As a YouTuber, the chances of impressing the audience with the advertisement are very high, and most entrepreneurs like to hire a YouTuber for promoting their products.
As a Youtuber, the options to show your creativity to the audience increases a lot and you can leave a long-lasting impression on the mind of the viewers, which is why entrepreneurs are too keen to hire these YouTubers.
Podcasters
Podcasts are something which is recently growing in popularity, and within a short period, it has gained a special space in the heart of all social media followers.
If you go by the dictionary, Podcast is a digital audio file, which is available to be downloaded or to listen over the internet platform. Podcasts as a media form of content were first developed in 2004, because of the efforts of former MTV video jockey Adam Curry and Software developer Dave Winer to code the “iPodder” a program that let a user download internet radio broadcasts to their Apple iPod.
But presently these Podcasts are getting extremely popular and they are no longer limited to the radio platform only. The popularity of these podcasts is forcing entrepreneurs to book these podcasters to promote their products.
Social Posts
These are the content creators who with the tools of videos, images, carousels, GIFs, etc engage their audience on different social media platforms. The majority of the influencer, whether they are bloggers, YouTubers or Podcasters also like to cherish social media platforms to gain a huge number of followers.
The success of these social media influencers depends on their creativity skills through which they spread their idea to their followers, and attract entrepreneurs to hire them for product promotion.
Key Factors to be Considered Before you Search for the Influencer
If you are looking for a social media influencer, and you are confused about whom to choose, there are a huge number of influencers and they too vary a lot in their popularity and post type. So, as we are studying how to find the right influencers on Instagram, it is very important to consider a few points before selecting the influencer, which is as follows:
Mark your Budget First
Depending on your budget you should decide which type of influencer you should contact. If your budget allows, you can go for a mega-influencer, but if you want to play smart and are willing to target a greater variety of audiences, with the same budget you are hiring multiple macro-influencers.
The point to be taken from the discussion is that there are multiple ways to spend your budget to select your concerned influencer, but you have to choose the best method to spend depending on your needs, as no method is good or bad, it’s only the circumstances which are different.
Understand your target audience
Another important part of how to find the right influencers on Instagram is to understand your audience appropriately. It is important to understand the audience because depending on the audience only you can select the influencer.
If you don’t have a true vision of your audience then how are you supposed to differentiate between the various influencer out there?
Idealise your Influencer
Before choosing the influencer, idealise a figure of him within yourself and think about which characters are a must to have in your influencer.
All the influencer presents out there, have their unique style and characters, and you have to decide what you want.
Beware of the Fake
This is a digital world and anything can be possible, as there is numerous influencer who have used unauthorised methods to gather a huge number of followers. You must follow the influencer you want to connect with for some time before you get into any kind of deal and keenly observe their activities.
If the influencer is a fake one you will realise if you observe his activities for some time, and check the type of posts they are creating and the comments they are getting.
After such a huge discussion we are in an ample situation to start the discussion on how to find the right influencers on Instagram, which is our next topic to begin.
How to Find Right Influencers on Instagram
#1 Follow Industry Podcasts, Events, Newsletters, and Blogs
To find an influencer with high domain authority, it is important to follow the experts who have a piece of good knowledge in this domain, and these experts can be found if you search the industry podcasts, events, newsletters and blogs.
Most of these are published after big research and if it is a genuine publisher, you can rely on it. When you pay attention to these podcasts, events, newsletters and blogs you will find one or more names who are the person of your choice.
#2 Check Most Popular Posts for Specific Hashtags
As an entrepreneur, you must know which hashtags are concerned with your brand and which posts are doing miraculously well on those hashtags.
To search for an influencer who is related to your brand Niche, just check out the specific hashtag and the most popular posts for those hashtags. Hashtags are very powerful are resourceful as it builds a community around them and everyone who has an interest in a particular niche follows those particular hashtags.
#3 Just Google
Google as we all know a powerful search engine which has its reach extended to all corners of the planet. Whichever may be the Niche in which you are searching for an influencer, just google it and the answer will be in front of you.
But the most important thing is, not to believe google blindly as there are a lot of tricky SEO experts who can make it to the top of search pages and enhance their website loaded with false data, and you might fall prey to them.
Once you have found a name on google, give thorough research and do a deep analysis of the influencer and only after you are assured, connect with him to promote your brand.
If you want to know how to find the right influencers on Instagram, there is one more way to google it by searching for the top 100 or top 1000 influencers, and when you study their profile carefully you are deemed to find someone close to your niche.
#4 Ask Your Community for Recommendations
There are many Instagram communities related to different niches, and the members are more than happy to help each other. Whenever a question is put forward by them, numerous people come up with varieties of answers from which you can do the segregation and select the best answer for you.
You might have heard a childhood story of “Unity is Strength”, which is one hundred per cent true in the case of Instagram communities and people love to help each other in need.
#5 Look at Your Brand’s Followers
It is like searching diamond in a coal mine, as Influencer if someone as an influencer is related to your brand’s niche, he or she must be following your account, and all you need to do is to find them out.
How you are going to do it, just use some analytical tools and see how many followers your followers have and looking at the data you will be able to develop some ideas.
It is indeed a tricky option when you are searching for how to find the right influencers on Instagram, but if a proper tool is used, everything will become simple and easy.
#6 Monitor Brand Mentions and Tagging
With the help of a few tools available free or paid, you will be able to catch hold of the people who are mentioning your brand to others or are tagging your product during their posts.
The agenda of such people is simple, they want to catch your attraction of yours and they want to give a hint that they are useful Influencers. It is advisable to get in touch with such influencers as they have their self-interest to promote your brand and it might be better than someone who is only doing it for money.
#7 Use Dedicated Tools and Platforms
Speaking about tools, they can be a lifesaver and miraculously provided a correct tool is chosen and that too will completely depend on your needs. If you don’t have the knowledge about which tool to use and how to use them, just hire an expert and in case you want to do it all by yourself, here are some options that can be checked out.
BrandMentions
Though BrandMentions is a complex tool to use, it has the potential to give a diverse range of data and lists concerning a variety of influencers.
Heepsy
A tool dedicated to searching for potential influencers for your brand and also can distinguish between true and fake influencers, this may be a great option to explore.
Conclusion
If you are an entrepreneur looking to give a kick-start to your brand, approaching an Influencer can be a wonderful decision to take and, in most cases, it will give fruitful results.
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