We teamed up with Lindsay Simon, Senior Influencer Strategist at HUNTER PR for a valuable Q&A to give you the inside scoop on pairing an Influencer with a brand and what the process is like!
What is your process for finding and pairing talent with a brand for a campaign?
At HUNTER, we pride ourselves on finding talent whose aesthetic and overall vibe aligns authentically with the specific brand/product or message of a campaign. Authenticity is of upmost importance, so when finding influencers, we’re pretty selective. In this day and age, the influencer pool is massive, so it’s crucial to constantly have your hand on the pulse of all things social media. In terms of process, we first establish the goal of the campaign – are we looking to drive sales? Brand/product awareness? Boost followers? Hit a certain demographic? Build brand love? Etc. From there, I usually go out to the agents/managers or influencers I have strong relationships with and experience partnering with to gauge interest and rates. At HUNTER, we’re super team oriented and have an amazing social media and influencer team, so I often consult with them as well to see their thoughts or if they’ve worked with specific talent they recommend. Personally, I love finding emerging/fresh influencers as well and spend a ton of time scouting on social platforms (the old-fashioned way!!).
What makes you want to rebook talent?
There are many factors, but for me, if the influencer (or manager) was easy to work with, created high quality, authentic content, was receptive to feedback and drove the results we wanted (based on the goal of the campaign), I’m more inclined to want to work with them again. Like any other job, when influencers are genuinely passionate about a campaign, the results speak for themselves, so I always try and work with thoughtful talent that put in the work. At HUNTER, we strongly believe that influencer relationships should be meaningful and not transactional.
What is the process in selecting talent for a campaign?
Identifying the right influencer for any campaign is a mix of art and science. At HUNTER, we developed a system called RATE that we lean heavily into when selecting talent. Relevance (how closely does the content the influencer creates align with the brand?), Activity (how often do they create content? Do they have a specific passion point or style?), Traffic (how well maintained is the influencer’s social channels? Do they adequately mix sponsored content with organic sharing?) Engagement (how effectively does the influencer engage their audience? How does the audience engage with their content – views, likes, shares, comments etc.). Of course, budget is a major factor as well – can we afford to work with this influencer and if so, how can we get the best ROI?
What can an Influencer do to stand out to a brand?
Similar to a job interview, making a good impression to a brand is critical in establishing a long-term working relationship with them. As a whole, influencers are experts in bringing a brand’s vision to life in a creative and effective way and no one knows what makes their audience tick better than influencers themselves. Advice I’d give to an influencer is to leverage your knowledge of your audience and find a way to authentically weave in the brand’s message/product to best engage that audience. Also, meeting deadlines, being open to feedback and generally pitching creative strategies will always make an influencer stand out to a brand.
Do you work with micro influencers?
All the time! It depends on the campaign and what we’re trying to accomplish, but we love working with micro-influencers. Micro-influencers have the ability to reach niche audiences that sometimes macro-influencers can’t!
For a brand, how important is timeliness with an Influencer’s deliverable?
Missing a deadline can make or break a campaign (and relationship with a brand!). Having said that, it’s really up to the brand to clearly establish the timeline of the campaign (when drafts are due, when content will go live etc.) prior to contracting an influencer. When influencers are super responsive and on top of deadlines, it makes the whole process much smoother and makes us want to work with them again and again!
This is such valuable insight – thank you so much Lindsay!
