How to Find Relevant Influencers for Your Brand

Influencers have seen a meteoric rise in the past decade.

With social media being at the forefront of the digital world, everyone is consuming content that is usually generated by influencers.

Some influencers have amassed a huge audience that spans millions of followers and subscribers, while others have a much smaller audience.

Both can still have huge impacts when they work with brands that they promote. This is why influencer marketing has become a major player in the public relations space.

In this post, we will discuss how to find influencers for your brand and what their role is. We’ll also explain why these methods aren’t as superior as reaching out to PR agencies like ours.

Let’s get into it!

What is the Role of an Influencer For Your Brand?

Advertising has been around for a long time and as a society we can now usually tell straight away if something is an ad or not. 

With influencer marketing we can essentially advertise without it actually feeling like an advertisement, hence it being so effective.

We’ve always had people that we respect and revere, usually in positions of power or sporting heroes but now, thanks to social media, everyone has an opportunity to get their name out there and start increasing their influence.

This accessibility has seen a rise in influencers across many industries, these people have grown a following and now have loyal supporters who trust them.

From a promotional perspective, this is a match made in heaven. These influencers can use their audience to promote your brand, allowing you to reach a loyal fanbase who are now more likely to positively engage with you due to the trust built between them and the influencer. 

What are the Dangers of Choosing the Wrong Influencer?

Influencer marketing is a great tool to use when it goes to plan.

But when it goes wrong it can turn into a complete public relations disaster with devastating damage to your brand.

If your brand was to work with an influencer who was involved in a public scandal then your brand is left in a vulnerable position.

Trust would be lost between you and your audience, something which is very hard to restore.

How to Find Influencers in the UK

There are many options available if you want to find an influencer to promote your brand. Thanks to the internet and social media these options are practically available to everyone.

Although, it is important to mention that these methods will require a lot of time and effort to deliver positive results.  

Social Media

Influencers are huge on social media. It’s where a lot of them have leveraged platform users and made names for themselves. 

But how do you find influencers on social media?

There are a few methods you could use, these include:

• Searching hashtags – hashtags are still used on posts and they help narrow down relevant content which is being posted by relevant people within your industry. Check these posts and see if they have been posted by an influential profile. Remember, they don’t need to have millions of followers, just as long as there is good engagement. 

• Use the search bar to find industry leaders – the search bar on social media apps allows you to explore and find new and exciting content. If you can search in your specific industry you’ll be able to track down influential figures easily and reach out to them.

• Look at the comments section of popular posts – influencers on social media are quite active on their chosen platforms. They like and comment under posts that resonate with them. Look at popular posts within your industry and see who is engaging with this content. 

Google Search

A quick search on Google and you will be bombarded with thousands of results that can leave you even more confused than before you typed in your search query.

This can be the same when searching for influencers.

It can be hard to know where to start.

One effective way is to get specific with your search. Simply type into Google one of the following: 

• [industry/niche] expert.
• [industry/niche] blogger.
• [industry/niche] speaker.

These help you be more specific and cut through the noise.

Speaker Lists from Relevant Events

There are speaking events going on up and down the country all year round. At these events, there will be a panel of speakers which is usually made up of industry leaders.

These events are a great place to find influencers.

Check sites such as Eventbrite and see what relevant events and summits are going on. Then see who is speaking at these events and reach out to them if they match the criteria you are searching for.

What’s great about this method is that the speakers at these events are already engaging in promotional activities simply by being a speaker.

This could mean that asking them to be a part of your promotional campaign will be met with little resistance.

Apps

We live in a world where there is an app for everything now.

So you shouldn’t be surprised that there are apps available which can help you find influencers at the touch of a button.

Here is a list of popular Influencer marketing platforms:

• Collabor8.
• SocialLadder.
• Keyhole.
• Influence.io.
• Influencity.

Finding Influencers for Your Live Event With Gala PR

So there you have it, a selection of different methods you could use to find an influencer to help promote your brand or campaign. 

Although these methods do work they do have disadvantages.

• They require a lot of time and effort to execute.
• Can be very confusing if not planned accordingly.

It’s for these very reasons that businesses turn to PR companies like ours to help them with their influencer marketing campaigns. 

We have the experience, contacts and capabilities to find the right influencer to help promote your live entertainment event. 
Contact us today and we can source the best influencer for your brand.