Is your brand looking for an influencer-matching platform? As the name suggests, these platforms and services match relevant influencers with interested brands. Finding the right influencer is one of the first steps toward a successful collaboration, but it can be challenging.
Marketers can manually search social profiles using keywords and vet each creator, but it’s time-consuming. An influencer matching platform or solution provides an easier alternative. You can conduct an influencer search within a robust database of experienced creators to find the right one — or tap a team of experts to help.
Brands often pick an influencer matching platform that offers a full suite of tools, so they can continue to use the same platform as they grow their investment in influencer marketing.
Questions to ask to find an influencer marketing platform for your brand
How can I narrow down my list of influencers?
Most influencer-matching platforms have a searchable database or network of creators, but what often differentiates them is their filtering capabilities. If, for example, you search for “camping influencers,” you could get hundreds of results. How do you narrow them down?
Look for a platform or team that allows you to filter your results by:
- Follower count
- Location (within 50 miles of a certain city)
- Demographics
- Gender, relationship status, ethnicity, children, pets, age, language, education
- Connection details
- Engagement rate, average likes per post, average comments per post
How do I vet an influencer?
If you’re using paid collaboration sites to find influencers, your next step is to vet them. It’s not enough to have expertise in the field and a solid follower count, you need an influencer who aligns with your brand’s values and mission.
The best influencer platforms host in-depth creator profiles that ease the vetting process. By reviewing a profile, you should be able to see:
- Examples of an influencer’s work
- Links to his or her social channels
- A description of their channel
- Analytics like followers, average engagement per post, and engagement rate
While you should still review an influencer’s social media channels and conduct background research, the most important information is listed in an influencer’s profile.
How can I communicate with influencers?
Let’s say you find an influencer or two that you’d like to work with, your influencer marketing software should have a way to contact them. Ideally, you’ll have access to a messenger system that lets you directly connect to influencers, as opposed to a generic email address.
Is it possible to check an influencer’s pricing before reaching out?
If you want the ability to review an influencer’s content offerings and, more importantly, their pricing, look for a platform that’s also a marketplace. On IZEA’s Marketplace, for example, influencers can list Deals, which tell you what kind of content influencers can create, when they can deliver it, and how much it costs.
Want to see an example? Look at this Deal created by a cooking influencer on IZEA’s Marketplace.
Can I have influencers send pitches to our brand?
The top influencer marketing platforms and teams give you options. You can either search for influencers and filter your results, or you can post an ad for influencers to respond to.
With IZEA, you can do both. If you’d like influencers to come, fill out a Casting Call with campaign details and let creators pitch their ideas to you. As a brand, you can review the pitches, check out the influencer’s profile, and reach out directly to influencers you’d like to work with.
Can I grow with the influencer marketing platform?
At the start, your brand may only be interested in an influencer platform for its searchable database, but your needs will likely grow. In time, you may want a platform that helps you launch and track campaigns, or you may want a dedicated team to take over your influencer marketing efforts.
Look for a platform that not only offers the features you want now, but those you’ll need in the future.
For example, you might start exploring IZEA’s Marketplace. Still, you may want to upgrade to IZEA Flex, a platform with a comprehensive suite of tools that provides pre-made contacts, AI tools, powerful analytics, tracking links, and shareable dashboards.
If you need more assistance, you can turn to IZEA’s Managed Services, which functions as an extension of your marketing team. IZEA experts will manage your influencer campaigns from concept to completion.
There are dozens of influencer marketing platforms available, but you can narrow your options down by working through this list of questions.
Influencers:
Looking to partner with industry-leading brands? Create your free profile today.
Marketers:
The world’s biggest brands trust IZEA’s influencer marketing software and managed solutions. Find out which solution is right for you.
IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.
IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.
IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.
IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.
