The appearance of influencers was already on the rise for the last 2-3 years but the sudden shock of the pandemic has increased the engagement of influencers even more. 96% of the customers in the US and UK who were engaging with the influencers before the pandemic increased their involvement during the lockdown period to have some sense of normality, as per a May 2020 Global Web Index survey.
Who is an Influencer?
An influencer is someone (usually on the internet nowadays) who creates something and on the basis of that, has people (called “followers”) who like to see them and their creations.
These influencers thrive through posting photos, videos, status updates, stories, etc. on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others. An influencer can have anywhere around 1000 to 1 million followers and even more. Based on the following, the influencers are characterized as nano-influencer, micro-influencer, mini-influencer, etc.
What is Influencer Marketing?
The concept of Influencer Marketing is nothing new. For decades, businessmen and marketers have been using this technique of influencer marketing quite effectively through big celebrities. Bollywood actors and cricketers have been and are continuing to be selected to be the brand ambassadors of various companies.
Influencer Marketing is still thriving, it has changed drastically as a strategy. Nowadays, influencer marketing is not limited to Bollywood actors, cricketers, or other sportspersons, rather it expanded to smaller social media celebrities which include YouTubers, Instagram influencers, Facebook influencers, etc.
What is Influencer Market Research?
Market Research refers to the study and observation of the market that a particular business is going to exploit and operate in. It is a crucial process that has a huge role to play in the success or failure of any business model.
Influencer Market Research is a subset of Market Research. Influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most effective marketing strategies and hence the importance and relevance of Influencer Market Research have increased immensely.
Influencer Market Research is the process of searching for and selecting the perfect candidate among all the influencers to represent and promote a particular brand, company or product.
Why is Influencer Market Research important?
There is a huge number of influencers in the arena and the population is increasing every day. However, not everyone is suitable or profitable for representing all brands or products. It is making the process of choosing an influencer for your brand more and more difficult.
A thorough influencer market research can make this process much more effective and a bit easier. Once the right influencer takes on the promotion of a product or service and does it the right way, it can cause customer engagement to increase multiple folds.
However, influencer market research can be a daunting task for someone who is new or not familiar with the influencer industry. Here the market research companies can be of great help. They have all the knowledge of the industry and know better who would be a suitable influencer for what company or brand. One of the most experienced market research companies in India is AEON Market Research and you can contact them via their website.
Read on to know more about influencer market research and how can market research companies help you find the perfect match for your company.
How to Choose the Best Influencer for Your Brand?
If you do not want to go for a market research company, you can also choose to do influencer market research on your own. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind while selecting an influencer-
- The coincidence of Target Audience
Many make the mistake of looking for only the basic genre of content produced by him or her while searching for an influencer for your brand promotion. This superficial level of research will not yield much result.
A particular influencer might talk on a similar subject or similar product but he or she may not have the reach to the particular group of audience targeted by the company. It is required to know exactly what kind of audience does the influencer cater to and if his or her target audience coincides with the brand or company’s target audience.
- Deep Research
Once you have established you and the selected influencer have the same target audience, it is important to observe his or her content thoroughly in order to detect if there is any kind of clash of interest.
Find out what the influencer has spoken or shown about your or similar kind of products in her or his past contents. This is important because you might be seeing the influencer for the first time but his or her audience are there with them for a long time. If there is a clash of interest in past and present opinions or statements, it might be difficult for the audience to trust him or her.
- Eliminate the Obvious Choices
Approaching an influencer who is seen talking about a similar kind of product or service is a predictive move. Go for someone who has not spoken about similar products before or can make the audience believe that he or she has tried the product or service and really likes it himself or herself.
Genuineness is the key. Once the audience believes you, you are halfway done.
- Don’t Underestimate the Small Numbers
Though the number of followers is an important criterium, you must not neglect the influencers with lesser followers completely. It must be noted that as the number of followers increases the percentage of likes and comments decreases. The smaller influencers who have better reach can prove to be better assets if utilized judicially.
If you want the perfect match of an influencer for your brand without going through all this trouble, you may contact a market research company. We recommend AEON Market Research as they are a team of one of the best and most experienced market experts.