10 Questions To Ask Before Working With Influencers

Working with influencers is a great way to connect with your target audience, spread brand awareness, and generate more sales.

With a market value of £21.1B and growing, influencer marketing is clearly here to stay.

So, if you're hoping to partner with more influencers this year, we're sharing the top questions you need to ask before you sign on the dotted line.

Why You Should Work With Influencers

Working with influencers can be a game-changer for your business, as it allows you to:

• Remove the barriers of traditional advertising
• Tap into highly engaged online audiences
• Build long-term relationships with your target customer
• Generate sales or leads

While influencer marketing is still a relatively new form of marketing, many brands have seen great results from investing in it. For example, MAC Cosmetics partnered with multiple creators for a skincare launch, and Mejuri consistently works with micro-creators to build awareness of their jewellery line.

10 Questions To Ask Influencers Before Your Next Campaign

Ready to find influencers for your next campaign? These 10 questions will help you determine which influencer is the right fit:

#1: Who Is Their Target Audience?

Choosing an influencer with an engaged following is important, but if their audience isn’t the right fit for your product or service, you’ll likely see little to no return. Take note of the type of followers who are regularly commenting on and liking an influencer’s posts. Are they the type of person who would be likely to engage with your brand?

#2: Are They Familiar With Your Brand?

It's important that the influencers you work with know who your brand is and what it's about. Have they used your product (or services) before? Do they know who your competitors are? Are they familiar with your industry? While the influencer doesn't have to be a current customer, it makes future collaborations feel more authentic if they can easily speak about your brand with some awareness of who you are. Check to see if the influencer follows your brand (or similar brands) on social media, engages with your posts, or has previously tagged (or mentioned) you.

#3: What Type of Content Do They Produce?

It's important to evaluate the type of content the influencer produces. Are they known for creating highly visual posts or on-the-go, unedited videos? By understanding the type of content an influencer produces, you can identify if their brand aligns with your goals and if their audience is the right fit for you.

#4: What Is Their Engagement Rate?

While engagement rates are a helpful starting point, they’re not the end-all, be-all for creator performance. If your campaign goals are more focused on brand awareness, you may work with influencers who have more followers (and a lower engagement rate). However, if you're looking to drive clicks or conversations in the comments section, you may consider working with nano or micro-influencers who typically have higher engagement rates.

#5: Which Social Media Platform Is Their Strongest Performer?

An influencer with a strong following on more than one social media platform can give your investment more value. However, there’s nothing wrong with working with influencers who are strong on one particular platform. For example, Glow Recipe collaborated with Mikayla Nogueira on TikTok. Though Mikayla’s Instagram account is still followed by millions, her TikTok account is notably more active, has stronger engagement, and has over 14M followers.

#6: How Do Their Values Align With Your Brand?

A smooth-sailing partnership is made even better when brands and influencers share the same professional vision and values. So, when it comes to working with an influencer, an important question to ask is: How well do they align with your brand’s values? If you’re struggling to see the connection, chances are your audience will too. Consumers are hyper-aware of sponsored posts — especially if the partnership seems forced and unnatural.

#7: Can They Share a Rate Card?

Many influencers provide a media kit to prospective brand partners, and it typically includes a rate card. This gives brands an idea of their content quality and what they typically charge. Keep in mind that rates can fluctuate — so be ready to negotiate a fair fee based on your budget and expected deliverables.

#8: Do They Have A Media Kit?

Creative media kits are a must-have for all influencers, as it's essentially a business card, CV, and portfolio all wrapped up into one. Take time to review influencer media kits thoroughly — and make sure they include:

• A bio: Who are they? What are their interests?
• Social stats: What are their most popular social media accounts? How many followers do they have? What's their engagement rate? Do they also have a blog or newsletter?
• Audience demographics: Where are their followers located? How old are they?
• Rate card: How much do they charge for posts (or for a content bundle)? Do they offer solely sponsored content or UGC-inspired content too?
• Previous partnerships and results: What type of content have they created in the past? What were the goals and results of the campaign?
• Testimonials: What do previous partners have to say about working with them?

By reviewing their media kit, you’ll be able to conclude whether the influencer aligns with your brand and overall goals.

#9: What Does Their Ideal Brand Collaboration Look Like?

Many influencers like being involved in campaign ideation, while others prefer complete creative autonomy. So, it’s worth understanding both how a creator (and your team) prefer to collaborate. This will help inform how your campaign will run, if timelines will need to be extended, and how in-depth your briefs will be.

#10: What Is Their Lead Time for Deliverables?

Not all content types are created equally. Between TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and more, different content types will have different lead times. Understanding a creator’s lead time for each deliverable will help you plan your campaign timelines more efficiently.

And there you have it — the ten questions you should ask in the discovery phase of your next influencer marketing campaign. They'll help you make the right decision with working with an influencer or choosing someone who is more aligned with your overall brand and goals.

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