Influencer marketing offers marketers vastly different information compared to traditional media channels, for example - expressed in marketing jargon, data. Data is available to support planning, commercial results, and content success verification. In this blog series, we will explore what data is essential in influencer marketing and how to utilize it. In the first part of the blog series, we will examine influencer mapping with the help of data.
Data as support for influencer mapping
When planning influencer marketing, it's good to start with influencer strategy. First, a plan is drawn up on how to achieve the desired goal through influencer marketing and what the marketing concept is - the red thread that influencers communicate in their channels, each in their own style. Once the red thread of influencer marketing has become clear, suitable influencers can then be mapped for the campaign or longer-term cooperation. Influencer mapping is a process in which suitable influencers are found and negotiated to cooperate with the brand. In mapping, you can start from any suitable method depending on whether you want to approach the campaign or cooperation, for example, based on content theme or target group. An excellent tool for influencer mapping is influencer marketing technology.
1. Influencer audience location
If the campaign's target group is the domestic market, it is natural to find out if the influencer's audience is in Finland at all. With the help of influencer marketing technology, data on the influencer's audience location can be retrieved and verified at a more detailed level, for example, at the city level - if the campaign wants to reach people in Tampere, it is possible to search for influencers specifically from the Tampere region only. The same thinking also applies to support international influencer marketing.
2. Influencer audience age and gender
One of the most central marketing targeting methods is the age and gender distribution of the influencer's audience. This should be taken into account when looking for a suitable content creator, and you should clarify whether the influencer's audience is the right age for the campaign. It is also good to note that the influencer's own age or gender does not necessarily directly correlate with the influencer's audience - in this case too, data can allow you to look deeper beneath the surface.
3. Content themes
Suitable influencers can also be mapped through content themes. If the brand's challenge is to reach young men, a good angle to start with could be to consider what kind of content the target group consumes on social media and in the media, or what subject areas the brand itself might want to connect with. High-level themes could be, for example, video gaming or sports. A traditional way in influencer mapping is to use, for example, hashtags of a certain subject area and high-level theme, and with the help of influencer marketing technology, it is also possible to search for influencers through more specific content themes, such as sports and its sub-genre football.
4. Audience activity
A key part of influencer mapping is identifying the activity of influencers' audiences. A suitable influencer should not be selected based solely on follower or subscriber numbers. Before starting cooperation, it is good to get a comprehensive understanding of how the influencer's different publications actually reach the audience - for example, when looking for an Instagram-focused content creator, it is worthwhile to study audience engagement (engagement %) in the influencer's publications, and when mapping a YouTuber, to look at the average views of videos and their proportion to the channel's subscriber numbers. From a data perspective, it is also important to note that, for example, a YouTuber may have several different content series on their channel whose view numbers do not necessarily always match. With the help of influencer marketing technology, you can access audience data independently, which means that in clarifying reach, you can skip asking for information separately from the content creator themselves.
5. Content analysis
However, merely staring at data is not enough in influencer mapping; it is also important to analyze the quality of the content produced. Is the influencer a valid option in terms of their content or brand image in relation to the brand's values? During the mapping phase, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the influencer's latest content and conduct organic background research, for example, by Googling - often a second set of eyes also helps avoid the worst mistakes.
6. Competing partnerships
If after all the background work the influencer's data and content are in line with the brand and the goals set for the campaign, one final measure is to check the influencer's possible competing partnerships and upcoming partnerships to avoid unpleasant brand safety risks.
Are you looking for an influencer marketing partner? Contact our team business@troot.fi
