How to hire an influencer: Unlocking a successful strategy

Things to know before hiring influencers

1. Decide on your target audience

Having a crystal-clear understanding of your target audience will serve as the foundation for selecting the right influencer to partner with. As such, focus on understanding your audience’s demographics, interests, behaviors, and pain points.

The magic happens when the influencer’s audience mirrors your ideal customer profile. This alignment will ensure that your message resonates authentically and leads to higher engagement.

2. Determine the budget limits

Before reaching out to creators, it’s essential to kick things off with a budget reality check. Consider nuances such as expected influencer fees, production costs, and any additional fees associated with the collaboration.

This preliminary assessment will play a pivotal role in determining the type of influencer you can work with. If you have tightly constrained budgets, considering how to hire micro-influencers might be a viable choice. On the other hand, macro-influencers can offer a pathway to a broader audience, provided that your resources accommodate such partnerships.

3. Identify the needed type of content

Which type of content highlights your brand values best? Whether it’s captivating Reels storytelling or informative YouTube videos, having a well-defined perspective of the desired content type and platform will guide your influencer selection process more efficiently.

Plus, it’s equally important to ensure that a selected influencer is really capable of delivering the quality you’re expecting. For that, we recommend you choose some specific references for what you’re expecting to get. Later, you’ll be able to compare them to what your potential creative partner does and make the right decision.

4. Investigate your competitors

We’re sure you’ve probably done a competitor review for your brand strategy before but here’s another point of attention – investigate your competitors’ influencer collaborations!

Compiling a list of influencers that your competitors have already worked with will help you cut those candidates off from your search. After all, who needs conflicts of interest and awkward situations? This awareness empowers you to position your brand to stand out strategically.

5. Pick a tool for influencer search

Navigating the vast landscape of potential influencers requires a reliable intuitive tool to streamline the journey. Automated full-cycle platforms like Hypetrain empower you to not only cherry-pick creators but also complete all needed interactions along the way, from the initial outreach to contract signing and payments. And the best thing – there’s no need to pay extra to agents or other intermediaries!

How to hire influencers with Hypetrain step by step

Curious about how and where to hire influencers? The following instructions will clear things up:

Step 1: Discover influencers

We know that diving into the endless sea of social media influencers may feel uneasy… but not that terrifying when you know the general criteria of your ideal candidate and have on-target filters!

Hypetrain allows you to filter influencers by niche, follower count, engagement rate, location, and more parameters across three social media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

By fine-tuning your search parameters, you minimize the risks of spending ages of manual effort on finding the most relevant creator.

Step 2: Create a shortlist

Once you’ve mastered the filtering magic, you need to create a shortlist of your favorites. You can create a campaign and effortlessly add selected influencers to this dedicated space.

Having all influencers in one place allows you to review and compare them at your convenience and mass-mail them if needed (explained in the following section).

Step 3: Reach out to selected influencers

With a curated shortlist, you can initiate conversations with selected influencers directly within the platform using the in-built messenger. It’s only enough to connect your email to the platform and you’re all set.

Hypetrain’s chat is powered by an AI assistant so you won’t have any difficulty with customizing your messages for each influencer.

Since statistically the average response rate is 10%, this means that not all influencers on your list will respond (sorry, but you should be prepared). To optimize your outreach efforts, Hypetrain is equipped with a mass-mailing feature, allowing you to send emails to multiple influencers simultaneously.

Step 4: Discuss campaign details

When an influencer hops on board, the next essential milestone is discussing the finer points of your campaign. Discuss the type of content you envision, campaign timelines, and compensation, among others.

The main rule here is engaging in transparent communication so that both parties are satisfied with the expected process and outcomes.

Step 5: Create and sign contracts

Legal issues are usually the most troublesome part of any deal. That’s why we’ve made it hassle-free.

Hypetrain’s “Contracting” tab takes you to a page with a ready-made contract template that adheres to the industry’s best practices. It provides a solid foundation, while still granting you the flexibility to tailor conditions to suit your specific case.

Moreover, Hypetrain empowers you to use an e-signature, transforming the signing process into a simple and paperless experience.

How much does it cost to hire influencers?

How much does it cost to hire an Instagram influencer (or YouTube and TikTok one)? Whether you’re a well-established brand or a startup looking to tap into influencer marketing – average cost benchmarks are among the first questions to seek.

Digging deeper into the financial landscape of influencer collaborations, it’s essential to understand that campaign fees can vary widely. The pricing hinges on various elements, including your industry, selected social media platforms, influencer reach, frequency of posting, and more.

Speaking of some precise figures, we can take the infographics provided by Influencer Marketing Hub as references: