{"id":30966,"date":"2023-03-20T10:34:05","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T17:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grin.co\/?page_id=30966"},"modified":"2025-10-08T14:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:56:37","slug":"ch-2-identify-select-influencers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grin.co\/influencer-marketing-101\/ch-2-identify-select-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"Influencer Marketing 101 – Chapter 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chapter 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Identify & Select Influencers<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

How and where to find the right content creators for your brand<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Back to Chapter List<\/p>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Finding the right influencers<\/span><\/a> is often one of the most challenging tasks for many brands. There\u2019s a plethora of influencers nowadays – how do you hone in on the right ones for your brand? Choose an influencer with minimal engagement, and you\u2019ll waste precious budget; choose a micro influencer with no significant following, and you\u2019ll risk overpaying. There’s also all this commotion about fraud in the industry: fake followers, fake engagements, fake influencers – how do you combat that?

There\u2019s a fundamental rule you must understand when searching for influencers:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pro Tip<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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There is no correlation between follower count and actual influence. What truly determines an influencer is their connection level with their audience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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For too long, and still, to this day, people overemphasize vanity metrics \u2013 follower count and engagement rate \u2013 when identifying influencers. This myopic focus led to a surge of accounts with fake or purchased followers and engagements, leaving marketers with no immediate means to identify legitimate prospective influencers.

With that in mind, you must consider whether an \u201cinfluencer\u201d truly connects with their audience. For every profile, ask yourself: \u201cDoes this \u2018influencer\u2019 have a genuine relationship with their fans\/followers\/community?” Or is their \u201cdigital likeness\u201d truly just an aesthetic \u2013 yet faceless \u2013 facade? Authentic influencers engage with their fans. A true influencer is hopping on their IG story and talking to their community, creating a dialogue and a conversation. They\u2019re sharing the ins and outs of their life. They post relatable photos and videos and speak to<\/em> their followers – not at them. They engage in the comments section, answer questions, and give advice. They connect with their community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pro Tip<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Having a profile with aesthetic, eye-catching content and legitimately (or not) high engagement rates does not make this person an influencer!\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Far too often, brands mistakenly classify a profile with impressive follower\/engagement stats as a genuine person of influence. They structure a partnership and soon realize that the audience has no true purchasing power or doesn\u2019t care to take the recommendation of a \u201cprofile\u201d they aren\u2019t connected to.\u00a0

There are no automated tools that can identify the right influencer perfectly. Observe an account carefully before hiring an influencer. Look at the number of replies, shares, and reposts. But find out if the influencer is actively engaging with others. Are their posts relevant to your business?\u00a0

The last question you should yourself when deciding whether to work with an influencer: does this person <\/strong>connect with their community\/audience<\/strong><\/span><\/a>?<\/strong>

Let\u2019s dive into the more tangible components you should know when searching for influencers for your program. We\u2019ll break this into the influencer and the influencer\u2019s audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Define Your Target Influencer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Influencer Types: Defined<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the first steps in your ideal influencer<\/span><\/a> search efforts is to define the type of influencer<\/span><\/a> you\u2019re looking to work with. We define the influencer type by separating them into tiers based on follower or subscriber count. Choosing the correct tier for your campaign depends on your objectives, budget, and team capabilities.

The general consensus has split them across five tiers: Nano, Micro, Macro, and Mega (which contains a subcategory for Celebrity). Each type has its own set of characteristics and characteristics that define them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n