Influencer marketing is the practice of partnering with accounts who have a following or influence on social media in order to promote your brand. But how do you choose the right influencer for your brand? It’s not just about having a big following. It’s about having the synergistic niche, the right audience, and high engagement.

Niche

Take a look at their content. Are they consistently posting high-quality, relevant content? Or are they just posting random, irrelevant content in an attempt to increase their following? Focused accounts may give you better results than general ones.

Audience

Next, take a look at their audience demographics. Are their followers the right target audience for your brand? For example, if you’re a luxury fashion brand, you probably don’t want to partner with an influencer whose audience is primarily made up of teenagers. You want to partner with an influencer whose audience synergizes with your potential audience.

Engagement

It’s not just finding influencers with the largest followings. You should also take a look at their engagement rate. A high engagement rate means that their followers are actively interacting with their content, which is a good sign that they’ll be interested in your brand as well. Smaller, focused micro-influencers may also be more affordable and give more bang for your buck.

DIY

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But wait, why should I even bother with influencer marketing when I can be my own influencer?” You may already be a thought leader in your industry, and you can use your personal brand to influence and promote your business. If you’re a bootstrapped startup like me, you may not have the funds to hire out, so this approach will save money.

You have a unique perspective on your industry, and you can use your personal brand to share that perspective with your audience. Promoting your business through your personal brand can increase trust and credibility with your audience.

But here’s the thing about being your own influencer: it takes a lot of time and effort. Building a personal brand takes time, and it requires consistency and dedication. Another concern is that promoting your business through your personal brand can blur the lines between your personal and professional life, which can be a turn-off for some people. But if you’re willing to put in the work, the benefits can be huge and long-lasting.

AI

Lastly, with emerging AI tools, you can have a lot of the influencer work done automatically. This includes content generation with Large Language Models like ChatGPT, text to speech using something like Synthesia or D-id and automatic cross-posting with tools that we offer.

However, keep in mind that currently, many of these AI tools can be pricey, but free or open source alternatives exist, but don’t quite match the quality of their mainstream counterparts. For example, there is GPT-J or GPT-NEO for content generation, and Coqui-ai for text to speech. However, as of now, we couldn’t find any open source, pre-trained text-to-avatar speech software. But let us know if you find any! AI is expoentially growing so it’s only a matter of time before free or open source alternatives emerge.

Conclusion

Influencer marketing and building a personal brand both have their benefits and drawbacks. But one thing remains true: authenticity is key. Whether you choose to partner with an influencer or build your own personal brand, make sure it aligns with your brand’s values and the audience is likely to be interested in your products or services. And remember, have fun with it, don’t take yourself too seriously, and never stop learning. Happy influencing!”