Here are 7 things you should ask about:
1. Audience demographics and insights
Understanding the influencer’s audience demographics and interests is crucial: as a marketer, you need to understand whether the influencer’s audience matches the target demographic of your brand. If it doesn’t, the collaboration content won’t reach the right people.
🤍 Questions to ask:
• Can you provide detailed insights about your audience demographics, such as age range, location, and interests?
• How do you engage with your audience, and what kind of content resonates the most with them?
Alternatively, you can use an influencer analytics tool to check the influencer’s audience age, location, sex, and interests. Promoty is one of them, giving you a detailed profile report for every Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube influencer. Here’s an example of an inlfuencer report:
@myfriendsarefiction Instagram account insights on our influencer analytics tool
2. Authenticity and values alignment
Authenticity is the bedrock of influencer marketing. If the influencer’s values align with your brand’s, the collaboration feels genuine to their audience. Besides enhancing the effectiveness of the campaign, it also helps in building long-term relationships with the influencer.
🤍 Questions to ask:
• What are your main values, and how do you keep your content aligned with them?
• How do you choose the brands you collaborate with, and how do you ensure alignment with your personal brand?
3. Relationship with the brand
Previous relationship with the brand ensures that the collaboration feels authentic and integrates smoothly into the influencer’s story. For example, if the influencer says that this is their favorite skincare brand that they’ve been using for 6 years, it feels genuine for their followers.
Of course, a previous relationship with the brand is not mandatory – in case the influencer hasn’t used the product before, they can create a story about the problem it solves. Something like “I’ve been struggling with dry skin for years – and I’m so happy that I finally found something that works!”
🤍 Questions to ask:
• What’s your previous experience with our brand and products?
• How would our brand fit with your story?
4. Previous collaborations
Asking about previous collaborations helps you to understand their working style, and the effectiveness of their previous collaborations, and make sure that they haven’t worked with competitors. Additionally, asking these analytical questions helps to evaluate how strategic the influencer is.
It’s like checking someone’s job history before hiring them – it gives us an idea of what to expect and helps us make smarter choices.
🤍 Questions to ask:
• Can you share examples of successful collabs you’ve had in the past, and what made them effective?
• Have there been instances where a collab didn’t meet expectations, and what did you learn?
• Have you been working with any brands in *the field of your brand* field?
5. Posting schedule and frequency
The timing and frequency of posts impact visibility and engagement – so knowing an influencer’s posting schedule helps you coordinate your campaign for maximum impact.
Additionally, balancing sponsored and organic content is essential to maintaining authenticity and sustaining the trust of the influencer’s audience. If there are more than 30% of influencer posts are collaborations, you’d probably want to wait until a quieter period.
🤍 Questions to ask:
• What is your typical posting schedule, and how frequently do you post sponsored content?
• What’s been the balance between sponsored and organic content this month?
6. Contractual agreements
Clearly defined contractual terms prevent misunderstandings and foster a professional relationship.
Knowing an influencer’s compensation expectations, preferences for collaboration agreements, and views on exclusivity clauses ensures that both parties are on the same page, leading to a smoother collaboration.
🤍 Questions to ask:
• What are your expectations regarding compensation, and what elements are typically included in your collaboration agreements?
• How do you handle exclusivity clauses, and are there any specific terms you prefer in a partnership agreement?
7. Content creation process
Knowing the influencers’ creative process and the level of brand input they prefer allows marketers to set clear expectations. This insight is crucial for maintaining a harmonious collaboration and ensuring that the content aligns with the brand’s image.
🤍 Questions to ask:
• Would you be willing to create some teaser content before the collaboration goes live?
• Can we add any post-campaign activities, such as follow-up content or engagement, to maintain momentum?
• Is there anything else you’d like to specify about our expectations of the content?
Summary: it’s like a hiring process
Even if asking all these questions might seem like “too much” at first, it will eventually pay off. Hiring wrong influencers might be a costly mistake – plus, eventually, you’d like to find people who match your brand, your audience and your working style, to turn them into brand ambassadors! 🤍
P. S. We recommend having a call with every influencer just like you run job interviews. It’s called “hiring an influencer” for a reason! 🤭
If you need a tool for finding the right influencers and keeping them organized, feel free to try out Promoty. Create a free account here ↓
