How to attract influencers

An influencer is someone with a strong, engaged social media following who promotes brands through their content. To their audience, their opinion not only matters but influences what they buy, where they go, and how they spend their money.

Working with an influencer can get your message to a new audience you’re trying to reach – and one that already trusts and values the influencer’s opinion.

Why should charities be interested?

Charities rarely pay for influencers (it’s a relationship built on goodwill), so you can get great exposure without paying huge amounts of money. They can help increase your credibility and get their followers engaged with your cause. Plus, working with influencers can get around the fact that more people are using ad blockers when on social media.

Build an authentic team

Doing your homework is time well spent. Look for influencers who have a genuine resonance with your charity. For example, if your charity supports families with young children, you might want to approach a parent who vlogs about sleepless nights and weaning. It comes back to authenticity and finding people who have a genuine passion about your work.

Don’t stick to one influencer. Build a team that shares your ideals and values, but  have their own niche followers. Doing that will give you access to specific audiences. Influencers on Twitch, for example, can give you access to the gaming community.

Quality not quantity

It’s not all about finding the influencers with the largest number of followers – micro-influencers can help you target specific audiences.

A one-off post by someone with millions of followers can be great in terms of raising awareness of a campaign. But someone who personally cares about your cause and regularly posts about it will have a longer-lasting impact in actively engaging their followers.

And when it comes to platforms, go where your supporters are. It doesn’t matter if the world is on TikTok – if it’s not relevant to your supporters, it will be wasted time.

Questions to shape your thinking

When looking for influencers to collaborate with, think through:

• What do you want to work with them for? To promote your brand long term? For specific campaigns? Have some initial goals in mind
• Is the influencer transparent about which posts are promotional? Are their followers genuine and not bought? (If follower numbers are high, but engagement low, this could be an indication)
• Are their posts of a consistent high standard? And does their tone of voice sit well with yours?
• Do you have shared values? Does the influencer have first-hand experience of your cause and a genuine interest in it? Authenticity sings through