Instagram is fantastic. For years, advertising departments have been paying a fortune to ensure their company can produce high-quality images and then paying even more to ensure these images are actually seen. Instagram cuts out both the middle man and the fortune.

However, just because you have an account doesn’t mean you’re making the most out of Instagram. Like everything else, it requires work and a marketing plan.

One possible way to utilise Instagram is to invest in other, more popular, existing accounts. These are called influencers.

According to Entrepreneur, influencer marketing:

• Has a fantastic ROI ($6.50 for every $1 spent according to a recent Tomoson study)
• Is the fastest growing marketing channel
• Provides customers who are brand loyal

Here are 5 Top Tips to find the best influencer for your brand:

1. Be Objective

What do you want to achieve from your marketing campaign? What is the aim of your business? It is possible that a shared strategy involving a suitable influencer can help you achieve these aims.

Influencers tend to be far more cost-effective than other traditional marketing techniques, and they are also in a position to increase brand awareness easily.

Not only this, but an influencer is generally a very successful marketer in their own right, so you won’t be wasting time teaching someone to suck eggs!

2. Size doesn’t matter

The level of influence an influencer has is not necessarily proportional to the size of their following.

Although this may be tough to get your head around at first, the point stays true for basically all traditional marketing techniques. For example, a billboard on a busy commuter road advertising a local bar happy hour may not have as strong an ROI as a few well-placed flyers in local stores.

There may be a value to working with an influencer with fewer followers, especially if their an influencer in a niche field. Targeting your brands Minimal Viable Audience has been a strategy used by marketing departments for generations, and it is a concept that should still be considered when implementing an influencer campaign.

3. Create Influencer Personas

Just as you should have created a Buyers Persona for each of your marketing campaigns, you should consider building one for your influencer.

This is a great way of establishing a real idea of exactly who and what you’re looking for to advance your brand.

Make a note of every possible attribute your perfect influencer will have, from their personality to their location and even their ideal follower profession. This information will be invaluable when it comes to identifying your perfect influencer.

4. Be #Prepared

Once you have identified the ideal influencer persona for your brand, it is time to actually log on to Instagram and find someone suitable!

As someone who is (hopefully) plugged into your brand and its market, you should already have some ideas on which influencer you would like to contact, and who is leading the market trends.

However, don’t discount those with smaller followings. A simple hashtag search on Instagram for your brand can reveal potential influencers you didn’t even know existed. Similarly, don’t simply search one hashtag, but multiple variations within the same theme.

5. Meeting your match

This can be both the easiest and hardest step in working with an influencer. Actually reaching out and contacting them.

Businesses regularly consider influencers as more informal and, perhaps, a little easier to approach. Often, they simply slide into their DMs with a simple question or two.

However, influencers are professional marketers who receive numerous collaborations offers a week. Instead of trying to convince them you should work together via an Instagram DM, treat them like you would treat any other potential partner or client. Write a well-researched business proposal, alongside a social media guide, and approach them like an adult.