Despite the fact that the social platform has become far more than simply an influencer hub, influencer marketing is still on the rise and therefore mustn't be ignored.
In 2022, 93% of marketing professionals have integrated influencer marketing in their marketing mix. Influence-related services grew by 26% last year only. Studies show that more than two-thirds of marketers consider influencer marketing a strategic priority - with a similar proportion increasing their annual spend.
It’s not as simple as picking a social celebrity at random, however. As with all marketing strategies, the success and failure of influencer marketing rests in the details.
So, how do you go about identifying the right influencer?
Firstly, the influencers you work with have to be relevant to your brand and audience. Sure, you can pick someone famous with a giant following, splash the cash, and watch the traffic roll in, but this would be incredibly short-termist.
The influencers that you select to represent your brand need to integrate into your story and not merely be considered as a paid boost to your reach.
Follow these 3 steps to identify the best influencer for your brand:
Step 1: Define your target personas
Before starting your influencer marketing campaign, it is crucial to understand who you're targeting from your demographic.
Is your campaign broad and general, with the goal of spreading the net far and wide to capture everyone in your audience? Or, is it niche and focused on a specific demographic?
It’s important when selecting an influencer to work with that your target personas align with their audience. There’s a reason brands increasingly see benefit in working with smaller influencers - they are able to better tap into a specific target demographic.
Step 2: Ascertain engagement levels
It goes without saying that your Instagram influencers should have a certain number of followers, but it’s not always a case of “the more the merrier”.
Not only is there an ongoing concern about fake followers, an audience is nothing without engagement.
The end goal of any influencer marketing strategy should be to:
- Reach a new audience
- Bring in more qualified leads, and
- Change/improve the perception of your brand
Basic numbers and shallow KPIs can look great on your quarterly review, but they will always remain nothing more than vanity metrics if you don’t go beyond that.
By studying the amount and type of engagement that your potential influencers have, you're able to better ascertain how much impact your campaigns will have.
What you are looking for is “engagement per mention” - and sentiment (you probably want to avoid an influencer who engages an audience in a negative way). Fortunately, this can be monitored easily on the Talkwalker platform.
Top influencer research conducted using Quick Search.
Step 3: Set specific goals and measure your success
As touched upon in the first 2 steps, it’s important to ensure that your influencer marketing strategy is just that - a strategy. To this end, you should have KPIs cemented from the get-go.
There's little point in having KPIs, if you’re not going to measure them. One of the biggest pain points faced by marketers when it comes to working with influencers is how to measure the success of their campaigns.
And this is where Talkwalker’s industry-leading Instagram Analytics comes in. You're able to monitor the metrics of your influencer’s Instagram accounts in a similar way to how you can monitor your brand accounts. This enables you to better understand the impact of your campaigns.
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50 of the best Instagram influencers in the UK per industry
Although the perfect influencer will vary from brand to brand, what better way to get you started than giving you a list of the 60 best Instagram influencers in the UK per industry. Take a look...
Scroll down to browse through all sections or follow the links below to navigate to the industry of your choice:
Fashion Instagram influencers in the UK
- Lillie Lexie @lillielexie (538k followers)
- Lizzie Turner @elizabethkayeturner (309k followers)
- Habiba Da Silva @lifelongpercussion (860k followers)
- With love, Nadia @withlove.nadia (569k followers)
- Dominic Lever @domlever (692k followers)
- Veestyles @aakosua_vee (820k followers)
- Hayden Williams @hayden_williams (1.2m followers)
- Zara Holland @zaraholland (261k followers)
- Gok Wan MBE @therealgokwan (1m followers)
- Becca @beccamedlin (348k followers)
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Beauty Instagram influencers in the UK
- Janet Amrani @janet_amrani (163k followers)
- Cristina Monti @cristinamonti (101k followers)
- Naima @naimabegum_ (202m followers)
- Yamiko @yamiko_ (152k followers)
- Sophie Stanbury @sophiestanbury (152k)
- Saffron Sharpe @saffronsharpe (189k)
- Michelle @beautyandtheblog (94.7k followers)
- Stef @beingstefs (156k followers)
- Gulshan @gulshanlondon (212k followers)
- Becca Medlin @beccamedlin (348k followers)
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Food Instagram influencers in the UK
- Meliz Berg @melizcooks (116k followers)
- Lillie Farrow @lilandlife (92.7k followers)
- Shree, London Food Blogger @truffleandtoast (101k followers)
- Mandy Miller Simmonds @simplyfoodbymandy (98.8k followers)
- Emma @emmalouisie (229k followers)
- Edd Kimber @theboywhobakes (401k followers)
- Vegan Food | London @thelittlelondonvegan (137k followers)
- I used to rave but now I @iusedtoravebutnowi (141k followers)
- Max La Manna @maxlamanna (1m followers)
- Gizzi Erskine @gizzierskine (195k followers)
Travel Instagram influencers in the UK
- Harrison @harrison (89.6k followers)
- Elefv @elefv (155k followers)
- Dominic Lever @domlever (692k followers)
- Callie @calliethorpe (261k followers)
- Kelsey @kelseyinlondon (175k followers)
- Levison Wood @levison.wood (138k followers)
- Em Sheldon @emshelx (126k followers)
- Becca Medlin @beccamedlin (348k followers)
- Jessica Chelsea @jesschamilton (109k followers)
- A Lady in London @aladyinlondon (170k followers)
Luxury Instagram influencers in the UK
- Renan Pacheco @iamrenanpacheco (604k followers)
- Tara Milk Tea @taramilktea (1.3m followers)
- Jeremy Austin @jeremyaustiin (684k followers)
- Erica’s Girly World @ericasgirlyworld (65.7k followers)
- Amelia Liana @amelialiana (511k followers)
- Lorna Luxe @lornaluxe (1.4m followers)
- Merel van Poorten @andathousandwords (122k followers)
- Leonie Hanne @leoniehanne (4.3m followers)
- Erik Conover @erikconover (415k followers)
- Jarvis Marcos @theluxurytraveller (117k followers)
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Your next steps to a successful influencer marketing strategy
I know this article and list of great influencers will give you a solid foundation from which to build your strategy. Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful and viable strategies in your marketing toolkit. Checkout out our 7 deadly wins of influencer marketing report if you want to perfect your marketing plan and avoid wasting time and money.
PS: It's worth keeping your own list of potential influencers as a spreadsheet, with information about their activity, audience, sector etc., as well as updates regarding your relationship together.
