More than 80% of surveyed brands identify influencer marketing as an effective brand strategy. While influencer marketing may be a lasting trend, not every campaign is created equally. The best partnerships start with choosing the right influencer for your brand. Failing to do your due diligence when selecting an influencer partner can result in a waste of your allocated budget, low engagement, or damage to your reputation. Influencer audits are a simple but essential step that separate successful partnerships from costly mistakes. LaRue has a proven 10-minute framework to audit an influencer profile quickly and effectively.
Why Influencer Audits Matter
Auditing is a crucial first step, before there’s even an offer on the table or a contract to sign. Influencer audits are a great opportunity to:
- Prevent fake followers and inflated engagement: A comprehensive audit takes any potential inflation out of the equation. You can verify whether or not an influencer’s follower count is genuine or padded. Bot-generated engagement can drive false engagement numbers, making it seem like an influencer is getting more likes, comments, and shares on their posts than they really are.
- Ensure alignment with brand values and voice: The influencer you choose should align well with your brand values, identity, and community. Your brand’s first responsibility is to your customers. It’s important that an influencer partnership never feels like a betrayal of your values or like you’re selling out for the prospect of new followers or increased impressions.
- Protect against compliance risks (FTC guidelines, brand safety): FTC guidelines aim to ensure customers are not exposed to deceptive advertisements. To comply, influencers are typically required to disclose paid partnerships, offer unbiased opinions, and avoid misleading statements and claims. Clearly defined guidelines for influencer/brand partnerships with these compliance risks in mind help maintain brand transparency and avoid any potential issues from the get-go.
Step-by-Step Framework: How to Audit an Influencer Profile
Audience Analysis
When it comes to analyzing an influencer’s audience, a quick check for follower count is not enough. Dive into follower demographics with a focus on key attributes such as age, location, and interests. This will let you know whether or not your two audiences align well. Don’t forget to verify authenticity as well. Watch out for bots or duplicate accounts, sudden spikes in followers that suggest inflated metrics, and mismatched engagement. You should have two goals for this step: ensure audience overlap with your brand’s target market, and feel confident that the influencer’s follower count and engagement is genuine.
Content Consistency
Take a look at the influencer’s backlog of content. Look for a clear niche, consistent message, and cohesive values. It’s also important to assess the quality of visuals, captions, and posting cadence. Verify that previous branded collaborations blend naturally with organic content and posting patterns. You’re looking for a partner who prioritizes consistency and credibility, maintains a well-defined identity, and has built a meaningful online community.
Engagement & Performance Metrics
Analyze engagement and performance metrics over time, not just for one or two specific posts. Measure average likes, comments, saves, and shares to get an idea of how much interaction this influencer gets from a typical post. Look beyond vanity metrics: evaluate conversation quality in the comments and clock the tone of the chatter. Rely on both qualitative and quantitative measure when considering how well content tends to perform on this account. Compare the influencer’s engagement rate to industry benchmarks.
Compliance & Transparency
To avoid any compliance headaches going forward, see how this influencer has handled previous branded partnerships. In particular, look for the proper use of #ad, #sponsored, and disclosure tags. Monitor branded content for any misleading statements or false impressions, especially in the health and fitness space. Review the influencer’s history for any controversies, offensive content, or guideline violations.
Alignment with Brand Values
Look for compatibility between the influencer’s content and your own by analyzing tone, aesthetics, and messaging. Take a look at topics covered, types of content posted, and influencer/audience interaction. Consider any past partnerships to see whether the influencer has teamed up with competitors in your space or complementary brands. Ensure the influencer reflects the values and lifestyle your brand wants to project, and that your audience expects to see from your content.
The Quick-Check Checklist (10 Minutes or Less)
Before you dive into an intensive audit, you can run down a quick checklist in 10 minutes or less. This initial run-through can help you weed out unfit candidates, and identify potential matches that are worth auditing more closely. Before you spend time on in-depth vetting, follow this simple checklist:
- Scan engagement quality on three recent posts: Take a quick look at how the influencer’s last three posts have performed via audience interaction. Observe likes, shares, comments, and how many times it has been saved. Consider the tone of the comments, and whether it has generated positive conversation.
- Check follower growth patterns: Check out trends in follower growth over time, paying close attention to drastic peaks that could indicate inflated metrics or sudden drops that could hint at an unstable following or past controversies.
- Confirm disclosure practices: Sift through previous branded posts and see if paid partnerships have been disclosed. Look for hashtags indicating an ad, and screen the content for both authenticity and credibility.
- Review top 9 posts for tone and brand fit: The top 9 best-performing posts on any influencer’s account can be very telling in what kind of content they get the most success with and what their audience responds to. A brief analysis of these top posts can give you a crash course in the influencer’s typical tone, messaging, and values. Consider whether or not it is compatible with your brand.
How LaRue Turns Audits Into Strong Partnerships
LaRue has years of expertise in facilitating successful influencer marketing campaigns. We are dedicated to promoting strong partnerships that benefit both parties. LaRue utilizes advanced tools for detecting fake followers, preventing any missteps over inflation or false engagement.
Our team is skilled at managing influencer/brand relationships every step of the way, from securing top-tier talent to executing an effective campaign. We prioritize strategic alignment to connect authentic influencer voices with relevant brand campaigns that showcase shared values and audience synergy. Reach out today to find out how we can help your brand manage an influencer campaign or develop a strong brand strategy.
