
Influencer marketing is constantly in the spotlight and many people have questioned the value of using a popular account to represent their brand. We’ve put together a quick guide on how we audit a social media influencer, and why you should be using them.
1. Audit their social media followers
When we audit social media influencers on Instagram, we start with the numbers. Tools such as HypeAuditor, Clout HQ and Influencer Auditor allow us to look beyond a follower number.
As well as looking at demographics, the tools drill down into the things we need to know, including follower changes and engagement rate.
Huge drops or increases in followers should put up a red flag. Real pages won’t see a mass follow/unfollow unless there is an event to trigger this.
For example, if one of our targets recently got caught up in a Kardashian scandal, people may want to tune in to keep an eye on the drama.

HypeAuditor/@jordynwoods
However, if they’re one of the most famous YouTubers on the planet, their follower stream should remain fairly consistent with a slight incline. Any mass follow/unfollows is a sign that a percentage of followers are fake and therefore, not of any value.

HypeAuditor/@zoella
Enough said…
2. Check their engagement
We also make sure the influencer is speaking to an engaged audience.
We check out the average number of engagements per post. If the average engagement rate is just three percent, but the influencer has 75k followers and 90k engagements on a post, it’s pretty likely that they’re buying likes.
On the other side of that, if an influencer has three million followers and is averaging at 60 likes per post, their followers are not that engaged. Either they’re fake, or the content is not of good quality.
3. Manually audit the social media influencer
The real value of social media lies in the content. While a user can buy likes, the ultimate aim is positive sentiment. This can result in clicks to site, brand awareness and conversions. Taking the time to look through the actual content and audience sentiment lets us know if they’re right for our clients.
4. Work together on content
The influencers that we do choose to work with won’t just say yes without needing to discuss. Working together to produce quality content helps us to achieve conversions. Users know what authentic content is and if an influencer genuinely believes in a brand’s product, it will show.
Want to Jam with influencers as part of your next campaign? We can make it happen! Get in touch at hello@wearejam.agency!