Want to up your influencer game and gain better business with less effort? Take note! Because the Portuguese know how to get it done. 

Instagram influencers are one of the most brilliant marketing hacks since the flyer. Tested, proven, and absolutely here to stay, this unique genre of advertising is the best way to reach traditionally unreachable audiences. Most legacy ad campaigns are often cost prohibitive for most small businesses, forcing them to turn to online marketing tactics, like SEO companies and- you guessed it- influencers. But to see just how to get the right influencer for your business, it might help to take a look at how Portuguese influencers run their campaigns- because they absolutely get work done. 

Influencers like Rui Duarte Catana (@ruiduartecatana) are an ideal way to boost sales and interaction, especially in smaller niche markets. This particular influencer not only tops the charts in Education, but also is in the top ten influencers of Health and Fitness. Taking a focused attention to a slightly broader market, influencers like Rui Duarte Catana can help increase interaction with not only typical clientele, but also new clients from fringe markets as well. Depending on which influencer you choose, you can open up much broader audiences and create entirely new target markets, particularly if that influencer’s topics dovetail into your core niche. Choose an influencer unwisely however, and you may be out not only money, but also products and reputation. 

Choosing an influencer can be pretty dicey, especially when most of them don’t just have one particular facet of interest that they cover. One influencer can cover everything from travel, to news, to hair & beauty and everything in between. While it’s convenient to want to choose an influencer that covers an immensely broad range of topics, this can result in a watered down target audience- so while finding one that fits solidly into your business niche is a must, it’s also important to have a small amount of divergent audiences without going overboard. 

Don’t be timid about taking a trip to their profile or page and tossing a few comments out, just to test the waters. See what their followers are talking about, and watch how the influencer interacts with them. Take Rui Duarte Catana as an example. While he proudly declares himself a family man, it’s also obvious how he would appeal to a 25-35 female audience, as well as an even wider age range for males. This means that even though this influencer has a pretty specific niche of specialty topics they focus on, they’re topics that appeal to a wide age range and both genders, and in multiple countries. Rui’s biggest influence is in Iran, so even despite language and cultural differences, influencers can still be hyper relevant. This is a perfect example of how European influencers have a global reach. 

Which brings up a great point- you should always look into influencers from different countries, specifically if you’re looking to widen your reach. Look at all aspects of any given influencer’s profile. Consider not only what they post, but also how they interact with their audience. While there is quite a bit you can learn about an influencer just from surfing their account for awhile, it’s also important to invest some time in data analytics and check out the hard numbers. 

Rui has seen a massive audience growth in the last six months, and has an excellent engagement rating. Which makes it easy to see that this particular influencer is trending. Numbers like these can give you a better idea of how many people a given influencer actually reaches, and how well they retain follower interest. If you check out the top influencers via any ranking tool, you’ll see that followers is one a part of what makes these accounts so effective as a marketing tool. Even if someone has millions of followers, if they’re not engaging with them, chances are their followers won’t be engaging with your product. So choose wisely and don’t get wrapped up in just followers or location. 

So you’ve done all your research, perused their profile, and think they’re absolutely perfect for your brand? Great- now all you need to do is talk to them. It sounds a bit cheesy, and maybe even slightly outdated, but a digital handshake is wildly important when you’re choosing an influencer to best represent your product. Chat with them personally and see if the man matches the mask, so to speak. 

At this point, you should feel comfortable treating these communications similarly to an employee interview. Ask them about campaigns they’ve worked on previously, pay close attention to the businesses they worked with. Were the campaigns a success? How did they deal with any hardships or problems they came up against. Seeing how the influencer acts when under pressure can be a very important piece of information to have. One that will help paint a far fuller picture of what to expect from the campaign than just analytics alone.