As an influencer, one of the ways that you can generate revenue is through brand partnerships and endorsements. Here are some characteristics or ways that brands check when reviewing potential influencers to sponsor their product.

The rates of interaction/engagement within followers

Brands actually do not pay attention to the number of followers that an influencer has because an influencer can always cheat the number of followers with fake followers or paid followers. Brands actually look at the number and quality of engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments of the post to decide if the influencer is legitimate before venturing out on a possible partnership.

Similar audience demographics

A brand would reach out to you if you have the same goals of mind of attracting the same customer demographics. For example, Nike would probably reach out to an athlete, because both the athlete and Nike concentrate on targeting sports fans and other athletes as their targeted audience. It would not make sense for Nike to reach out to painters, since Nike specializes in sports. Therefore, an alignment of audience demographics is essential in a brand’s decision to reach out to an influencer.

Brand Image

Brands are looking for consistency in a brand image or personality so that the brand can identify if this is a good match on both sides of the partnership. If an influencer does not have a consistent brand image or theme, it is hard for the brand to gauge if this is an influencer worth pursuing. Therefore, it is better to specialize in what you are good at and avoid trying to be mediocre across all themes. 

Reputation

Brands are about to engage in a partnership with an influencer, so the brands are looking for individuals who know how to act professionally and do not cause a lot of trouble. Any poor publicity stunt made by the influencer would look poorly for the brand that decides to go on a partnership with them. Consequently, the influencer would lose a lot of brand partnerships for reckless and inappropriate behavior in public.

Brand Portfolio

Brands want to work with influencers who have a solid track record, having worked successfully with other brand partnerships, and have helped increase their mass following. Therefore, influencers should prepare a brand portfolio of all of the companies and brands that the influencer has worked with.