Authenticity in influencer marketing: How to find authentic influencers

Social media marketers understand how pivotal influencers are to the success of their brand. At the same time, they don’t always know the perfect formula to succeed with influencer marketing. In The 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report, we found over 80% of marketers agree that influencers are an essential part of their overall social media strategy.

Who should you partner with? What kind of content should you create with influencers? How can you make sure your influencer marketing methods are going to pay off? It all comes down to influencer authenticity.

In this article, we get into the nitty gritty of what influencer authenticity is, why it matters and how you can use it to drive revenue and make a business impact.

What is authenticity in influencer marketing?

Authenticity may sound like social media jargon, but it’s a concept that’s essential to connecting with your brand’s social media followers. The definition of what is authentic in marketing is a moving target, as it varies across generations and demographics. In the context of social media marketing, influencer authenticity refers to influencers that are true to their values and mission. In authentic influencer marketing, brands work with influencers whose values and mission align with their own.

Authenticity in social media is something users want more of—whether it’s from influencers or others. According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index™, authentic, non-promotional content is the number one thing users don’t see enough of on social media. It’s what they crave.

Influencer authenticity makes your brand look more believable to consumers simply by association. How can you spot an authentic social media influencer? Look for these traits:

Transparency and honesty

Examine how the influencer communicates with their audience, especially about their brand partnerships and brand deals. The FTC now requires influencers to disclose brand partnerships, so influencers must note which posts are sponsored by their partners or that they’re doing a brand deal with a specific company who’s paid them to create content.

Disclosing a brand partnership is just one way to be transparent. As we’ve seen in our research, social media users are looking for authenticity and transparency about business practices and values. Look at how the influencer talks about the brand in their posts. For example, do they share that they loved the brand even before they started working with them? Do they talk about certain aspects of the brand that align with their personal values and interests? This type of transparency and honesty helps to create trust with followers.

@SpiceSpoon is a social media influencer that focuses on modern Pakistani, Afghan‌ and Persian Cuisine. In the post below, she specifies that she has a partnership with a sponsor so her audience is aware that it’s a paid post. In the caption, she notes specific aspects she loves about the product, such as their sustainable farming methods—something she’s passionate about.

Genuine passion and interest

Does the social media influencer really care about the topics they post about? Are those topics an important part of their life? Unless the social media influencer is a talented performer, most users and brands can see right through faked passion and interest.

Authentic influencers live and breathe their area of expertise—it’s not only how they make money, it brings true joy and value to their lives.

Engagement with followers

Look at how the influencer interacts and engages with their followers. Do they passionately talk about common interests or do they brush off comments and DMs from followers?

Showing authenticity with social followers involves engaging with them, whether that’s by liking comments, replying to comments or even using user-generated content (UGC) in posts.

If an influencer isn’t building an emotional connection with their followers, they likely aren’t putting their authentic selves out into the world—and a partnership with them could harm your brand.

Why authentic influencers matter

Why should your brand prioritize influencer authenticity? Appealing directly to consumers is a major reason, one that helps increase influencer marketing return on investment (ROI).

Authentic marketing with influencers not only captures your target audience’s attention and gives them what they want, but it also has several other benefits like enhancing your credibility, increasing engagement with followers and creating meaningful relationships with consumers. Who can say no to that?

Here are other reasons influencer authenticity matters:

Builds trust and credibility

Brand trust—you can never have too much of it, but you can certainly have too little. If your consumers trust your brand, they know they can rely on you to fulfill your promises to them. This makes them much more likely to purchase from you again or refer you to their family and friends.

The same is true for authentic influencers. They build trust with their audience by showing how true they are to their values and mission. This increases credibility with their followers, encouraging them to engage online and consider making a purchase based on the influencer’s recommendations. People are much more likely to buy a product or service from someone they trust, after all.

The Pasinis’ social media presence revolves around their connection to Italy—it’s the area of their expertise. As a result, when they share travel tips for Italy (that include brand partnerships like the one below), their followers trust their recommendations.

Drives engagements and conversions

Authentic influencers tend to engage with their followers by liking and responding to comments, especially when discussing matters that align with their own values. Meaningful interactions like these increase the likelihood of their followers taking action—such as going to your brand’s social media profile or clicking through to your website from a sponsored post.

Never underestimate the value of social media engagement. It helps social media users feel connected with influencers and the brands they promote, creating a sense of loyalty and community.

@Maymah is an influencer whose content focuses on fitness training and modest gym outfits. She responds to her followers’ comments in almost every post, driving further engagement.

Create long-term relationships

Speaking of loyalty and community, authentic influencer marketing is a great way for brands to create long-term relationships online—both with influencers and their followers, benefiting everyone involved. How does this work?

Influencer authenticity, by association, builds brand authenticity. When the influencer’s followers feel aligned with the influencer’s values and see them as being authentic online, they feel more inclined to trust what they say. And if the influencer vouches for your brand, their followers will want to create a relationship with you as well, all based on the influencer’s word.

Be sure to live up to expectations by engaging with your influencer’s audience online when and where it feels appropriate to do so.

Enhances brand reputation

Influencer marketing and authenticity in content creation go hand in hand. You can’t have authentic social content without an authentic influencer and vice versa. Partnering with the right influencers can positively impact your brand’s image and reputation, especially if your brand values align with the influencer’s values. This kind of alignment will help both the brand and the influencer create content that feels meaningful

For example, if you work with an influencer who values sustainability just as much as your brand, you’ll be able to enhance your brand reputation with their followers through a strategic partnership. If your brand doesn’t feel the same way about sustainability, however, your partnership won’t resonate with followers.

@GreenGirlLeah is an influencer whose content revolves around sustainability and environmentalism. Naturally, her content features brands with similar values, like in the example below, where she partnered with brand Brilliant Earth.

How to identify authentic influencers

There’s no shortage of social media influencers online, so how do you find the best partnership for your brand? Our blog on how to find the right influencers is a great start to getting a shortlist of candidates, but you’ve also got to consider influencer authenticity.

Follow these tips to find the right influencer for your brand.

Conduct a content analysis

When it comes to influencer marketing and authenticity in content creation, the best way to find what your brand needs is to do a deep dive into the influencer’s content. This is a key step, so be sure not to rush it—you want to take time to watch or read posts in detail.

Look for consistency in the influencer’s message: Do they talk about their values in the same way across their posts? Also consider how genuine their content feels. Is the influencer enthusiastic in how they talk to their followers? Do they show passion and interest in the topics that matter to your brand?

Originality can’t be understated. It’s ranked as one of the top factors that make a brand memorable on social, with 38% of consumers remembering brands who share original and creative content. Consumers don’t want to see the same trends over and over again. If the influencer shares new and interesting content on a regular basis, they might be a winner.

Identify values alignment

Influencer-brand partnerships are successful when the influencer’s values align with the brand’s values. If there’s a major disconnect, the authenticity of the relationship fades—and consumers can tell.

When reviewing the influencer’s content, pay special attention to what drives them and compare them to your brand’s values. While the influencer may not share 100% of your values, there needs to be considerable alignment on the things that matter most.

For example, if a luxury home decor brand values high-quality manufacturing and doesn’t like to cut corners—and the influencer’s whole platform is about cheap and quick home decor “hacks”—there’s a disconnect in values here. Even if the brand and the influencer agree on other values, this type of misalignment can tank a partnership and create a brand crisis.

Evaluate audience engagement metrics

Analyze the quality of interactions between the influencer and their followers. Look at engagement metrics such as likes, shares and comments to evaluate the level of engagement the influencer has with their audience. Around three-quarters of marketers focus on engagement metrics when tracking social performance.

Other important metrics to track include click-through rates, reach and impressions, which are also directly impacted by audience engagement. If you note upward trends, it’s typically a good sign. Downward trends should be investigated—because it may mean the influencer is struggling to connect with their followers.

Consider follower count—but not too much

On a related note, the influencer’s engagement may depend on how many followers they have. In some cases, the more followers an influencer has may mean they have more engagement as well—but that’s not always the case.

Often, micro and nano-influencers have high levels of engagement because they have a highly targeted, engaged follower base. So, while follower count is important, it’s not as important as the level of engagement or authenticity.

Authenticity in influencer marketing isn’t impacted by follower count. While it can be beneficial for your brand to work with mega influencers, the ROI only pans out if those influencers align with your brand and have loyal followings

If you want to connect with your target audience through strategic partnerships, check out this worksheet to help you create a social strategy that blends data and values.

Review past partnerships

Do your due diligence by looking at the influencer’s history of collaboration to gauge their authenticity and alignment with your brand. How many brands have they worked with before? What kinds of brands do they typically work with? How do those brands compare to your brand? The answers to these questions can help you evaluate if the influencer is right for your needs.

Consider influencer marketing benchmarks, like those found in The 2024 Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report, to see how well the influencer’s partnerships have performed. If the influencer hasn’t met past brand expectations, there could be something amiss with their partnerships, messaging or engagement.

DermDoctor is a board-certified dermatologist. His brand partnerships are typically with skincare brands, like in the example below, showing consistency and authenticity.

Use an influencer marketing platform

An influencer marketing platform is a great way to speed up the identification and vetting process. Whether you’re interested in virtual influencers or human influencers, you can use influencer marketing platforms to connect with top creators in your industry, narrow down your search and identify influencers that align with your brand.

Once you’ve found your partner, you can use influencer marketing platforms to manage contracts, content and analytics.

Finding authentic influencers with Sprout Social Influencer Marketing

In order to harness authenticity in influencer marketing, you need the right tools. Sprout Social Influencer Marketing (formerly Tagger) is an influencer marketing platform that helps brands find and connect with influencers that align with their brand values. Brands can maximize their influencer marketing ROI and create lasting business impact.

Check out these key capabilities:

Advanced search and filtering

Sprout’s Influencer Marketing enables users to filter influencers based on criteria such as audience demographics, engagement rates and content categories. Use the 50+ search filters to find influencers that not only align with your brand values and mission, but serve the same target audience as you.

Brands can create data-driven influencer-marketing strategies for effective collaboration. By partnering with social influencers who have the power to introduce your brand to their loyal audience, you can reach more people who may be interested in what you have to offer.

Authenticity and brand affinity analysis

Sprout’s Influencer Marketing helps you assess an influencer’s authenticity by analyzing their content, audience engagement and past brand partnerships, so you can be sure they’re the right fit for your campaign.

Influencer Marketing’s proprietary algorithm uses machine learning and audience psychographics to match brands with creators who have a strong affinity for one another. The platform also has a content health capability that compares crucial performance metrics among influencers so you can make data-driven decisions that result in business impact.

Streamlined workflow and collaboration

Once you’ve found the influencers you want to work with, managing the partnership is made easy with Sprout’s Influencer Marketing. It simplifies the process of overseeing influencer campaigns with its end-to-end campaign workflow. You can optimize every aspect of the campaign, from planning to approval and posting.

Foster collaboration between your team and the influencer with collaboration portals, which make onboarding and communication easy. Organize feedback and approvals for the influencer and track performance all from one interface.

Build long-term relationships with authentic influencers

Nurturing long-term relationships with authentic influencers isn’t a one-and-done job. It requires strategy, planning and continued collaboration, but it’s worth it for the level of brand advocacy you get in return.

The key? Mutual respect.

Brands and influencers need to see eye to eye and be on the same page about the goals of their collaboration. Through candid communication and clear expectations, you can be on your way to establishing a partnership that lasts years.

Consider giving influencers creative freedom to create content for your brand, avoiding overstepping your role as a partner. Provide guidance when needed to protect your brand, but keep in mind that the influencer has built a following for a reason and they know what kind of content appeals to their audience.

Champion authenticity in your next campaign

Whether you’re new to influencer campaigns or have already partnered with several influencers, it’s time to put authenticity front and center. It’s what social media users want and they’re in charge of your brand’s success on social.

Use this influencer marketing toolkit which will set you up with the resources to begin, budget and build an influencer strategy optimized for ROI. Establish strong relationships on social for the long term with influencers, followers and customers.