I have a bit of an unfair advantage.

While you're in the trenches negotiating rates and tracking deliverables, I (and many others at Modash) spend our days writing about influencer marketing, collecting stories, and spotting patterns across hundreds of brands.

It's thinking time that most influencer marketers simply don't have. (Go ahead and ask me how much time I spend thinking about the Modash brand strategy. Not as long as I do writing this newsletter.)

We all need more thinking time. Because that’s where the magic happens.

The brands I'm highlighting today—Aumio, Bolt, Tourlane, and Deeper Sonar—didn't discover their winning recruitment strategy because they ran the same searches faster.

They had thinking time. Moments to step back, question what they were doing, and notice what actually drove results.

Consider this issue (and all issues of ROI) as my gift of thinking time. I've done some of the pattern-spotting, so you don't have to learn everything the hard way.

So, what have I spotted this week? Three common mistakes that prevent brands from nailing recruitment.

It all starts with how you think about finding creators.

Mistake #1: You rely on a single source to find influencers

Successful brands mix different approaches to build a strong pipeline of creators. Here's what that looks like:

Aumio finds influencers in three ways: 

• 50% through talent agency relationships 

• 40% via influencer discovery tools for direct outreach

• 10% through Instagram searches

Aumio is a sleep and relaxation app for children and babies. I love their team’s approach to agencies: they first find creators they love, then build relationships with those creators' agents, who then become ongoing sources of similar talent. If a talent agent reaches out cold to offer its roster, it’s not a good fit in 99% of cases. 

The mobility app Bolt changes it up a bit.  

• 70% through influencer discovery tools for direct outreach

• 20% via local talent agencies (especially crucial in new markets)

• 10% through referrals, Google searches, and social media exploration

• Have even been known to monitor influencer award nominee lists in their target markets to find rising stars.

Angling e-commerce brand Deeper Sonars takes a different approach.   

• 90% of paid partnerships through influencer discovery tools for direct outreach 

• Self-serve landing page for their ambassador program

• Word-of-mouth referrals from existing ambassadors

• Email campaigns to their customers to drive ambassador sign-ups

These brands didn’t start with the perfect ratios. They discovered what worked best through trial and error. For example, the Aumio team learned that cold outreach from talent agents rarely works only after testing it themselves.

You want to test different channels and then double down on the ones that consistently deliver the best results. 

Mistake #2: You never find your secret ingredient

There are over 250 million creators out there with more than 1K followers. But so many of us struggle to find the right ones because we’re all searching the same way.

The brands that are able to scale influencer marketing and keep seeing results don’t rely only on logic.  

Instead, they look for and find the unusual things that drive results. 

• esports entertainment company Blast identifies creators using hashtags related to specific games that are relevant to their upcoming events. (#r6, #rainbowsixsiege)

• Or look at tour operator Tourlane - They noticed that when creators showed genuine excitement during their first call, the partnerships performed way better. So now they actually screen for enthusiasm during their first call with a prospective new partner. 

• Then there's Aumio, who had this amazing "aha moment" when they realized ASMR content creators were absolute gold for their brand.

So it's not just about mixing up where you look for creators. The real magic happens when you look for unusual patterns and are willing to experiment until you find what clicks for your brand. 

Mistake #3: You don’t go deep enough into location

When your product or service has a physical presence, location becomes crucial. But checking where an influencer is based isn't enough anymore.

Here’s how Bolt and Deeper Sonar go deeper

They both know that audience location matters just as much as influencer location. Bolt requires at least 70% of an influencer's followers to live in their target city, and Deeper Sonar does the same in fishing markets.

Both teams want to make sure their message reaches people who can actually use their products.

Another benefit of focusing on audience location? 

When you recruit creators whose audiences overlap in specific regions, you create a snowball effect. Your brand starts appearing "everywhere" to your target audience.

It's way more effective than spreading yourself thin across creators whose audiences never see each other's content.

Bolt and Deeper also get creative with their search methods. They use local language keywords, region-specific hashtags, and cultural references to find authentic voices. 

The Deeper team even adjusts its expectations based on the location. While it typically looks for creators with a 5-6% engagement rate, it’s learned to be more flexible in smaller markets where those numbers are harder to find.

Sure, this approach takes more work than simply checking a creator's location. But when your success depends on reaching people in specific places, it's worth the extra effort.

Love this newsletter? Consider sharing it with the colleagues you like or on your social media of choice, like Lauren Roth did this week.

See you in the next issue of ROI!
Eleni Zoe xx
Marketing @ Modash. Say hi on LinkedIn or visit Modash.

📌A NOTE ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST READ

The tips in this newsletter might not be right for your specific case. Use good judgment when deciding whether to take advice from the internet—even mine. My team and I survey & interview influencer marketers whose advice and observations come from their direct experience. ROI is meant for you to connect the dots and be inspired or challenged to think about your influencer marketing in a way you haven’t before.