The right word whispered into the right ear at the right time has always made all the difference in the world. The spread of social media has increased individuals’ ability to command attention, making peer-to-peer influence ever more important.

Influencer work is here to stay.

However, in the frenzy to jump on the influencer marketing bandwagon, a lot of snake oil and dubious advice is making its way onto the marketplace. It’s important to ground influencer work in a solid methodological framework to make sure it will deliver on your communications goals.

Here are five ways to cut through the smoke and mirrors and scope influencer work that will create an impact.

  1. Begin With the End in Mind

It’s a classic quantity-vs-quality decision. Evidence shows that influencers aren’t a cost-effective channel to attain reach. Promoted ads on Twitter or Facebook can drive similar view counts at a lower cost. On the other hand, influencers have a unique advantage through the relationships they’ve built with their followers. For example, if a prominent beauty expert were to recommend a product by a brand, the brand is likely to see an uptick in sales. This is known as Social Proof – and no other communications channel can deliver it.

  1. Focus on Brand-level Integration and Campaigns

Initial evidence shows that product-level influencer campaigns may actually be detrimental to a brand in the long run. However, there is no similar indication that brand-level marketing through influencers has any negative repercussions. Brand-level influencer campaigns tend to be more authentic, as they can build creative ideas on the overlap between brand values and personal values. Consider ways to best integrate the brand when building out influencer campaigns.

  1. Remember RARA – the Four Dimensions of Influence

Influence is not as simple as follower count. Reach is only one component. Look at potential influencers through the four dimensions of influence:

  • Relevance: How closely is this influencer aligned with the brand values? Is the tone of their content right for the brand?
  • Authority: Is this influencer a trusted source of information on the topic? Are they seen as such by other sources? Would you trust them to recommend a product, company or behavior in this range?
  • Reach: Is their audience the right composition? Are they reaching the right people right now? Instead of just looking at lifetime statistics, such as follower count, consider current statistics, like audience engagement.
  • Accessibility: Is this influencer willing to work with the brand? Are they likely to be exorbitantly expensive?
  1. Assess Influence in Each Dimension

You will need to prioritize a different dimension according to the specific goal of your influencer campaign. If your goal is to increase brand affinity, it is important to look for a relevant influencer who authentically reflects the brand values. For thought leadership and positioning work, it is important to engage with the most respected opinion leaders in the field – so authority is a key focus. You can go deeper into your research as each of the four RARA dimensions are quantifiable. If you can, draw on available hard data to inform your judgement of each one. Edelman’s APEX methodology is a standardized way of doing this.

  1. Integrate Paid and Earned with Influencer Work

Since Facebook’s recent Branded Partner changes, an influencer’s organic reach is likely to become less important. This makes it increasingly important to integrate paid and PR tactics into influencer work at the onset of the campaign. Only with all communications channels working together can we attain maximum effectiveness for our communications campaigns.

Philip Trippenbach is the head of Influencer, London.