Choosing the right influencers is a critical step for a successful influencer marketing campaign. Here are some strategies to sift through and shortlist suitable influencers:

1. Relevance to Your Brand: This represents a fit between the influencer’s content and your brand or product. It’s crucial to ensure that an influencer’s niche aligns with your brand.

2. Audience Demographics: Look at the influencer’s audience. It should match your target audience in terms of age, gender, location, interests, etc.

3. Engagement Rate: This is a metric that relates to the interaction an influencer receives from their followers. High engagement typically indicates a dedicated and involved following.

4. Quality of Content: Analyze the quality and aesthetic of the influencer’s content. Make sure it matches your brand image and they can translate your brand messaging effectively.

5. Authenticity: Authentic influencers tend to have loyal followers. Note how influencers interact with their followers and check for genuine engagement.

6. Past Partnerships: Look at the brands the influencer has partnered with before and the results of those partnerships.

Various influencer marketing platforms such as Flinque, HypeAuditor, and Traackr can help you streamline the process. Flinque, for instance, offers advanced search filters to help brands find the most relevant influencers based on the criteria like engagement rate, location, and audience demographics. Such platforms can further assist with campaign planning, tracking performance and measuring ROI.

Remember, the suitability of these strategies and tools would depend on the specific needs of your campaign.