We’ve all seen influencers on our socials talking about brands that they work with, giving their followers discount codes, singing nothing but the highest praises for their brands. But what is influencer marketing? And how can you benefit from this form of marketing and make sure you have the right people backing your brand online, let’s jump right in.
Influencer marketing all started with celebrity endorsements. Now, almost anyone with a substantial and usually very niche following can become an influencer. In simple English, influencers are people who can spark interest in others online to buy from certain brands that they work with. It is all about promoting services or products to grow the brand, the customer reach and the following.
As with any type of marketing, there are various kinds of social media influencers that have different levels of reach and forms of interaction. It is important to analyse the following of the influencer you want to work with to make sure that your product or service will be valuable to their following. Here are some of the types of influencers out there:
Nano-influencers
These influencers have a following of less than 10’000. These are typically your “mommy-bloggers” who tend to share a bit of everything about life.
Micro-influencers
Micro-influencers have anywhere from 10’000 to 100’00 followers and are usually lifestyle bloggers who have a definitive aesthetic to their content. These can be anything from skincare blogs to travel blogs.
Macro-influencers
This bracket has a much higher following, between 100’000 and 1 million. These blogs tend to be accompanied by a higher rate of follower engagement as well. Expect plenty of food and travel blogs in this category as well as health bloggers like nutritionists.
Mega-influencers
Mega says it all! These influencers have a following of more than 1 million and a great amount of engagement. Influencers falling in this bracket have a great tendency to create content that goes ‘viral’ because there are so many eyes on them.
Now how do you go about finding the right influencer to build your brand?
Finding the right person to represent your brand online and build it on their platform is no easy task, but we here at Volume99 know a thing or two about finding the right people to build brands, so here is the sauce.
Find out how relevant your content is for the niche of the influencer
This sounds crazy, how do you do this? The magic word here is authenticity. Does this influencer follow your industry rules, or do they just do whatever they want that will create the most buzz? It is not enough to only look for authenticity though, as your brand goes much deeper than that, so also look for characteristics that relate to what you stand for as a brand. So, for example, if you are a sports-fashion brand, you will look for a fashion or sporty/active influencer to work with.
Measure influencer metrics
This is where the number game comes in. If you have your list of influencers ready, you want to start by measuring their following against each other. But, do not be mistaken here, because more followers do not equal great influencers. It is important to take a closer look at their followers and determine whether the following resembles your market. One specific metric is the engagement rate, which will show you the level of interaction between the influencer and their community, which is ultimately what you will be relying on.
Look at previous campaigns the influencer was involved in
This is a great show-and-tell of whether the influencer has it. Many a time, an interest in an influencer is created because of a previous collaboration, but be wary to team up with someone who represented the competition! You want to pair with an influencer who shares your brand values and can easily get on board with your vision and share your brand voice.
Avoid the walking and talking advert
Influencers who are part of a new and different campaign daily, will not see you reap the benefits of influencer marketing. Pay close attention to the brands they have represented in the past as well, as reputations of previous campaigns shift over to the next, thanks to the influencer involved.
The social media influencer world is vast and far-reaching, which is why it is such a lucrative form of marketing. Partnering with the right kind of influencer will substantially improve your brand’s online presentence and campaigns and will lead to new and exciting opportunities for growth. This is the perfect chance to foster long-term influencer relationships with your brand!
