An influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchasing decision of others as a virtue of their authority, knowledge, position or relationship with their audience. They actively engage with a distinct niche and that the following size can be large or more concentrated depending on the size of their niche.
“True influence is about Leveraging authenticity !”
It only used to be Sports stars, film stars and celebrities with this power but now thanks to the explosion of social media – There are all kinds of people reaping the benefits. The reason brands love influencers is that they can create trends, ease, and encourage their followers to buy the products that they provide. The term influencer is no longer for those with millions of followers.
There are different types of influencers – anyone might be sitting there, without realizing that they might be an influencer in some shape or form :
Based on their Size
Mega influencers:
Mega influencers are just that–”mega-famous” people with an epic number of followers. Actors, musicians, athletes and social media personalities with over a million followers are seen to be Mega influencers. Mega-influencer campaigns work well for brands that have a huge budget and products that appeal to the masses.
Macro influencers:
Macro influencers can be just anyone, with the right amount of followers between 40,000 and a million followers on social media. These can have a high profile and can provide a powerful way to generate awareness. Being personal and upfront about what you want and what you’re offering is the best route for working with macro-influencers.
Micro-influencers:
Micro-influencers aren’t just a group of tiny weeny people but ordinary folks who have been renowned for their knowledge about a specific topic. Their followers may vary from a thousand to 40,000 people. Because micro-influencers only post about their genuine experiences, they have a high level of trust and are ideal for building lasting relationships with both companies and followers.
Nano influencers:
These are one of the latest groups to attain recognition as they have small followings compared to others. They appear in an incredible niche for highly specialized fields with the highest levels of engagement, and mostly have influence within a small community and very little experience working with brands. They can have less than a thousand followers that may be highly interested in their views.
Based on the content
Bloggers:
Bloggers have the most authentic and active relationship with their fans. It has been connected to influencer marketing for a while now and there are a huge number of highly influential blogs online. When bloggers positively mention products, it can lead their supporters to purchase or at least trying out stuff.
YouTubers:
This is a similar instance to blogging except for the fact that these are video-based and instead of being on a website, influence through YouTube platforms. Brands often collaborate with YouTubers sponsoring videos or paying to have them created.
Podcasts:
A podcast is a subscribable audio file that is usually free, that you could listen to whenever you want. There is no denying that they are a popular form of entertainment. Now brands can get together with podcasters by sponsoring their show or an individual episode.
Social Posts:
All of the creators including the above ones promote their content on Social media. They don’t just hope people find it on their own platform.
Based on their Position and level of influence
Celebrities:
Celebrities were the original influences and are however beginning to wane as the market is being flooded with a new kiss in the town. The problem brands face is that traditional celebrities are finite with only a few willing to participate in campaigns. Sometimes a firm makes a product the celebrity already likes and uses and accordingly finds them happier to promote. Celebrities may have many fans and gargantuan social media followings however are debatable exactly about the influence they hold over those who follow them.
Key Opinion Leaders:
These are industry experts, sports leaders or even journalists. They gain respect because of their qualifications in position which in turn can be earned from who they work for. Getting a journalist of a major newspaper to write about you is the same as getting a social media influencer to post something.
One major thing to be aware of when collaborating with these leaders is that most have built up their reputation in an offline setting and may not possess a large or active social following.
Above-average influencers:
There is no official name for this community however the British agency has come up with their trademark name Criminal influences. These are the agencies with the highest performing influences based on crucial factors that impact consumer behavior. They have the best relationship with their followers, the finest communication skills, high engagement and their followers recognize them as experts in their fields.
Their follower numbers highly depend on their subject of expertise however with incredibly high followings in comparison to others in their nature.
What precisely is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer Marketing has been a buzzword for a while now, and the mainstream media regularly refers to it! One way to peep at it is Influencer marketing is the hybrid of old and new marketing tools – it takes the old school method of celebrity endorsement and mashes it up with the modern-day content-driven marketing campaigns.
Influencer Marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on targeting key industry leaders to drive brand message and awareness to a specific market of consumers. This is when a brand works with influencers to market one of its products with the intention of driving more sales or boosting awareness. Influencer Marketing is the practice of engaging internal and industry experts with active networks to help achieve measurable business goals.
You tend to find influential people within every industry going. Influencer marketing campaigns are about collaborating with these experts who have developed a reputation with their field to boost sales.
Influencers reach the right people at the right time to achieve measurable goals:
- Generate brand awareness
- Drive traffic
- Increase the reach and engagement
- Increase media value
Brands of all sizes trust influencer marketing. You may see an influencer talking about a big brand name, like Nike,Puma, or even Colgate. On the other hand, you may also see smaller boutiques, and specialty goods, like a local jewelry maker or baker treat shop being promoted by influencers as well.
What works in Influencer Marketing?
Like any other marketing tactic, an influencer program demands deliberate targeting and planning. Let’s examine how to create an Influencer Marketing plan of action:
- Strategy:
Be sure to factor in time for planning, executing and reviewing your influencer program. Coordinating a successful influencer marketing campaign is not a set-it-and-go type of strategy. It’ll involve careful monitoring and follow up.
- Budget:
There are infinite options if you think outside-of-the-box. There are several different pricing models that marketers are using to determine the compensation amount. It may be practical to use an upfront payment model, determining a set compensation amount for each blog post, video, social media post or other content delivered.
- Research:
It is important to have set clear goals in order to measure and evaluate your campaign. It is equally important to monitor the results. Research your target audience, Influencer types, and pave the way towards building new and lasting relationships.
- How to Find Influencers:
Choose the network you want to focus on first. This could be organically or through paid online platforms or agencies. The industry you’re in also matters when you’re planning to implement an influencer marketing strategy. For eg- Beauty and fashion brands shine on Instagram and YouTube. Whatever you decide to focus on will determine your budget.
The key thing to remember is You need to be human and be patient!
What Influencer Marketing is NOT?
It is not just about throwing money or exposure at someone with a big audience to make them say good things about you. It’s not about making bundles of cash. It’s also not about quick results for businesses like most social and content marketing, you shouldn’t be trying to sell your products straight off the bat.
Brands today are grappling with some major issues around declining consumer trust. Working with influencers can be done on any budget. In reality, it presents an immense opportunity for challenger brands with petty pockets for traditional mass media but who still need to get their message out in an authentic and impactful way.
Today, celebrities may act as influencers even though influencers are not always celebrities. Celebrity is just a small, fading aspect of influencer marketing. The overwhelming majority of influencers are real people like us, who are passionate and have credibility because they create content that resonates.
In reality, influencer marketing is the most cost-effective channel in your marketing mix. Unlike traditional media, the cost of content creation and distribution are one and the same. Influencer Marketing also lives on far after a paid campaign ends.
How Influencers have Transformed Modern Marketing?
We are currently going through a revolutionary shift. First the industrial revolution then the Mass media revolution and now the digital revolution! Innovative industries are continuously changing; influencer marketing is no different. It is different from social media marketing or content marketing, but that does not mean it is going to replace them, because influential marketing is nothing without them.
With a meteoric rise to prominence, the influencer industry is constantly evolving and becoming more professional. Advertising has stayed relatively the same for about 50 years until the Internet and Social media came and disrupted it. Now, advertisers are spending their money on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and influencers on top of these platforms.
Currently, Influencer marketing is a 10 billion dollar industry and is projected to be a 15 billion dollar industry by 2022. At the moment, for every 1$ spent on influential marketing campaigns, companies are earning $5.78 on average. Brands are now realizing that this is a highly effective way to market. But the problem is virtually the wild west when it comes to regulations, procedures, and rates.
If you have a peer at the data, only 3% of the consumers are influenced by a celebrity endorsement when it comes to their product purchase decisions. Just because a celebrity has millions of followers does not necessarily mean that it gets translated into high levels of engagement for the product or service they were marketing. When loyal followers see recommendations from micro-influencers they’ve grown to know and trust, they’re more inclined to visualize them implementing the product into their own lives.
Conclusion
Influential marketing is one of the innovative approaches used to market various products and services and, also just one of the many referral marketing strategies. It is essential to find the right set of influencers, that have a relevant audience and are a good fit for your brand and will spread your message across various social platforms. Giving influencers the freedom of creative expression brings in higher credibility and engagement, which then leads to leads and sales for your business.
Also Read – The Complete Guide on How to Sell on Instagram
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