Know Your Influencers

The internet is all about connecting people, right? As a digital marketer, you’ve got to do everything you can to reach potential customers or donors and your website cannot stand alone. Now, I’m sure, as you scroll through your social feeds you’ve seen how people with large followings are promoting products or brands. The #sponsored or #ad included on Instagram posts may have clued you in but in case you haven’t noticed: brands around the world are partnering with social influencers to help facilitate new business. We see this across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and the blogosphere.

Influencer marketing may be the buzzword of the moment but the fact is that influencers are bigger than ever and it’s not a trend that will go away anytime soon. It’s not a new strategy, either. Celebrity brand ambassadors have existed for hundreds of years and it shouldn’t surprise you that celebrities are still the first people who come to mind when we start thinking about influencer marketing. But they can be anyone who uses their authority or position in an engaging way to, hopefully, inspire and motivate their audience to purchase certain items, or get behind a certain cause.

Executing a flawless influencer marketing strategy can be difficult but it all starts with choosing the right influencer for your business or brand. Influencers often have a niche, like zero-waste or sustainable living, keto food, or van life. So you really need to concentrate on choosing an influencer who’s audience is relevant to your services or products.

As more brands adopt influencer marketing strategies, it’s important to understand the current state of the “the cool kids,” as AdWeek puts it in their infographic I’ll share below. What’s the current influencer landscape look like? Well, it’s mostly female, in their late 20s, who are on Instagram.

There are actually a few different levels: mega-influencers, macro-influencers, and micro-influencers.

The first are usually defined as your celebrities and social media stars who reach over 1 million people and are best for impressions and awareness. These guys and gals want to be paid by brands. Then you’ve got your execs, bloggers, journalists. They reach between 10,000 and 1 million people on social and resonate fairly well with their audience, in terms of driving a desired action. They’re best for awareness and engagements. Micro-influencers are typically existing customers and employees who have a reach of 500 to 10,000 people. These guys likely are happy just to be singled out as VIPs and have a high ability to drive their audience to action. Not only great for increasing engagements, micro-influencers drive conversions.

As you can see, influencer marketing can be a low-cost way to get in front of new people in an authentic and organic method. You’ve just go to understand your business needs, do your research, and reach out to the right people. Don’t rush the process; finding the best influencer for your needs can take time. Weigh your options and find the right fit – someone whose values align with yours and have the same target audiences as yours.

Does your business plan to incorporate influencers into their marketing strategy next year? Whether you’re a corporation, small business, or non-profit, innovative strategies such as influencer marketing can be beneficial.