The world of social media is an interesting place to navigate. Many marketers are still unsure of what is guaranteed to work and what won’t.
What can be decided upon, however, is that people are most effectively influenced by other people. Therefore, investing some of your product or even money in return for the recommendation from an influential person on Instagram is a fantastic idea. So, say hello to influencer marketing.
You can utilise nano-influencers (1000-5000 followers), micro-influencers (10,000-50,000 followers) and your top-tier influencers (50,000+). These will all come with their own costs or expectations, but their trusted voice reaching all of their followers is invaluable to your conversion rates.
Having these influential individuals promoting, celebrating or approving your product can be vital in its success. You also have the added bonus of being exposed to a larger amount of potential consumers, through that person’s audience.
When a person chooses to ‘follow’ an influencer, they are choosing to because they feel as though they are a trusted source of information, and they value their opinion.
The Tiers of Influencers
This is where nano and micro influencers are coming hugely into play. When the rise of the influencer first began, a person with a large following was instantly trusted. However, with more and more ‘influencers’ on the rise, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to have that unquestioned power and authoritative voice.
This is where ‘brand ambassadors’ are on the rise. This involves reaching out to smaller influencers and offering them some of your product or a small financial incentive along with a potential discount code for their followers. This will not only promote your product but ensure that a call-to-action is also being included.
It’s also much easier agreement for brands. Instead of paying thousands of dollars (the general rule is $1000 per 100,000 followers), brands can now simply offer their product in return for a feature. Therefore, saving companies lots of dollars!
Some things to keep in mind when considering
influencer marketing:
- Consider your brand.
It’s crucial to remember your brand’s message in order to find the right influencer for you. Consider what they normally post, and think about whether or not your product would fit in! Choosing wisely will mean that your product is exposed to the right audience. - Look at engagement, not just followers!
This is an important one. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy in our world today to fabricate followers (trust us, even the big ones do it). Therefore, in choosing your influencer, you want to make sure their engagement is in-line with their following. A good method to use is CPE (cost per engagement). - Set your expectations for exposure.
Consider the rank of influencer you are prepared to spend your time and money on. More often than not, it can take more than one post to really grab a followers attention. They may even miss it the first time! Therefore, set your expectations around: how many posts, length of the caption, story posts, hashtags and calls to action.
The voice of an influential person can be worth more than a thousand ads. So choose wisely, and don’t be afraid to dive into the influencer pool. It can, without a doubt, achieve some incredible results.