What is a Social Media Influencer?

Over the last decade, we have seen social media grow rapidly in importance. With nearly 3.5 billion people actively using social media, it’s given that these people will be looking up to influencers in social media to guide them with their decision making.

A social media influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his or her audience on a specific industry that they actively engage in. Influencers post regularly about these topics on their preferred social media channels or blogs and generate large followings of engaged people who pay close attention to their views

There are 4 different types of social media influencers:

Source: Khloe Kardashian – https://www.instagram.com/khloekardashian/

Mega Influencers aka Celebrities

These influencers have more than 1 million followers on at least one social platform. Also known as endorsements, this influencer marketing consists of paying a hefty fee for an Instagram post. Since these celebrities have such a large audience, it will be hard to tell if your exact target audience is engaging or not.

Source: Jojo Siwa – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeV2O_6QmFaaKBZHY3bJgsA

Macro Influencers aka YouTubers

These influencers are one step down from the Mega with followers in the range between 40,000 and 1 million on a social network. These people are either B-grade celebrities or successful online experts who have built a significant following. They are great for raising awareness and are considered trendsetters.

Source: Donut Media – https://www.facebook.com/donutmedia/

Micro Influencers

These influencers are known for having 1,000 and 40,000 followers on a single platform. Micro influencers typically show passion on a specific topic or niche market. They are to be considered experts and have a very engaged community of followers who rely and trust their content. These influencers are becoming more common and more useful. They are known to be credible since they are everyday people just sharing their passion and recommendations. Although these influencers might be picky about whom they work with (to not harm relationship with fans), they will often be happy to promote a brand for free.

Source: H3AT Gaming – https://www.facebook.com/IAMH3AT/

Nano Influencers

This is the newest type of influencer. They tend to have a small number of followers but are experts in a highly specialized field or represent niche products. Consider them to be the “big fish in a small pond”. These influencers have a strong connection with their audience. They are known to have a lot more engagement with their audience and tend to answer every question that is asked. They consider their followers friends. These influencers tend to be cheap but carry a tremendous sway.

Once you decide WHO you are going to work with, you need to figure out the HOW. There are different ways to collaborate in order to create a successful campaign.

Sponsored Partnerships: Form a partnership with an expert. They will need to develop specific content using your brand and place it on their social media accounts or blogs. It will be your job to communicate with the influencer with regards to the goals you aim to reach through the partnership.

Guest Blogging: Find a group of creators who own websites that reach your target audience and ask them if they accept guest blogs. It will be your job to prepare an interesting blog for them that brings value to your customers. This should not be promotional, but rather educational and value-driven. Check out some tips from our blog writing experts!

Brand Ambassador Program: Ask a group of influencers to become an ambassador for your brand. This requires them to promote your product or service on a regular basis and represent your brand on an ongoing basis. It is a good idea to provide guidelines with regards to how many posts or mentions of your brand are expected and what the call to action so you and your brand ambassadors are all working towards the same goals.

Takeover: This will allow for your influencer to have full access of your account. The influencer will post from your account on behalf of your brand. Since this influencer is considered an expert, you might receive higher engagement during these times. Ensure you have an influencer on board that you trust and is well versed on your brand messaging.

Influencers have built their reputation online for being industry experts through quality social media posts, blogs, podcasts and videos. It is proven that these influencers can have boost sales, drive traffic, and grow your social following. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start collaborating! Not sure what’s best for you and your brand? We can help!