What is Influencer Marketing?

We hear about influencers every single day. Whether they appear in the news or on reality television, we’re not short of online influencers these days. However, where many people find it to be a somewhat easy way of earning big bucks, others will use the influence they have over others, which can be significant in some cases, to advertise their products or services and persuade their audience to go out and buy that product or take up that service. There’s a little more to it than that, however, so let’s take a closer look into influencer marketing:

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing involves a business taking a product or a service and giving it away to someone who has a strong online following on social media accounts or blogs in order for them to advertise that product or service to their audience. It’s not as straightforward as it might seem, because there are many different types of influencers and each one will have their own niche, and a price tag to match. 

We’ll talk about that in more detail later in this article, but the main thing you need to understand is that it’s basically another form of advertising. If, however, you’re looking to make it worth your while, you need to ensure that the product or service you’re providing the influencer is completely fault-less. 

If it fails to meet expectations, you’ll only receive either mediocre or bad press, which isn’t going to help sell your product or service. It’s a way of persuading customers to buy your product or choose your service through the people they follow online. Influencers have an effect on people’s shopping choices these days, so they can be an effective use of time and money, when done right.

What are the different types of influencers?

Influencers are becoming increasingly more popular as social media networks and technologies evolve. Many people are making a career out of influencing, whereas others see it merely as a creative hobby that gets them some free products every now and again. But with that level of variation comes different labels that are bestowed upon online influencers. Often, this depends on the number of followers they have. Let’s take a deeper look at the different types of influencers so that you can either see which bracket you fall into, or so that you can see which one would be most beneficial for you to collaborate with as a business.

Celebrity or “mega” influencers

Celebrity influencers are perhaps the most broad of all the influencers. Although many businesses will think that collaborating with those who have the most followers will sway more people to use their services or buy their products, they would actually be mistaken. Celebrity influencers, also known as mega influencers, have a very broad range of people who make up their audience. 

People will be following them for lots of different reasons. Someone might be following them for their fashion choices, another to see what their family life is like or another for the dog they’re adopted. Not everyone will be following the same celebrity for the same gain, and many businesses forget about that when looking for someone to advertise their products. Celebrity influencers are usually considered to have more than 1 million followers, which is a very significant amount of people.

Being able to work with celebrity influencers for the average business isn’t the easiest thing to be able to do. This is because the money they demand for influencing their audience is usually a considerable sum, and so large organisations and corporations are able to part with that sort of cash willingly, unlike small or start up businesses. Despite providing unparalleled exposure online, it’s not a guarantee that your product is going to be seen or bought by everyone that follows that celebrity.

Macro influencers

These influencers will often carry an audience of between 100,000 and 1 million people. They’re often considered to be one of the most established influencer types on the internet, as they’ve spent time developing their niche and building their audience. They have also managed to convey an authentic personality through their platforms, making them likeable and more relatable and attainable than mega or celebrity influencers. 

They have a more targeted approach when it comes to influencing their audience, in comparison to mega influencers. Their followers will often share common interests, be of similar ages or have a lifestyle that is both desirable-yet-achievable by all, almost acting as inspiration for some. Macro influencers are more expensive to collaborate with, often choosing both monetary gain as well as a free product or service to discuss. 

Micro influencers

Micro influencers will have anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. Despite the gap between those two numbers being considerable, all micro influencers are painted with the same brush. These types of influencers will have a stronger presence on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, often having a specific niche. 

Businesses will collaborate with micro influencers because their audience is vast enough to influence people, but small enough to reach a specific target audience that would be more difficult with celebrity or macro influencers. Another benefit is that these are cheaper to collaborate with in comparison to the aforementioned influencers, but they’re more likely to demand a sum of money in exchange for services, rather than being happy with a free product or service.

Nano influencers

Typically, these influencers have fewer than 10,000 followers, but despite having a smaller audience, their connection with them is often far stronger as it’s a more intimate, down-to-earth setting. A nano influencer’s content is often more relatable and personable, making for an authentic audience engagement and following. They’re also more affordable than any of the aforementioned influencer types, often being happy with a free product or service to review over monetary reward.

Despite reaching the least amount of people, nano influencers are beneficial for businesses who are looking to target a more specific or local audience. In addition to that, nano influencers are also more likely to go above and beyond in terms of time and effort when it comes to partnerships. Essentially, businesses will receive a more authentic service from a nano influencer, because they simply have more time to dedicate.

Why bother with influencer marketing?

According to the Morning Consult Pro, 56% of young people living in America purchased a product after seeing a post about it from someone that they follow. Influencer marketing is an incredibly popular strategy, because it’s incredibly powerful. The Influencer Marketing Hub claims that the industry itself reached a value of around $16.4 billion in 2022, with predictions of it reaching as much as $21.1 billion by the end of this year. As a growing industry that is incredibly powerful and effective at bringing in sales, it’s no wonder that influencer marketing has become so popular, especially as the social media networks and technologies advance even further. 

Kumo has over two decades of experience in the digital marketing industry, providing expert SEO, PPC, content writing and website design services, to name just a few, that will help to propel your business into the spotlight, setting you apart from your competitors. For further information about how we can help you today, get in touch with a member of our professional team – we’re always pleased to hear from you.