Who is an Influencer?
Any person or profile on the web which has the potential to bring in the audience through their content creation is an influencer. Now the bandwidth of the audience may vary from a few hundred to millions, also the channel used by the influencer can also be either a blog or a social media platform. The subject knowledge held by the influencer can be amateur or expert. Depending on all these factors there are influencers falling under different categories.
Why do businesses need Influencers?
Any business generally is looking out for the best means to promote and sell their product or service. Depending on their budget and financial goals, they will opt for reasonable channels to advertise their products or services. While some industries and businesses may find it beneficial to use advertising through Facebook Ads and Paid Ads on different digital mediums in attaining their sales target, some businesses will gain an advantage by hiring influencers to do this job. The intent is advertising and the audience may be anywhere on the AIDA funnel.
Types of Influencers
Based on the Channel
Social Media Influencer : These influencers are on the social media channels like Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and others.
Blog Influencer : These influencers mark their presence through blogs.
Based on Follower Count
Nano Influencer : Influencers with followers ranging below 10K fall under this category. They have a dedicated and loyal audience. A strong relationship exists between these influencers and their audience.
Micro-Influencer : Influencers with followers and subscribers ranging between 10K and 50K fall under this category. They can be compensated with products or projects depending on the industry.
Mid Tier Influencer : Influencers with followers and subscribers ranging between 50K and 500K fall under this category. These influencers look for financial compensation and they provide a faster Return on Investment.
Macro Influencer : Influencers with followers and subscribers ranging between 500K and 1 Million falls under this category. They may be celebrities on their own terms.
Mega Influencer : Influencers with followers and subscribers above 1 Million fall under this category. They are also considered thought-leaders or experts in their fields. They are also sometimes coined Celebrity Influencers. These influencers have a high impact on business but have diluted relationships with their audience.
Influencer Marketing Campaign
Now that we have discussed the types of influencers it would be ideal to discuss how a business can set up a campaign that can use an influencer to achieve targets.
Identify the Goal that needs to be achieved with the campaign
Research the Audience that needs to be reached with the product or service
Set a dedicated Budget, which keeps a check on overspending
Research Influencer on platforms that meet your industry and business type
Reach Out to Influencers through email or DM
Negotiate Terms through a contract or written terms in an email
Implement Plan of Action and wait for the results
Review the results and identify the gaps
You may want to set a follow-up campaign depending on the first campaign results, in case targets were not met as expected. Even if the campaign turned out to be successful, it is always advisable to be prepared with Plan B which plays beneficial in case there are minor gaps or hiccups in the first campaign.
How is Influencer marketing different from Affiliate marketing?
While an affiliate marketer uses their influence to promote and sell a product of a given brand through an affiliate link and gets paid when there is a conversion through sales as part of the commission, the influencer gets paid directly by brands to promote their product even if there are no sales. An influencer gets paid depending on their reach and followers, while an affiliate marketer is paid the percentage of the commission set on the product.
Now that you know who an influencer is and why influencer marketing is a part of digital marketing, it's ideal to know where to find them.
Top Influencer Marketing Platforms
We have covered another interesting stream of digital marketing, to know more about other topics read the blog articles under digital marketing.
