Year after year, there has been an increase in the number of articles related to social media marketing and influencer marketing. The growing popularity of this subject has sparked the interest of many people who wants to break it into the industry. But a lot of people are asking, what is an influencer, and what do they do?
An influencer is someone who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of the public because of his or her knowledge, authority, position, or relationship with his or her audience. They normally have a following in a particular niche in which they engage with actively. They thoroughly understand the use of social media for business.
Not only are they considered as a part of a company’s marketing tool, but they are also social relationship assets with which a lot of brands can collaborate to get their marketing objectives. Over the past few years, we have all witnessed the rapid growth of social media and its importance, around 3.028 billion people around the world use social media actively, and that is 40% of the world’s population. People who are active in social media look up to influencers to guide them with their decision making.
Influencers are those who have already built a reputation in social media and have the knowledge and expertise on a particular industry or topic. They make posts regularly on their social media channels, and their followers are those who pay attention to their reviews.
A lot of brands love influencers because they can help them create a trend and encourage their subscribers or followers to purchase the products that they promote on their channels. There are numerous types of influencers; they are celebrities, industry experts, bloggers, and micro influencers.
Celebrities are the original influencers. Businesses know that if a celebrity endorses their product, their sales will rise. There are still many cases of businesses using celebrities to promote and endorse their products. The only problem is that there are only a small number of celebrities who are willing to participate in this kind of campaign, and they do not come cheap.
The exception for this is if the celebrity is already using the said product, but if they aren’t then chances are, they may lack credibility with the target audience of the product. Although they have a massive following, it is debatable how much influence they hold over their fans.
Industry experts are another type of influencer as they gain respect because of their position, experience, and qualifications. Industry experts are journalists, professional advisors, and academics. If a product gains the attention of a journalist, then they can be used as an influencer in the same way you would a blogger or a social media influencer. Most of them would write their reviews about products for free.
Bloggers are probably one of the most famous social media influencers. Blogging has been connected to influencer marketing, and you can find a lot of blogs on the internet. If a popular blogger recommends your product to their followers and posts a positive review, it could help increase your sales. You can participate in guest posting to have a blogger write a recommendation of your product to their followers. You can grab a guest posting spot on a massive blog, control the content, and be allowed to place a link to your website in the author bio.
You can also purchase a sponsored post on their website if the blog is large and influential enough. Aside from blogs, videos are also popular on the internet. Video makers have their websites, and most of them create YouTube channels. Brands align with popular YouTube content creators to get their product’s name out there.
Lastly, micro influencers are the normal, everyday people that are known for their knowledge about a niche. Micro influencers are known for their relationship with their followers as they have built up followings that they do not want to mislead. Some of them even promote products for free if they think that it would match their follower’s needs and interests. They would also never promote a product that they think is inappropriate for their followers.
Micro influencers are the influencers of the future. They create Facebook groups or Pinterest boards devoted to a niche, and it is where they establish themselves as genuine influencers.
The nature of influence and marketing is changing. Influencers are becoming common and more famous. Some even have risen from normal video makers and social media influencers to well-known celebrities. Now that Generation Z is taking over, watching television is no longer as common, and the internet is the go-to place to check out a brand or a product.
