Thanks to Social Media platforms such as Instagram and Youtube, influencer marketing has continued to consume large portions of the marketing budget for many businesses and industries, projected as an 8 billion dollar industry in 2020. As a visual platform, Instagram influencers take a majority of the influencer marketing budget, followed closely by YouTubers and vloggers. The ability to visually review and express personal thoughts regarding products is what makes influencers so valuable to marketing teams. Influencers offer a massive audience, brand loyalty, and content creation, three things brands are always looking to access. As a brand, there are three key things to consider when looking to work with influencers.
- Understand Statistics:
Influencer marketing is beneficial to brands because it provides a trusted source to distribute information to the target audience. Studies and surveys show that many people feel that the voice of the influencers they follow is authentic and trustworthy – with 91% of people agreeing that a positive review from an influencer would make them more likely to use a business/product. More than 76% of people under the age of 55 are willing to trust online reviews as much as they are friends and family. By understanding the statistics and relationships between an influencer and their audience, brands can begin to build effective campaigns.
- Micro vs. Macro:
To tap into the statistics mentioned above, you must be working with an influencer who is the trusted voice for your target audience. Partnering with influencers who are relevant to your brand is important for your campaign to be effective, which is why you must carefully choose what influencers you work with. There are two main categories of influencers – Micro and Macro. Micro-influencers, those with fewer followers but a more focused theme, are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a closer-knit group of engaged followers. Their high engagement rates, lower cost, and relevant content is an ideal situation for brands. While some of the larger, Macro-influencers can charge upwards of $10,000 per post, micro-influencers can vary from free product to less than $1,000. Considering the engagement and reach of these accounts, micro-influencers are typically a worthwhile investment.
- Be Transparent
Due to the statistics mentioned above, new regulations have gone into place to protect consumers from being misled by their favourite influencers through the use of brand partnerships. In 2019 it became mandatory for a brand to show proof of ad placement. This can be a simple hashtag (#ad or #sponsored) or a branded partner post through the Instagram business feature. Not only does this protect consumers from making choices based on falsified
