Consciously or unconsciously most of our purchasing decisions are based on what we see on social media. Your favorite influencers you follow religiously on social media, shape these purchasing decisions. Even if you think you don’t engage with whatever they endorse, let me ask you one simple question. If you had to try your hands on online therapy with a mental health expert, what would you choose and why is it Better Health? Let me try one more. If you want to expand your skill sets and have a self-paced learning program you can do whenever and wherever you want, what would you choose and why is it Skillshare?
If this felt familiar to you, you are not alone, my friend. Brands like Skillshare, Better Health, MamaEarth, etc have a strong brand recall value, and they have achieved this through widespread influencer marketing. Even if you don’t purchase from these brands, they aim to make customers (you) think of their brand when you are ready to make a purchase. So, when you hear about online courses, you think of ‘Skillshare’, and online therapy reminds you of ‘Better Help.’
What is Influencer Marketing?
An influencer is someone who has a large following on social media and has an influence amongst his/her followers. Influencer Marketing is a form of social media marketing where brands pay influencers to promote their products on their page to their followers. This creates brand awareness, visibility, and more conversion for the brands.
Civic Sense found that 14% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 11% of millennials bought something because an influencer promoted it on social media. There are around 64 million influencers on Instagram alone across the globe. So how do you decide which influencers to work with? Before that, you need to know the types of influencers and which type aligns with your goals.
Types of influencers
Nano Influencers
Influencers with 1 to 5000 followers, less than 10,000 followers are called nano influencers. Surprisingly, nano influencers have the highest engagement rate worldwide with 2.53%.
Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers have 10,000 to 100,000 followers and an engagement rate of 1.06%.
Macro Influencers
Macro Influencers have 100,00o to 1 million followers and an engagement rate of 0.86%.
Mega Influencers
Mega Influencers have more than 1 million followers and an engagement rate of 0.92%
You can choose the type of influencer you want to work with based on your needs. Nano and micro-influencers have the highest reach and engagement rate and cost less than a mega influencer with more than 1 million followers. So you get more value for your money, without burning a hole in your pocket.
How can Different Industries Use Influencer Marketing?
B2C Businesses
Brand sentiment matters a lot in today’s time. Brands need to cut through the noise and impact users' minds. If brands can do so they see a direct impact on their sales and how the brand is perceived. Many brands do this through social media marketing and influencer marketing. Influencer Marketing enables a brand to reach a wider audience and amplify brand messaging, brand awareness, and brand recall. Influencers are specialized in their niche and can help your business understand your target audience better and help you deliver messaging that resonates with them. Studies have found that businesses make $6.50 in revenue for each $1 invested in influencer marketing.
B2B Businesses
Influencer Marketing is a more natural choice for B2C businesses but B2B businesses can benefit from it too. For B2B business models Instagram and Tiktok may not work as well as Linkedin and Youtube can. B2B influencer marketing is complex because of the millions at stake and includes many stakeholders at many stages. However, influencer marketing can help bring your product to the right audience, and increase product awareness, and brand recall.
To avoid wastage of resources, analyze the influencer’s audience you are working with, and if your buyer persona matches that of the influencer’s audience. Going by the number of followers doesn’t result in anything, as the data suggests nano influencers and micro-influencers have the highest engagement rate. Finding influencers who cater to your target audience is the sweet spot you need to hit to see a positive impact on your ROI.
(Author - Karishma is a Content Writer at TechdoQuest. She gives fresh and youthful perspectives on whatever she writes about.)