Influencer Marketing, the big deal!
Image: Fitness Model and Micro Influencer Melissa Lewis
What’s the big deal with influencers anyway?
In our blog earlier last month, we spoke about a game changing rule for influencers, which binds them into declaring their posts as adverts as opposed to being just organic posts. In this blog, we’re exploring the influencer marketing, what it is and why it is a big deal in marketing.
What is influencer marketing
It’s a form of marketing that involves endorsements from a number of people who are experts in their respective fields. These people, called influencers, have large numbers of followers on their social media platforms. The number of followers is exactly what makes them influential and is key to the kind of jobs they book. Their key role is to help businesses with brand awareness, drive engagement, website traffic, and increase sales.
The evolution of influencer marketing
It all started with the rise of the blogging and vlogging culture. Then social media platforms such as Vine, Twitter and Instagram came and revolutionised influencer marketing to what it currently is today. While this marketing trend didn’t happen overnight, it quickly came full circle and changed the game for ordinary experts who were not otherwise regarded as celebrities. Before, celebrities would be brand ambassadors or collaborate with brands, then endorse those brands and fans would then become aware of these brands and some ultimately buy the product or service of the said brand based on the endorsement from the celebrity. The influencer marketing model works in the same premise, but unlike traditional celebrities, influencers have strong connections with their followers. They usually share details of their daily lives, making them relatable to their followers. This also means their engagement with their followers is extremely high.
Types of influencer’s
Currently, there are a number of influencers from diverse industries who come from all walks of life, they are photographers, fitness experts, chefs or bakers, writers or bloggers or vloggers, fashion stylists, speakers, entrepreneurs, actors, reality TV stars, sports stars etc.
They can be broken down into four types; mega, macro, micro, and nano influencers. Mega Influencers have at least one million followers or subscribers on their respective platforms, while macro Influencers have at least 50,000 followers. On the other hand, micro Influencers have between 1000 to 1 000,000 followers and nano Influencers have a maximum of up to 1,000 followers on their Instagram social platforms.
Efforts spent on influencer marketing in conjunction with other marketing forms gives businesses a good chance of being at the forefront of their competitors. This is why we offer micro influencer marketing as part of our services. Our micro influencer campaigns have been very successful in increasing exposure, increasing engagement and generating leads for brands. To find out more on how our micro influencer campaign can help grow your business contact us here.
