Table of contents
What is an Influencer ?
What is a Social Media Influencer ?
What type of influencers exist ?
Which influencer profile should you choose as a brand?
On which platforms can you find influencers as a brand ?
How do influencers get payed ?
How much money makes an influencer?
How to get an influencer?
What are the Top 12 Social Media Influencers in the World ?
What is an influencer : The Definition
Do you know what an influencer is? Well, an influencer is someone who has a following in a particular niche and is known for their knowledge and expertise on that topic. People look up to them and trust their opinions, which is why brands love to collaborate with them for their marketing efforts.
What is a Social Media Influencer?
Social media has grown a lot in recent years and over 4.59 billion people are using it. So, it’s no surprise that influencer marketing has become very popular in social media. Influencers in social media have built a reputation for themselves by regularly posting about a specific topic and have gained a large following of people who are interested in what they have to say.
Influencers can be categorized in different ways, like by the number of followers they have, the type of content they create, and the level of influence they have. It’s also possible to group influencers by their niche. However, it’s important to note that while a mega-influencer may have a lot of followers, they may not have as much influence on their audience if they lack expertise in a particular niche. On the other hand, micro and even nano-influencers can have a huge impact on their followers and could be valuable to a brand targeting that niche. Often micro influencers have a higher engagement rate than mega and macro influencers.
The differences in Influencer Profiles
Are you familiar with the different types of influencers on social media? It’s important to understand their different styles and followings to make informed decisions when it comes to influencer marketing.
Mega Influencers
Let’s start with mega-influencers. These are the heavy hitters with millions of followers on one or more platforms. They can be celebrities who gained fame offline or through their online presence. However, working with mega-influencers can be expensive and they usually have agents to handle any deals. Brands with major budgets are the ones that typically work with them.
Macro Influencers
Next up, we have macro-influencers. They have a smaller following compared to mega-influencers, typically between 40,000 to 1 million followers. They can be B-list celebrities or online experts who have built a following in a specific niche. They tend to have a higher profile and can be great for raising awareness. If you wanna hire a macro influencer, always watch on their engagement rate. If they have only a very small engagement rate, they might have bought their followers and are not worth collaborating with.
Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers are everyday people who have built a following in a specific niche and have a relationship with their followers. They can have anywhere between 1,000 to 40,000 followers. They tend to be picky about who they work with and want to make sure the brand aligns with their target audience. With the rise of social media, some micro-influencers are becoming more well-known and the future of influencer marketing.
Nano Influencers
Lastly, we have nano-influencers who have a very small following, usually fewer than 1,000 followers, but they are experts in their niche. They may not be useful for most brands, but they can be very important for companies that sell specialized products.
Micro-influencers are becoming more popular, with higher engagement and a developed relationship with their audience. This is where the real power in influencer marketing lies, despite the majority of them having smaller followings. The fragmentation of the media into niche topics has led to the rise of micro-influencers and the future of influencer marketing. Micro-influencers are also much cheaper as it’s often enough to just send the product.
Which influencer profile should you choose as a brand?
As a brand, your influencer profile will depend on your target audience and marketing goals.
Suppose your target audience is a broad, general population, and you want to reach a large audience quickly. In that case, you may want to consider partnering with a Mega-Influencer, who has a significant following. However, this type of influencer will be costly and selective about the brands they work with. Often they don’t even answer the requests as they get a ton oft hem.
For a more targeted approach, you may want to consider Macro-Influencers, who have followers in the range of 40,000 to 1 million. They may be more accessible and willing to work with brands, and they can be excellent at raising awareness.
If your target audience is very specific and interested in a niche area, then you may want to consider working with a Micro-Influencer, who has built up a following around a particular specialty. This type of influencer is likely to be more picky about the brands they work with and may require more effort to reach out to, but they can have a highly engaged audience and may be more likely to align with your target audience.
If your target audience is extremely niche, you may want to consider working with a Nano-Influencer with a small but highly engaged following in a specialized field. This influencer type is likely cheap, but may not have sufficient influence for most brands. It can be also very effective to work with many smaller influencers instead of one macro-influencer.
In conclusion, the type of influencer profile you choose will depend on your target audience and marketing goals, so consider these factors carefully before making a decision.
Before you start to work with an influencer, always check the engagement rate, research people who liked the post to see if they fit in your audience and see if they have no scandals which can hurt your brand. You can also ask for their insights like the audience demographics. However be sure, that if the post goes viral, most people are not followers who see the content.
On which platforms can you find influencers as a brand ?
There are a few different platforms for influencers you might consider partnering with as a brand.
Instagramer and Tiktoker
A lot of influencers are either on Instagram, on Tiktok or on both. They often have a specific niche audience and can help you as a brand to boost your sales with an affiliate link or increase brand awareness. Be aware ft h are working with an influencer on these platforms, your reach might be way lower than on their normal posts. The platforms prefer if the brand is paying for their ads directly instead of giving the money to influencers. So try to make as similar content as possible.
Youtube
Another popular form of content is video, and YouTubers are becoming increasingly important in influencer marketing. Brands often align with popular YouTube content creators.
Bloggers
Blogging is one of the most popular forms of influencer marketing as they own their website and often have a huge amount of newsletter subscribers. Bloggers mostly have authentic relationships with their followers and can have a big impact when they mention your product in a post. You can also participate in guest posting on a larger blog, or even pay for a sponsored post. Just keep in mind that these will likely be sponsored, but some younger audiences don’t seem to mind.
Podcasts
Podcasting is also growing in popularity and there are some well-known names in this space. Check out Neal Schaffer’s list ft he Best Digital Marketing Podcasts for 2023 if you’re interested.
How do influencers get payed ?
Influencers typically get paid through sponsored posts, product placements, affiliate marketing, brand collaborations, and sponsored events or experiences.
Sponsored post
In a sponsored post, the influencer promotes a product or service through their platform and is paid by the brand for the promotion.
Product Placements
Product placements involve incorporating a brand’s product into an influencer’s content in an organic and subtle way.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is where the influencer earns a commission for each sale generated through their unique affiliate link. In brand collaborations, influencers partner with brands to create content, products, or campaigns.
Sponsored events
Finally, sponsored events or experiences involve the influencer promoting a brand or product through live events or experiences. These methods allow influencers to monetize their platform and earn a living while promoting products they believe in and align with their personal brand.
How much money makes an influencer?
The amount of money an influencer can make varies widely and depends on several factors such as the size of their following, the level of engagement they receive from their followers, their niche or area of expertise, and the types of campaigns or brand partnerships they participate in.
Influencers with a smaller following may earn a few hundred dollars per sponsored post, while those with a large following in a highly desirable niche can earn tens of thousands of dollars per sponsored post.
Additionally, some influencers may also earn income through merchandise sales, affiliate marketing, and other monetization strategies. In general, the most successful influencers have a combination of large following, high engagement rates, and a strong personal brand that aligns with the brands they partner with.
How to get an influencer?
- Define Your Niche: Identify your area of interest and expertise that you want to focus on and become known for.
- Build Your Online Presence: Create a strong and consistent online presence on social media platforms, starting with one or two platforms that you are most comfortable with and gradually expanding to others. To be more efficient cross-use your content om both plattforms.
- Produce content that is getting shared : You can only grow and become an influencer if your content attracts. Go to influencers in your niche and see how they do it. If you do it a similar way while having something that makes you outstanding, your chances will be extremely high to become famous.
- Engage With Your Audience: Regularly engage with your followers by responding to their comments and questions, creating engaging and shareable content, and collaborating with other influencers in your niche.
- Grow Your Following: Utilize social media marketing strategies to grow your following, such as running contests and giveaways, using relevant hashtags, and promoting your content on other platforms.
- Monetize Your Influence: Once you have built a substantial following, start monetizing your influence by partnering with brands and promoting their products, offering sponsored content and social media posts, affiliate links or creating your own products and services.
- Maintain Your Authenticity: As you start working with brands and promoting products, it’s important to maintain authenticity and transparency with your followers to build trust and credibility.
- Continuously Improve and Evolve: Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in influencer marketing and continually improve your skills and strategies to stay relevant and effective as an influencer.
What are the Top 12 Social Media Influencers in the World ?
All of the top 12 Social Media Influencers are celebrities. With Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi we have soccer stars as the two top leaders, followed by reality stars, singers, and actors.
- Cristiano Ronaldo (543 Million Followers)
- Leo Messi (426 Million Followers)
- Kylie Jenner (380 Million Followers)
- Selena Gomez (375 Million Followers)
- The Rock (361 Million Followers)
- Ariana Grande (354 Million Followers)
- Kim Kardashian (344 Million Followers)
- Beyoncé (294 Million Followers)
- Justin Bieber (276 Million Followers)
- Kendal Jenner (273 Million Followers)
- Jennifer Lopez (231 Million Followers)
- Kourtney Kardashian (211 Million Followers)
