Partnerships with brands are the top source of income for digital content creators today, and more brands are buying in. 2017 saw an increase in both social-only and sampling programs, with brands allowing influencers more creative freedom to integrate brand messaging into their content. So, what is influencer marketing? How can it help your business? Find out below!
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing pairs social media influencers, who have large trusted audiences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., with businesses looking to promote their products to new and existing customers through the influencers channels.
What does a social media influencer do?
Social media influencers collaborate with business to create campaigns that increase brand awareness and drive sales by promoting a brand or product to their social audience. Typically an influencer will:
- Create value-added content about a product or service to share with their blog readers and/or social channels
- Post product reviews, contests, giveaways, coupons, personal stories about products or services, videos, and more
- Share content across multiple channels to increase awareness of the brand, product, or service
What to look for in an influencer
Finding the right influencer is a challenge, but clear goals help. Establish clear goals and KPIs to identify the right mix of influencers.
- High Engagement – You want influencers that are not only active online but work to gain the trust of their followers
- High-Quality Content – An influencer should produce and share top-notch content that you can’t find anywhere on the Internet
- Match Your Brand – You want an influencer that matches your brand’s tone, style, and mission
How do influencers make money?
Businesses compensate influencers monetarily and/or with free samples of a product. Influencers and brands are in a position to mutually benefit from each other. There are more than one-way brands can provide value, but cash is king.
Below is a graph from Collectively that represents partnership prices across a group of influencers with a total digital audience size of 100-150k.
2017 saw massive growth for the social influence industry, and major platform shifts that impact our work. Are you ready to try your first influencer campaign? Contact us to start the conversation!
