What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a form of promotion that involves targeting influential people who can deliver your brand's message to their audience. Also known as word-of-mouth marketing, social media is the primary medium influencers will use to create buzz and place your brand and product in front of their followers.

If you’ve been thinking about investing in influencer marketing for your small business, read on to discover what this strategy entails, how influencers can help your business grow, how to select the right ones to work with and what sort of budget you might need. If you’ve not done so yet, let us walk your through getting set up with an Instagram for Business account.

What exactly is an influencer?

An influencer is someone who is seen as an expert in their field — and, crucially, they tend to have a large social following. They can be bloggers, social media personalities or even well-known celebrities.

In a strictly business sense, an influencer is someone who promotes your product or service through social media. They can help you reach a much larger audience than traditional marketing methods like print ads, TV commercials and billboards.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a form of promotion where businesses partner with influencers — people that have a high number of followers on social media. These influencers use their online channels to promote brands and products, often by mentioning them in posts, photos, videos and testimonials etc.

In essence, it’s word-of-mouth marketing via social media — and it can be a cost-effective marketing strategy that can help your small business grow by putting your brand in front of new people who all share similar interests that compliment your brand and may not have found out about you otherwise. The first step is deciding which influencers you want to reach out to for potential collaboration.

There are two main types of influencers: micro-influencers and macro-influencers.

A micro-influencer is someone who has 10k-100k followers on social channels such as Instagram, TikTok or Twitter. They may not have as many followers as a macro-influencer but they tend to have a much stronger connection with their audience as a result. A good thing about working with micro-influencers is that they are easier to connect with since they may only have a few thousand followers.

Macro-influencers have over 100k+ followers, meaning they often demand higher rates but, understandably, can offer greater reach for your money.

How influencer marketing could benefit your small business

As mentioned earlier, influencer marketing is a form of word-of-mouth marketing. It relies on influencers to deliver your brand's message to their audience in an authentic fashion.

Social media is the primary medium influencers will use, so it's important you target the right people. It's not always about the size of their following, either. An influencer with 10k followers and a genuine connection with your brand may generate more revenue for you than a macro-influencer with 100k fans but zero relevance to your product or service.

How to find and hire the right kind of influencer

Influencer marketing is a relatively new, yet impactful, form of promotion for small businesses.

But how do you find the right influencers for your campaign? Here are a few tips that will help you get started:

1. Start by researching what kind of content your potential partners typically create. You want to align your brand with their style and voice. It's also helpful if they're familiar with your industry, niche or — better still — a genuine fan of your brand.
2. Next, reach out to a few influencers who might be worth working with to see if they're interested in promoting your brand. Make sure you've got a clear plan in mind for what you want them to do and what you'll be willing to pay.
3. Once you've reached out, it can be tempting to just use an automated outreach tool but don't forget that people respond better to the personal touch. Consider reaching out directly to them over social media — after all, that's where they're most active.

What will working with an influencer cost?

This really does all depend on what you want them to do in order to create buzz around your business. There are different rates for this depending on what mediums they work in, how much time they'll need to dedicate to working with you — and the size of their following, of course.

The best way to figure out the 'market rate' for your niche and desired goals is to draw up a shortlist of influencers you'd like to work with and then ask directly how much they'd be looking to charge. The fact of the matter is, if they never told you, you couldn't pay them!

Conclusion

Influencer marketing is a great way to reach new audiences and increase brand awareness. But before jumping in, make sure you know what you’re dealing with and what to expect.

Growing your brand takes time and money, but it doesn’t have to break the bank. Consider your budget and stick to it.

Ultimately, selecting the right influencer to work with comes down to finding one that's a great fit for your company. And while we're on the subject, we believe the same principle applies to choosing your card payment provider. Why not get in touch today.

P.S. Need some more small business tips for your social media activities?

John Ford

Copywriter