Influencer Marketing 101: What Are Influencers
Influencers. If you’ve spent time on social media trying to promote a brand or product, you’ve likely heard the term, but you may not know the details.
What are influencers, and why should you consider influencer marketing? Are you wondering how to become an influencer?
In this guide, we’ll cover those questions and much more. Read on to learn all about social media influencers.
What Are Influencers?
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An influencer is an expert in a field and someone with authority and knowledge on a specific topic. Influencers can impact the buying decisions of their audience. Their audience may vary in size depending on their niche, with some of the bigger influencers boasting thousands or even millions of subscribers or followers.
Having an influencer endorse your brand or product can put your name in front of a lot of potential customers. The goal of influencer marketing is to reach new customers or build stronger relationships with existing ones.
Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are all important channels for influencers. Big brands like Pepsi and Audible have used influencer marketing in the past to create a buzz and earn new customers.
Influencer Types
You can separate influencers into groups based on several factors, such as their area of expertise or their follower count.
Mega influencers have a million or more followers on at least one popular social media platform. Examples of these influencers include celebrities like sports stars, actors, and musicians. As you might imagine, competition for endorsement by mega influencers is rough and can cost a pretty penny.
Influencers with smaller audiences can also help boost your brand, though. Sometimes, you’re better off working with a lesser-known influencer if they’re specialists in a specific field. Even if they only have 20k followers, those followers might fit your target market better.
You can also break down influencer types by platform or the type of content they put out. Examples include YouTubers, podcasters, bloggers, and social media posters.
How to Become an Influencer
If you’re interested in becoming an influencer, the first step is to decide on a niche. What topics are you an expert on? You’ll want to be passionate about these topics and also be able to provide some type of proof that you have expertise on this topic.
The next step is to optimize your profiles. This includes switching to a business account, choosing the right profile pictures, and writing a solid description. Use insights to learn about your audience and hone your content.
Lastly, you’ll need to post a lot of relevant and engaging content for your audience. It’ll take time, and you’ll have to put out a lot of content, but if you do it right, you’ll build a solid audience. At this point, let brands know you’re open to collaborations.
Finding Collaborations
How do you find social media influencers? While you can (and should) do research to see if anyone is talking about your brand, it’s easiest to use a service like Shake Izea, which connects you with relevant influencers.
Once you’ve found an influencer, you can work out the details of your collaboration and campaign.
Take Your Brand to New Heights
So, what are influencers? In short, they are experts on social media platforms with authority in one or more fields. Since there are so many types of influencers, businesses of all sizes can take advantage of influencer marketing to grow their brand.
Are you looking for more marketing tips on how to boost your business? Check out our other articles on social media and business.
