Influencer marketing: what it is and why invest in it?

First, we need to understand the concept of influencer marketing. Many people think it’s something simple, just a matter of posting any kind of video or photo and that’s it… success! But it’s not quite like that.

Influencer marketing involves an entire digital marketing strategy with content creators whose concepts and values match a brand’s, while also ensuring they have the power to engage their target audience.

In the end, what really counts is achieving the goal set out in the brand’s plan. In other words, whether the brand reached the desired number of customers or grew its follower base, for example.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a strategy that involves collaboration between brands and influential people on social media: the influencers. 

These individuals have a loyal and engaged audience, have built credibility and trust over time, and are able to influence opinions and behaviors.

Benefits for brands

Investing in influencers offers brands a number of benefits. First, there is a significant increase in the reach of your message. Influencers have a loyal and engaged audience, allowing your brand to be seen by a large number of people interested in the market niche in question. In addition, the credibility and trust that influencers have with their followers are transferred to your brand, establishing a positive image.

Hiring models and the relationship with influencers

In the content creator market, brands usually use three types of hiring model: paid media, owned media, and earned media.

• Influencers and Paid Media:

• Influencers can be part of a paid media strategy, in which the company pays influencers to promote its products or services through sponsored posts, videos, stories, or other forms of content.
• In this approach, influencers act as paid channels for promoting the brand, making it possible to reach their targeted and engaged audience.

• Influencers and Owned Media:

• Influencers can contribute to the company’s owned media channels, such as corporate blogs, newsletters, or social media profiles.
• The company can invite influencers to create exclusive content for its channels, take part in events, or become brand ambassadors.
• This collaboration helps strengthen the brand identity and offer followers authentic and relevant perspectives.

• Influencers and Earned Media:

• Influencers play an essential role in earned media, as their spontaneous recommendations and mentions can generate positive exposure for the brand.
• Through partnerships with influencers, the company can gain coverage in blogs, reviews, videos, or social media posts, where influencers share their experiences and opinions about the brand’s products or services.
• This exposure is considered genuine and trustworthy because it comes from external sources, generating public trust and interest.

Types of influencers

Every brand has an influencer who best fits its values. Large brands, in most cases, work with content creators who have more engagement and followers and who, consequently, tend to cost more.

For companies with smaller investments, it’s a little different. Since they don’t have such a large budget, they often end up investing in nano and micro-influencers, as the cost is lower and the audience profile of these influencers is usually more targeted.

In the influencer marketing universe, there are 4 types of content creators:

1. Nano-influencer: 1,000 to 10,000 followers; 
2. Micro-influencer: 10,000 to 100,000 followers; 
3. Macro-influencer: 100,000 to 1 million followers; 
4. Mega-influencer: more than 1 million followers.

Why invest in influencers for your business?

Investing in influencers is an effective strategy for reaching your target audience in a targeted and authentic way. 

By collaborating with influencers relevant to your market niche, you connect with people who are already interested in products or services similar to yours. This increases the chances of conversion and improves both brand strength and return on investment. 

In addition, partnering with influencers allows you to create original and engaging content that attracts and engages the audience effectively.

Use of social networks

A very important point to highlight: influencer marketing is extremely present on social media, since people and fans closely follow their favorite content creators on these platforms. Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are the apps most used by influencers.

We also can’t forget that LinkedIn is a network that is growing rapidly when it comes to digital influencers, also known as Top Voices. According to an Opinion Box survey, 21% of users use the app to follow their favorite creators.

The relationship between brands and influencers

The partnership between brands and influencers should be based on a relationship of trust and aligned values. When selecting influencers, it’s important to consider whether they are aligned with your brand identity and whether their audience fits the profile of your ideal consumers.

And we at Inflr, a smart influencer marketing adtech, aim to connect brands with influencers, allowing them to communicate with up to 100% of each influencer’s follower base, while also using multi-segmentation strategies and CPM-based deals.

And we can’t forget its great differentiator: its crossmedia format. With it, we can carry the influencer’s storytelling across all digital environments through multiple platforms.

Conclusion

Investing in influencers is an essential strategy for brands to stand out on social media. 

By leveraging influencers’ reach, credibility, and authenticity, you strengthen your online presence, increase audience engagement, and build a genuine connection with your consumers. 

So, when planning your marketing strategies, carefully consider this approach and enjoy the benefits of a successful influencer partnership for your business.