Information on this blog was obtained from Hootsuite, Social Media Examiner, Later Blog, Market Scale, and Simpli Learn.
Working with influencers can be quite frightening when you are not used to the influencer world. The latest trend in social media marketing is working with influencers on all social media accounts to promote brands and products or services. Instagram is the perfect platform to promote your business with influencers. Instagram is the best way for brands to reach wider audiences. This blog will provide you with the ultimate guide to working with influencers on Instagram.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is different than traditional marketing and advertising. According to Hootsuite, "influencer marketing is also known as branded content or working with creators". Influencers are someone who influences their following. Audiences are introduced to brands, products, or services through a trusted source. Influencers are content creators who are paid to promote brands on social media platforms. For an example of influencer marketing, check out this influencer Jenna Palek's Instagram post here. Influencer marketing allows brands to reach target markets directly. This type of social media marketing allows followers engage and trust heavily with their favorite influencers. This allows brands to make good impressions and make and make their brand viral. Later Blog goes more in depth about what influencer marketing is.
Influencer Marketing Strategy
If you are not used to working with influencers you might have no clue where to start or how to find the perfect influencer. Hootsuite provides a nine-step influencer marketing strategy. These nine steps include:
Determine goals
Know your target market
Understand rules
Consider the three R's of influence
Start a list of influencers
Research
Reach out to influencers
Collaborate
Measure Results
These nine steps will help brands guide their way through influencer marketing. It is important to do your research and figure out what influencer will best reach your target audience. It is also important to understand how you want your influencers to produce content promoting your brand. Without these nine steps, the influencer marketing process can be challenging.
Another aspect of picking influencers is choosing how big or little their following is. Some brands have found more success with micro-influencers rather than working with macro-influencers. Social Media Examiner stated that micro-influencers tend to have a higher engaging following. Instagram is the perfect platform to use for influencer marketing. Hootsuite states that over 75 percent of marketers use Instagram for their influencing content. Influencers can make posts, reels, and stories to promote brands. Every influencer uses different marketing strategies for their content.
How To Find the Right Instagram Influencers
Finding the right influencer for your campaign may be a struggle. The first step in finding an influencer is deciding what type of influencer you want, whether it is a mega-influencer, macro-influencer, or micro-influencer. According to Social Media Examiner, micro-influencers have a higher engagement than bigger influencers. After you decide on what type of influencer you want to work with, do some research on Instagram and search for micro-influencers.
To narrow the search down, look for a certain market segment. For example, some influencers you can search for are beauty influencers or food influencers. Also, looking through hashtags to find keywords can lead you to the right influencer. Hashtags are where you will find relative content. While searching for the perfect influencer, make sure to check their follower count. You want to find an influencer who has a wide audience who has a high engagement.
Another important step to finding an influencer is building relationships with potential candidates. Before you lock in an agreement, you want to have a positive relationship with the influencer you are working with. After you find the right candidate for the influencer campaign, set goals and create a budget.
After you have these steps down, it is time to work with the influencers on what content you want them to push out. Every influencer will reach a different target market and will produce content differently. This is why it is important to do research before. After the influencer puts out content for your brand, it is important to collect data and see how well the content produced for your brand. All of these tips and tricks will allow you to successfully work with Instagram influencers.
Types of Influencer
When looking for the right influencer to work with, it is important to work with an influencer that fits your target market. It is wise to look at your influencer engagement and followers depending on how you want to reach your target market. Sometimes the influencers with not as many followers show better results for the brand. Nano or micro-influencers might have fewer followers, but their engagement is higher than that of more famous influencers or celebrities. You can read more information about the types of influencers here. The different types of influencers are listed below.
Mega-influencers (1 million + followers)
Macro-influencers (500K - 1 million followers)
Mid-tier influencers (50K - 500K followers)
Micro-influencers (10K - 50K followers)
Nano-Influencers (1K - 10K followers)
Now that you have which type of influencer, it is time to look into what specialty or lifestyle they focus on in their posts. Different types of specialties are listed below.
Beauty
Food
Sports
Health and Wellness
Travel
Fashion
Lifestyle
When working with an influencer, you will get better engagement results when you target consumers that are interested in these influencers. For example, if you sell workout clothing, you will want to work with an Instagram influencer focusing on health and wellness and a working-out lifestyle. Your influencer marketing campaign will be more successful this way.
Instagram Influencing Strategies
Social media influencers have different marketing strategies for promoting on Instagram. Influencers can use various features such as posts, stories, reels, and Instagram live. Each of these strategies can be used for a different type of influencing. Using different posting strategies will keep followers engaged. Instagram posts are just regular post that contains videos or photos. Instagram stories are posts that only stay up for 24 hours, which can be photos or videos. Reels are multi-clip videos that can be recorded and edited. Instagram live is when an account can stream live and talk to followers. Depending on how many posts and what type of post you want the influencer to do, the cost can vary. All of these strategies are good for interacting and engaging with followers.
What Can Go Wrong With Influencer Marketing
When working with influencers, they must have your brand's and products' best interests. Some consumers have trouble trusting influencers because the influencers have been caught not using or liking the products. Also, consumers have bought products they don't like or use, and it causes them not to follow influencers on social media anymore. These instances are causing influencer fatigue and deinfluencing. According to MarketScale.com, the founder and CEO of The Creative Exchange stated, "deinfluencing is where regular users are debunking the myth or the truths that these influencers are sharing about products, and even telling you other brands or products that you should be purchasing instead." This is started to effect influencing campaigns. However, most social media users actively engage with their favorite influencers and will still trust and follow them. Consumers are more aware of influencers now. This is why it is important to choose the right influencers who will market for your brand ethically and will build trust with followers.
Conclusion
Now that you know all the ins and outs of influencer marketing, it is time to explore working with influencers. Get ready to boost your brand with influencer marketing on Instagram. Remember, it is essential to know your target market, different types of influencers, and the nine-step influencer marketing strategy. These tips and tricks will allow you to have a successful influencer marketing campaign.
Resources
By. (n.d.). How to work with the right Instagram influencers. Social Media Examiner. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from
Carey.scott. (2023, February 28). Influencer fatigue and deinfluencing hashtags show Gen z's ability to sniff out inauthentic content. MarketScale. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://marketscale.com/industries/retail/influencer-fatigue-and-deinfluencing-hashtags-show-gen-zs-ability-to-sniff-out-inauthentic-content/
Newberry, C. (2023, February 14). Influencer Marketing Guide: How to work with Influencers. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/influencer-marketing/
Sanders, R. (2023, February 17). The 5 types of influencers you need to know [2022 edition]. Simplilearn.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://www.simplilearn.com/types-of-influencers-article
Warren, J. (2020, November 8). The Ultimate Guide to Instagram influencer marketing. Later Social Media Marketing. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from https://later.com/blog/instagram-influencer-marketing/
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