Influencer Marketing in 2021

Looking back at the last decade we can see the rise of Influencer Marketing. Research conducted by Marketing Influencer Hub has shown that influencer marketing is estimated to have grown from $1.7 billion in 2016, $9.7 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach $21.1 billion in 2024.

Influencer Marketing is effective because it uses word of mouth marketing tactics. Customers trust their peers, friends and people they admire more than branded advertising campaigns.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is when a brand collaborates with an individual who has a large, engaged social media following. The individual then uses their credibility to promote and drive sales through recommendations/mentions of the brand.

A huge 80% of marketers surveyed by Hubspot believe that influencer marketing is effective and 89% say it works just as well (if not better) than other marketing channels.

Should my business start using Influencer Marketing?

If you feel that your business could benefit from partnering with an influencer, you should take some things into consideration.

What is the quality of content they produce? What are their audience demographics, does it match up with yours? What are their engagement rate and reach?

There are different levels of 'influencer' that will also affect your decision.

Mega-Influencer

When you think of influencers, you probably think of Kim Kardashian, who gets paid $1 million per instagram post. These are generally people with 1million plus followers on social media. Mega-Influencers are usually celebrities whether they be actors or singers.

Should you leverage Mega-Influencer?

Mega-Influencers would benefit a company that has a vast marketing budget and who want to increase brand awareness at mass.Because they have a massive following, their content reaches a huge audience quickly. The downside is they lack connection with their followers, so it might be hard to use them to establish a relationship with potential customers.

Macro-Influencer

A Macro-Influencer is a tier down from Mega-Influencers, they have a following between 100,000 to 1 million followers. They usually have obtained their following through the internet, blogging, social media star or by going viral.

Should you leverate Macro-Influencer?

Macro-Influencer is a happy medium between mega and micro influencers. They have a large yet engaged audience and would work well if you are targeting audiences in a specific niche. Your return on investment might not be as efficient as it would be with a micro- influencer as their engagements rates are generally lower.

Micro-Influencer

A micro-influencer has followers ranging from 1,000 to 100,000. They make up the largest group of influencers on social media. Their audience is usually really engaged as they have gained a following and credibility by being experts on a certain topic or industry.

Should you leverage Micro-Influencers?

They are by far the most affordable influencer to work with. Their small yet engaged audience means you would get a nice return on investment if your product fits their audience well.

Takeaways

Because influencers will be the connection between your brand and potential customers, you want to find those that would perfectly suit your audience. They must also fit into your budget and resonate with your audience.