Influencer marketing on Instagram allows brands to reach their target audience through a third party Instagram account aka influencers. This strategy is a powerful way to:
- Attract followers
- Expand your existing audience
- Building a more human persona
With the advent or #Instafame everyone knows influencer marketing is an effective marketing method. BUT… How can you make it work for your brand? In this article, we will share everything you need to know about using Influencer Marketing on the ‘Gram.
Ready? Let’s go!
What is Instagram Influencer Marketing?Â
Influencer marketing is a type of content marketing strategy where a brand collaborates with an influencer to promote its goods and services. Instagram is currently the best place for influencer marketing. Influencer marketing helps brands and businesses to reach their target audience in a way that traditional advertising cannot. Some examples of influencer marketing are sponsored Instagram stories or posts, sponsored blog posts among others.
How Much Does Influencer Marketing Cost?
It is important to have an estimate of how much influencer marketing cost before you go into it. When it comes to the cost of influencer marketing no size fits all. In times past brands paid influencers with free products but now things have changed more influencers are demanding to be paid in cash. The price of influencer marketing differs from one influencer to another and depends on their engagement and number of followers. The number of followers, engagement rate, and campaign duration play a huge role in how much an influencer will charge a brand.
The Benefits of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has a lot of benefits. It can easily skyrocket sales and put get people talking about a brand. Below we will discuss the benefits of influencer marketing.
Organic Reach
One of the numerous benefits of influencer marketing is that it has an organic reach. Although Instagram ads are still working perfectly, influencer marketing is amazing at producing organic traffic. Sales on eCommerce websites have increased because of this. Â
Get Your Niche More Popular
Another benefit of influencer marketing is that it can make a brand popular overnight. It can cement a brand’s authority on its niche. Influencer marketing is a great way for consumers to find and interact with niches that they find interesting.
Personal Engagement
Influencer marketing is built on the trust followers have in influencers. So it is personal. Followers can interact with a brand because of the recommendation from an influencer because they believe that it is genuine and authentic. And that is why influencer marketing is a great growth strategy for brands and businesses on Instagram.
How to Find Influencers that Fits Your Brand or Business
Before you jump into influencer marketing, you must find influencers that fit your brand and business. Finding and partnering with influencers that are fit for your brand will give you amazing results at the end of the day. Below we will give you tips on how to find the influencer(s) that fits your brand or business.
Find Out Their Instagram Reach and Engagement
The first step to finding the right influencer for your brand or business is to check their Instagram reach and engagement. This an important tip because the engagement on the influencer’s Instagram page will give you an idea of how much your brand or business will benefit from the partnership. A good engagement rate shows that the followers of the influencer are paying attention and are interested in what he or she has to say as well as taking needed action.
To calculate and get a percentage of an influencers engagement rate on Instagram just divide the average number of likes and comments on their posts by the number of their followers and then multiply by 100.
It is also important to request a report of metrics (like a screenshot of their insights tab) from an influencer you want to work with or you can use a third-party tool to examine the data. You can easily detect a genuine influencer by measuring their metrics.Â
Check Their Quality of Followers
This is another tip you need to adhere to if you want to find an influencer that fits your brand or business. This is so important because some influencers don’t have real followers and if not checked can mare your brand’s campaign. To determine this you should check at least eight to ten of the influencer’s posts to confirm their average engagement. This will determine how many impressions you will get from there.
Check The Number of Their Followers
The number of followers is usually the first thing that attracts a brand to an influencer. Although this isn’t the most important tip, it is still the first thing to look for. The number of followers will determine if the influencer is the right fit for your brand and the campaign you intend to run.Â
Review Their Content and Caption
The content and caption in an influencers Instagram page will determine if it is the right fit for your brand and business. And that is why you should review the contents and captions before you decide to partner with an influencer. This will help you to understand the influencer’s niche and how it can fit your brand’s campaign.
Calculate Your Budget to Choose The Type of Influencers
It is wise to work with an influencer that matches your budget. Knowing your budget will help you know the type of influencer to work with. The bigger your budget the bigger the influencer and in most cases the bigger the reach and engagement.
Understand The Types of Influencers You Need
Influencers have made it possible for brands to connect to people on a grass-root level. It is truly a blessing to a lot of businesses. They are different types of influencers and you need to know this before you partner with one. Knowing the types of influencers will help you know the type that works best for your business or brand. Influencers are grouped into four groups are there are nano, micro, macro, and mega-influencers. Below we will discuss each of them with examples.
Nano-Influencers
This type of influencer is the lowest in the hierarchy they usually have less than 10,000 followers like the account of @jillsmokler and @senorguapo713 above. The advantage of this type of influencer is that they have high engagement rates and lower payment rates. It is the best for brands who want to make an impact in a smaller online community. Consumers are more trusting of this type of influencer which in turn is great for business.
Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers typically have less than 100,000 followers and are sometimes considered experts in their niche. Just like nano influencers they give amazing ROIs for businesses and brands which is a result of the steady relationship they build with their followers. See the account of @shedoeshim and @pastrychefmatthew above as examples.
Macro-Influencers
Macro influencers have followership of 100,000 to 1 million. This type of influencer is great for brands who trying to reach a bigger audience. Many of them are also get the verified badge like Jiawa Liu in the example above, which can be one of the indicators of their credibility.
Mega-Influencers
Mega-influencers are the highest in the hierarchy and make up 1% of influencers. They have more than 1 million followers and are a great way for a brand to make massive sales. This type of influencer is majorly celebrities or public figures like Kylie Jenner and Aimee.
How to Measure The Success of Instagram Influencer Marketing
Let The Metrics Speak
If there is no data then it didn’t happen. To verify that your campaign was successful with influencer marketing it is important to check all the performance metrics listed below. Note that the result of the metrics will change depending on the goals you set for the campaign.
- Engagement rate on campaign deliverables. Engagement rate, likes, comments, shares, etc.
- Brand sentiment: (how people are talking about your brand?)
- Referral traffic (how many visitors came to your site from the campaign?)
- Sales (conversions and revenues generated)
- Follower count (did it increase significantly?)
Review Your Relationship with the Influencer
The relationship with the influencer during the campaign will also determine if the campaign will be successful or not. Below are some of the points to consider.
- Has the influencer met deadlines?
- Did they adhere to the content requirements?
- Has the content been promoted to their followers to the utmost? (like engaging in conversation about the brand in the comments)
- Did the influencer share any feedback? (e.g wanting to collaborate again in the future)
Conclusion
Instagram influencer marketing is one of the best strategies to grow your brand and drive massive sales of products. It’s marketing with minimal effort and it works best for startup brands and others who struggle to grow their business on the ‘Gram. Make sure to choose the type of influencer that fits your brands and business as well as fits in your budget.
