To have “influence” is to be able to impact the opinions and behavior of others. This is a particularly desired trait when looking for people to promote your product or business on social media. There are roughly three important factors that play into a person’s influence: their reach, relevance, and impact.
- Reach is simply how many people see content that they put out.
- Relevance is how strongly they are connected to the desired audience or niche.
- Impact to what extent the audience acts on their promotion; also known as engagement.
The different types of influencers have varying levels of each of these traits, which may determine which type is the best for your product or business. For example, if you want as many people to see your product as possible, then you would look for influencers with a huge reach. Or, if you care more about the people who see your product actually buying it, you may look for influencers who have more impact.
There are mainly three different types of influencers in terms of reach, relevance, and impact.
Mega-Influencers: Composed of celebrities, athletes, actors, etc. These influencers have upwards of 1 million followers, and typically 2-5% engagement per post. This means that 2-5% of their followers interact with their content. These influencers have a huge reach, but rank lower on impact, and their audience is very broad in terms of interests and demographics. Mega-influencers are usually very expensive to work with and very difficult to contact in the first place.
Micro-Influencers: Executives, bloggers, journalists, etc. These influencers have 10,000-1M followers and 25-50% engagement per post. Influence is based more on a niche like fashion, lifestyle, or business, so their audience is more specific in terms of their interests and demographics.
Nano-Influencers: These influencers have as low as 1,000 followers, but very high engagement. Endorsements and promotions are effective because it seems more genuine. These influencers will usually accept product or a small commission in return for a shout out.
Businesses have recently been pushing to work with smaller and smaller influencers because of their high engagement and approachability. Finding the right influencer for your business is crucial in a highly effective and profitable promotion.
Start by knowing who your audience is, including their interests, location, and demographics. Next, use tools on Instagram (like hashtags!) to find popular accounts that your audience would be following. Take note of their follower count and how many likes and comments they get per post. Remember that finding the right influencers for your business will take time, so be patient and keep reaching out to new people!
Mad Mind Studios is here to help your business with social media strategy and finding influencers. Learn more about our logo design, digital marketing, and web design services to head into 2019 with a great start.