A Guide To Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing is one of the latest, hottest trends in public relations and marketing. It’s a great tactic because it provides organic content to brands and drives engagement via social media. However, if your brand is not doing it right, you’ll end up trying to market skinny jeans to Gen Z and won’t get the results your brand is looking for.

As a PR firm, we’re always focused on results and reporting that information to our clients. Specifically, we report on the reach, advertising value and engagement, among other metrics. Using influencer marketing to build brand awareness creates the ability to target and reach different demographics, which ultimately boosts those key metrics.

Nowadays, celebrities aren’t necessarily actresses and actors, they’re influencers or ‘content creators.’ Having access to social platforms has allowed the everyday person to share their life with the world, and anyone can market themselves as a content creator. In 2021, 75% of brands planned a dedicated influencer marketing budget and 56% of brands have used the same influencer for multiple campaigns, according to Influencer Marketing Hub from Meltwater’s 2022 Marketing Trends.

Here are a few things to consider when working with influencers:

• Micro-influencers vs. Macro-influencers
  • What are your goals when working with influencers? Is it to reach a large audience, or to improve engagement? A micro-influencer is someone with 10,000-50,000 followers on Instagram or TikTok. These influencers have a more dedicated, engaged audience. Macro-influencers have a much greater reach, but lower campaign performance.
• Cost
  • Influencers get paid through creator funds, sponsorships, selling merchandise, affiliate links and brand deals. While there are many avenues to make money, for a brand looking to invest in an influencer campaign, it’s going to cost you. Rates for brand deals can depend on engagement rate, exclusivity and platform.  An influencer with 13,000 followers averages $500 for an in-feed Instagram post, and $100 for three Instagram story slides. Top influencers charge anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 or more (looking at you, Kim K.)

• Platform
  • The most important aspect of influencer marketing is reaching a targeted audience. If your goals are to reach the Gen Z demographic, TikTok is your best bet. If your focus is to reach millennials or boomers, Instagram or Facebook is the way to go.
• Audience
  • Some brands might not think they need influencers, but there are influencers for everything! Fitness, fashion, cooking, lifestyle, sports, business, pets, finances, technology… whatever your focus, there is someone that has the right audience to help reach your brand goals.

Influencers are meant to help build trust, reach your target audience and improve brand awareness.

In 2022, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, it’s already expected to be a $16.4 billion industry. For most companies, starting with micro-influencers is a good place to begin, with lower advertising costs while still increasing brand reach. If you’re unsure how to start, we’re ready to help your team think strategically about brand goals and budget for influencer marketing. Our team is obsessed with trying to find out what goes viral on TikTok, so we’ll do some more ‘research’ for you while we scroll aimlessly.