What Is An Influencer?

Social media has changed the way people interact with each other and even how brands interact with their customers and prospects. It is that time in the digital world that most people are following influencers for product recommendation, content, entertainment and more. Needless to say that influencer marketing is huge right now.

It is fine to say that traditional methods of advertising are dying off.  The digital era has made it possible for individuals to engage and build trust with their audience. This article will explain what an influencer is and the roles they play in today's living.

 What is the meaning of an influencer?

An influencer is simply a person with a large following. An influencer is not necessarily a celebrity; it can be an individual who has cultivated a following through creating unique content and sharing it across social media platforms. In other words:

- An influencer can start a conversation and influence engagement among a particular audience.

- Influencers mainly gain following by sharing unique content in their respective niches. This type of content can entertain, engage and inform their audience.

 The common type of influencers on social media

The most common type of influencer classification is micro and macro-influencers. The difference between these two categories is the number of followers. Micro-influencers have social media following of about 10,000-50,000 while macro-influencers feature followers of about 50,000 to 1 million.

1. Industry Experts

 Experts are individuals who have gained a following because of their unique qualifications and knowledge in a given industry.  A good example of an expert influencer is an editor of the mainstream newspaper; such an individual can be approached by a brand to publish an article about the services and products they offer. This is because they have readers that trust them.

2.  Content creators

Content creators are big now more than ever. They have a large following because of their content. You will find authority blogs in several fields such as health, fitness, parenting and more. Such websites have a large support and faithful readers.

Brands use blogs that have a large following to buy a sponsored post from them about their product and services. A sponsored post can be created by a brand or a blogger.   Brands can also reach out to video content creators to help market their products because of the unique influence that is bestowed upon them.

Social media content creators include YouTube influencers, Instagram influencers and much more.

3. Macro-influencers

Micro-influencers are simply individuals who are extremely knowledgeable in their niche. As a result of this, they have gained a good number of following. One may think that it is the number of followers that defines how influential these individuals are! It all lies in the unique relationship they have with their followers.

It is this influence that this group of experts have that makes brands want to use them for endorsement of their products and services.

 4. Celebrities

Celebrities have a huge impact on people’s lives. Celebrity endorsements lead to the realization of influencer marketing. Unless a celebrity uses a product or service from a company, it will be difficult to get them to recommend it to their audience.

 Role of an influencer

Most brands are waking up to the fact that creating a product or service campaign with influencers is highly profitable.  Unlike traditional methods of message delivery, social media has a unique way of sending messages that is highly impactful. Most brands can navigate stiff market competition by jumping right into influencer marketing.

1.    Brand awareness

 Influencers create unique types of content. This means that they have an audience that appreciates and loves their work. This makes it easier for brands to approach the influencers in their niche to enable them to reach out to many people with their products and services thus increasing brand awareness significantly.

Brands also leverage on the fact that influencers deliver brand messages fast.  They ride on the direct communication and uniqueness of their voice. This method of message delivery is a sure way to reach an audience that is willing to be engaged.

2.    Boosts search engine optimization

 Every business yearns to get to the top of search engines. Brands understand that influencer marketing is a unique and perfect source of quality backlinks to their websites. This in return increases traffic to their particular websites as well as make them move discoverable on search engines. For example, if an Instagram or YouTube makeup influencer mentions where they buy their products the brand website is likely to gain so many visitors within a short while.

3.    Offer value

 People follow influencers because they offer value. There is always something unique about each influencer out there. Followers always look forward to learning from these individuals. Brands will use influencers to provide value to their customers. For example, a brand boosts its trust each time that an influencer talks about their products to their audience.

4.    Generate relevant prospects for a business

Any business can capture more leads through influencer marketing. This helps them reach their targeted audience much fast, a great way to capture their attention and make sales in the future. Influencer marketing is the fastest way to tap into social media leads.

5.    Provides new content

 It is not easy for brands to come up with unique content now and then. Coming up with content requires time and a strategy. An influencer can help the brands within the same niche to come up with good content for the audience. Businesses can benefit significantly from the content put out there by the influencer.

Conclusion

It is no secret that influencers are so crucial to digital marketing and that may not change anytime soon. It all narrows to the fact that most people are inclined to listening to the people they trust or admire. The influencer world grows every single day, it may be challenging for brands to find the right types of influencers for their products and services but the truth remains, influencer marketing is the perfect way to reach a specific audience in a uniquely simple way.