The Power of Collaboration: Using Influencers to Enhance Your Social Media Presence.

In 2023, enhancing and growing a brand’s social media presence is as important as ever. Gaining cut through and attention, however, is more difficult than ever. For businesses looking for ways to reach and connect with their target customers, working with influencers can be their ticket to getting in front of their audience and building trust quickly – the word-of-mouth marketing of the digital age.

What is an Influencer?

A social media Influencer is a person that has a large following on a social media platform such as Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Facebook or Youtube. A good Influencer will have a highly engaged audience and has the ability to influence their community into potentially engaging with or purchasing from a brand that they are promoting.

They often fit into a certain niche and organically build their community around that content such as travel, health, beauty, sport, fashion or entertainment, to name a few. They may be an expert in a field or be heavily involved in a topic and post regularly sharing content and value with their audience.

What are the different types of Influencers?

Influencers are often grouped into different levels based on following and/or engagement. Typically, an Influencer will fall into one of the following levels:

1. Mega-Influencers
2. Macro-Influencers
3. Micro-Influencer
4. Nano-Influencers

Mega-Influencers:

• Have a large following across their platforms
• Typically, have at least 1 million followers
• Are usually celebrities or very famous people that have developed their audience outside of their platform

Macro-Influencers:

• Have around 40,000 – 1 million followers
• Often a mixture of lesser-known celebrities and subject matter experts
• A better fit than mega-influencers for most large companies looking to work with Influencers

Micro-Influencers:

• Are often everyday people that have become known within their niche on their platform of choice
• Are usually more engaged with their followers
• This group often has around 1,000 – 40,000 followers
• They will want to collaborate with brands that align with their niche and that they believe in
• Some micro-influencers will promote brands in kind while others will require payment

Nano-Influencers:

• A smaller number of followers, usually less than 1,000 followers
• Highly-specialised in their area of choice
• Highly engaged with their audience and have built a very close relationship with their followers which could lead to stronger influence and higher ROI
• Can accept gifts for promotion or may charge a small fee

How do I choose an Influencer to collaborate with?

There are countless Influencers across social media channels that a brand can work with so it’s important to do some research to find a couple that are a great fit with an audience that you are targeting and take time to search for value for money.

Firstly, start with choosing the type of content that aligns best with your brand and your customer’s needs. For example, you might engage a Youtuber to promote your product in a how-to video, or a podcaster to discuss your financial services. Alternatively, you may engage a travel blogger to write up your hotel experience or a social media Influencer to post some photos wearing your shoes. To start out your research, look for related hashtags, for example #travelblogger to find accounts that relate to your brand.

The way you may work with an Influencer can come in a variety of different forms such as sponsored posts, brand collaborations, and product reviews. Sponsored posts involve the Influencer creating content that promotes your brand or product. Brand collaborations involve the Influencer creating content that features your brand in a more subtle way. Product reviews involve the Influencer reviewing your product and sharing their thoughts with their audience.

When conducting your research, look out for Influencers that may have purchased their followers. The best way to get a gauge on how organic and engaged an Instagram following is by using an Instagram Engagement Rate Calculator such as Hype Auditor. This analyses a pages number of followers vs. likes and comments to give an engagement rate.

Of course, having a clear idea of your goals and the outcomes you want to achieve is essential. For example, do you want to create general brand awareness or are you looking for sales? This will guide who you choose to work with, the goals you set, the type of content they will need to create and potentially how you agree on a pricing structure.

How do Influencers structure their pricing?

Every Influencer is different depending on their audience size, engagement rate, type of content, niche area, etc. Some will gladly accept gifts for posts while others may charge per post or offer content packages.

The best thing to do is reach out either via email or direct message explaining who you are, why you think there is a great alignment between your brand and their audience and then request their media kit.

How do I best work with an Influencer?

The best way to work with an Influencer is to set up mutually agreed goals, timeframes and expectations between you both. Test out the results of working with several different Influencers and continue to utilise other marketing opportunities to support the Influencer campaign.

In conclusion, using Influencers to build your social media presence can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach new audiences and increase their online presence. By working with individuals who align with your brand and values, you can create authentic content that resonates with your target audience. Remember to set clear goals and expectations and measure the results to optimise your strategy.

If you would like to chat with one of our team to build an Influencer strategy to enhance your social media presence, reach out to us below via the form.