What Role Does a Social Media Influencer Play in Marketing?
Although social media influencers are a relatively new addition to the world of marketing, they have quickly become vital to the success for nearly every type of marketing campaign. To put it simply, a social media influencer is an individual who has a large following on one or more social media platforms as a result of creating relevant content.
Jive PR + Digital is the leading social media marketing agency in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Toronto, with many of our clients choosing to support their campaigns with influencers. Below, we explain the importance of various types of influencers in marketing campaigns.
As has been the case for many years, celebrities have serious marketing power due to their large, dedicated fan base. This has only been heightened with the rise of social media. Celebrities are often defined as individuals with over 1 million followers on a social media platform. These influencers are typically trained in public relations and normally produce less than 5% post engagement. However, the sheer number of followers makes the low engagement rate of little importance in celebrity marketing campaigns. Celebrities are often used in paid digital ads and social media takeovers, catching the eye of social media users and attracting them to specific products or services.
Macro-influencers are individuals who have below one million followers. Though their following may vary from tens to hundreds of thousands of followers, they typically have a higher post engagement when compared to celebrities, between 5 – 10%. These types of influencers have a fairly established personal brand and tend to appeal to a more specific market than celebrity influencers. Macro-influencers help brands target an audience that is relevant to a brand’s products or services. These types of influencers often participate in product launches and other marketing events, representing brands as ambassadors to draw in customers due to their association with the brand.
Micro-influencers are quickly proving their marketing power with impressive engagement rates and relatable content. Though there are different understandings of what follower count defines micro-influencers, their audience is the smallest, often appealing to a niche market such as fitness, fashion, or makeup with a few thousand followers. These social media influencers have the highest engagement, often rising above 10%. Their relatively small following tends to be a more trusting audience and their approval of a product or service can be seen as more genuine. Countless case studies have shown micro-influencers to significantly increase sales and ROI.
Interested in finding the right influencers to elevate your brand and reach new audiences? Our social media marketing agency engages in influencer marketing across consumer brands, entertainment, health + wellness, and technology industries. Let’s chat.
