Instagram Influencer Marketing: Selecting the Right Influencer

Mike Rowan, President, Founder @KPItarget

With 1 billion monthly active users as of June 2018, Instagram is undoubtedly one of the most popular social networking apps in the world. So how can you leverage this platform to expand your brand’s following and stand out from the crowd? One successful way brands are using to break through the crowded social space is through Influencer Marketing. In essence, influencer marketing is a way to leverage the reach of an existing persona who has built a large following and brand reputation.  

Did you know that 89% of marketers identify Instagram as one of the most important social channels for influencer marketing? Currently, there are more than 500,000 active influencers on Instagram. The water’s warm, hop on in and find an influencer that works for you! The right influencer can reach your target audience, build trust and drive engagement among their audiences. They can trigger emotional buying motives by transmitting emotional messages and humanizing brands. They create original, engaging content that aligns well with your brand’s vision and business objectives.

So now we’ve established that finding the right type of influencer for your brand is the key to successful influencer marketing. Your influencers will be collaborating with your brand by creating unique content to promote your brand, product or service. When influencer marketing first burst onto the social media scene, influencers were largely limited to celebrity endorsements. In today’s diverse digital landscape, Influencers with niche audiences can often add more value to your brand by promoting your brand to their dedicated audience. What types of influencers are available to represent your brand? Here are your options and examples of successful influencers per category:

1. Mega-influencers

This type of influencer usually encompasses actors, artists, athletes and social media stars who have 1M+ followers and drive 2% — 5% engagement per post. They have the highest reach on the influencer spectrum, with their influence driven by their celebrity, but they often lack the personal connections with their audiences. They have the lowest overall resonance when it comes to driving actions on behalf of a brand due to this perceived distance.

Kylie Jenner is a great example of an influencer in the “mega” category. Arguably one of the hottest Instagram personalities, she weighs in with 125 million followers and often gets millions of likes on her promotional posts.

2. Macro-influencers

Macro-influencers are basically one step below the mega-influencer category. These influencers usually consist of executives, bloggers and journalists who have 10,000–1M followers and drive 5% — 25% engagement per post. They have the highest topical relevance on the spectrum, with category-specific influence, such as lifestyle, fashion or business

Meghan King Edmonds, the former Real Housewife of Orange County and self-proclaimed mom-blogger dabbles in the “macro” category. She has 900k followers but has a more intimate connection with her followers, often successfully promoting products and life hacks that are helpful for other moms with young kids.

3. Micro-influencers

Micro- influencers are someone who has between 1,000 to 100,000 followers and focus on a specific niche or area and are generally regarded as an industry expert or topic specialist. They typically drive 25% — 50% engagement per post. They have the highest brand relevance and resonance on the spectrum of influencers, with influence driven by their personal experience with a brand and their strength of relationship with their networks

28 year old Seattle native Jenn, creator of Hello Rigby! is a lifestyle and beauty blogger that is sought after for her micro-influence in this particular niche. She has 26k followers and often partners with local Seattle brands to share a budget-friendly lifestyle.

When selecting the type of influencer that is right for your brand, keep in mind that your campaign can’t be all things to all people. You really must know your audience and the types of content that resonate with them. Also, bigger isn’t always better! Make sure the influencer is someone you trust to create content for your brand and reach the right demographic. Finally, know the rules of influencer marketing as outlined by the Federal Trade Commission.

So how effective is influencer marketing? Here are a few stats from MediaKix’s latest market survey that will help you benchmark your progress:

• 80% Of Marketers Find Influencer Marketing Effective

“As more companies incorporated influencers into their marketing strategy in 2018, it appears that many of them found some success. A huge majority (80%) of marketers find influencer marketing effective, and 35% find it very effective. Only 5% of marketers find influencer marketing ineffective.”

• 71% Of Marketers Say The Quality Of Customers & Traffic From Influencer Marketing Is Better Than Other Sources

“Most marketers agree that the quality of visitors and customers from influencer marketing is betterthan other channels, and 18% of marketers strongly agree with this sentiment—only 5% disagree.”

• 89% Say ROI From Influencer Marketing Is Comparable To Or Better Than Other Marketing Channels

“Nearly half (48%) of marketers say that ROI from influencer marketing is better than other marketing channels, and 41% say returns are equal to other sources. As more marketers improve their measurement and optimize their tactics, we expect more marketers to improve their returns in 2019.”

If you want to chat more about influencer marketing, please contact me: mike@kpitarget.com.