We’ve all heard of influencer marketing by now. If you haven’t then seriously, where have you been? It’s all about using prominent social media users to advertise your products or business in a more subtle way than a paid advert. Its effectiveness is based on the trust that these users’ followers have and the way that their opinion is able to influence the masses. But is it all a numbers game?
Previously, the answer was yes. Social media moguls like Zoella or Huda Beauty were at the top of everyone’s must-advertise-with list. But what we’re seeing now, is a rise in quality over quantity. An Instagram user with only 1,000 followers could see in influx in leads and sales conversions, that matches, if not beats, someone with millions of followers.
The reason for this is that like with a lot of tactics in marketing, it’s not necessarily about reaching everyone, but about reaching the right people. The average Instagram account in 2018 has an engagement rate of 3% on any given post (likes, comments, saves etc). Whereas a blogger with 2,000 followers who is getting 300 likes on their photos, has an engagement rate of 15% – a whopping 5 times higher.
Brands are starting to realise that when carrying out influencer marketing research (and therefore working out who to consider collaborating with), it’s more important to look at the post numbers than the overall account ones. An account may have 3 million followers but if none of them will see the post then it’s not worth the investment is it? Plus, those with more followers will inflate their sponsorship fee so not only can you see better results with those with a smaller audience, but it can also be better economically too.
Like with just about everything in marketing, the world of influencers is rarely black or white. You need to delve into the grey area in order to get the best success.