Is it worth having an Influencer to drive traffic to your brand?
In my last blog post on Influencer Marketing, I was challenged to think about how an affiliate or new business owner might go about finding an Influencer to boost their product or service and what arrangement one might consider in negotiating with them.
First things first, how many followers do you need to be considered an influencer? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Many up and coming online personalities are looking for some metric or formula to work towards in order to determine when they might become successful pushing brands or creating trends online or on social media - and of course get paid in the process.
So while my last blog focused on big ticket influencers with hundreds of millions of followers, for the purposes of this blog and for affiliates who might in the near future consider an influencer to promote their brand, it might be useful to check into one of the less expensive marketing trends in digital media - the micro influencer. According to Agility PR, "brands are more likely to enlist micro-influencers, whose lower follower counts are often outweighed by higher and more actionable engagement not to mention lower price tags."
In a survey done by global micro-influencer marketing platform SocialPubli, their results show “Micro-influencers are a young, hungry and growing demographic. They’re idealists who are generally unwilling to compromise their ethics and would rather take advantage of the right opportunity, one that aligns with their values, than the first or most profitable one that comes their way.” That's good news for affiliates. Micro-infuencers are more concerned with having a good relationship with their followers and being associated with a credible brand they can trust.
Affiliates who might be thinking about going down the influencer marketing pathway, consider the following:
- 81% of micro-influencers have been working in the space for less than 3 years.
- 99% of micro influencers say they work with brands they believe in and that share their values.
- 75% of micro influencers of all genders rank Instagram as their platform of choice with the most opportunity and potential.
- 71% of micro-influencers cite value alignment as their top consideration when it comes to brand partnerships. While compensation is important, it is not all about the money.
- 36% of micro influencers are only posting sponsored content a few times a year, which means they are open to building relationships but not oversaturated with brand content.
- Engagement matters to micro influencers whether they have a few hundred or a thousand followers. High engagement rate = very connected tribe of followers = traffic to affiliate brand.
Interested in finding out more, check out Micro influencer marketing: a comprehensive guide. Knowledge is power!
Happy to hear your thoughts about this and how feasible it might be for affiliates in the short, medium and long term.
Cheers!
Maria
Recent Comments
14
Really enjoyed reading this article Maria. For me it is also timely as I have been building relationships with Influencers in my niche. It is always a delicate balance as to how you can leverage the relationship, particularly as my Influencers do not necessarily market themselves as such.
Looking forward to more of these interesting articles
Hugh
Hugh, glad that this article fell into your garden. This particular sphere of marketing is certainly one to consider depending on how you want to position your business. Based on what I know of yours, it certainly is food for thought.
Maria
Great information Maria. Never considered the whole concept of influencers regarding affiliate marketing. Given that we promote various products/services we can actually consider ourselves as micro-influencers of sorts, once done right of course.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello Roberta. Thanks for stopping by and giving this info a read. You're right, affiliates can become influencers of our own businesses. Micro influencers don't need exorbitant numbers of followers.. Passion for the brand and the right engagement plan. Something to think about.
Maria
Is this a series on influencers - I like it. Just like Roy's series on Tik Tok I am getting even more convinced that I will engage several influencers after my sites get a bit of credibility. They need that authority first in my opinion. Thanks for the post and the article, Maria.
Hello Chris. Hmmmm....thanks for the idea on the series of influencers. It just might turn into one. It certainly is a very interesting concept and one worth further research and consideration...for the medium to long term at least.
Maria
You are absolutely correct knowledge is power. I think that one should now something about the brand. Great post as usual. Thank you!!
Hi Gwendolyn. Thanks for stopping by and taking a read. We can never learn enough so add this to your library of interesting topics. Stay well.
Maria
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Hi Maria. Thank you for your excellent article. I’m new at this and didn’t know about influencers as a thing. I’m building my first website now. (Very exciting!) I’ll look in to this further at some point on the journey. Sounds very interesting.
Happy Saturday to you!
Peace,
Kristina
Thanks Kristina. It's amazing the information that's out there and the options available within the affiliate world. Research is key. Check it out. Down the road it may be an option.
Maria