There are a lot of people who want to know what is an influencer as they come across such people on the web. An influencer is a person who has the ability or power to impact the purchasing decision of other people based on their knowledge, authority, and relationship with the audience and position.
An influencer also has a following in a unique niche, with which they have an active engagement. The size of their following is dependent on the size and topic of their niche.
An influencer is a person in your industry or niche with a hold over your target group of people. Influencers have specific knowledge, insight or authority into a particular topic. Their already existing presence within a niche is what makes them useful for brands that are searching for credibility. 85% of marketers were involved in influencer marketing back in 2017 and 92% of the stated that they found positive efficiency in their campaigns.
When an influencer helps companies in influencer marketing, a kind of advertisement that builds the brand authority based on the reputation of another person. Influencers are there on every social media platform.
Though some of them have their dedicated platform most of the influencers are well-known across all platforms. Influencers gave rise to the concept of influencer marketing which has recently gained a lot of fame in the market.
Are social media influencers different?
In the last decade, it has been seen that the social media world has grown rapidly. Over 3.4 billion people make use of social media activity which is almost 45% of the total population of the world. These people consider the influencers on social media to help them in taking decisions. Influencers on social media are the people who have created a reputation because of their expertise and knowledge of a particular topic.
They also make posts regularly about the topic on all social media channels and create a huge following of engaged and enthusiastic people who pay attention to views on their channel. Brands also love social media influencers since they can create different trends and also encourage their followers to purchase products that are promoted by them.
What are the different types of an influencer?
You can distinguish the different types of influencers in several ways. Some of the most commonly followed methods are by the types of content, follower number influence level. You can also group the influencers based on their operating niche. This simply means that the influencers who may show up in a lower category by measure can have a larger influence when you look at them differently.
By types of content, influencers can be grouped as YouTubers, podcasters and Bloggers. By the number of followers, they can be classified as mega influencers, macro-influencers and micro-influencers. By their level of influence, influencers can be grouped as celebrities.
Influencers already have an old record in marketing. Towards the beginning, companies made use of compelling faces such as athletes and celebrities to assist in selling their products through radio ads and television. The growth of social media has increased the popularity of influencers and another group of people. Presently, influencers are classified into several categories namely:
- Content creators and bloggers
- Celebrities: Pop culture stars, athletes and artists
- Micro-influencers: Individuals who have a strong impact on the social media
- Thought leaders and industry experts
A lot of influencer marketing in the present times takes place over social media. Bloggers and Micro-influencers are a budget-friendly way of accessing immediate credibility for emerging brands.
Can working with influencers be beneficial?
Influencers are worthy as they provide immediate access to the exposure needed by a growing company. 70% of millennials get influenced by the recommendations from their counterparts. Influencers also offer a point of connection between companies and their targeted market. There are many benefits of working with an influencer:
- Improved SEO: Working with influencers can give you opportunities where you can build up links send connections. More links often lead to good rankings in the search bar.
- Brand improvement: The influencers who create a positive connection already have a link with the customers and this is known as the halo effect. This is the reason why the image of the company strengthens in the eye of the customer.
- Enhances customer relationships: It can make your relationship with customers stronger through the pre-existing customers sharing relationships with the influencers.
- Trust building: Consumers have trust in the opinions of influencers that they follow. Influencers can instantly increase the exposure of your brand.
- Increase in brand awareness: Get exposure to the pre-existing audience of your influencer. This market is highly engaged and is waiting for fir relatable content only.
That’s all you should know about what is an influencer. There can be many definitions of this term that you widely come across on the internet in the present times. The rise of influencers has changed the overall outlook of social media and the change is very positive. Many brands have started hiring social media influencers for marketing and promotion and they have shown effective results.