What is a Social Media Influencer and How Can They Help to Grow a Brand?

There is a lot written on social media influencers and how, with the right person, your brand can become a viral success online. Is it as simple as that? How can you make working with a social media influencer a success?

What is a social media influencer?

The definition is wide and varied. Essentially, working with a social media influencer means that you are tapping into the digital version of referrals.

Like many other brands, we operate a client referral system – that is, recommend another company or organisation to use our promotional staffing services and we’ll give you money off the next time you hire from us as a thank you.

In essence, you acted as an influencer. You are so impressed with our services that you tell others about it. Word of mouth is still very powerful, even in the digital age, and so we encourage it.

To use a social media influencer is to do the same thing, but online.

How working with a social media influencer works

Social media influencers usually have a strong following on one or more social media platform. In exchange for a fee, the amount of which will vary, they will ‘plug’ your products online.

What this is, is the digital version of word of mouth. You have someone with influence online suggesting your products to their audience.

The pros and the cons

It all sounds fabulous and simple which it can be. You find an influencer, they promote your products on their social media account and you get lots of new customers.

Or this is how it should work. There are pros and cons to the social media influencer marketing idea, however.

• Who is their audience? Who are they reaching?

Firstly, don’t get too hung up on numbers. It’s easy to assume that because someone has 500,000 followers that they are the best person to work with because they have a big reach. The question you need to ask is who is their audience? Are they the people who would buy or be interested in your products.

• Following advertising guidelines

There are guidelines to follow. Fall foul of these and your product won’t get the coverage it needs or, worse still, the wrong kind of fame.

Social media users, no matter who they are, must declare that a post is an #ad for a company and/or product. This means that in exchange for showcasing your product or service, they receive a fee.

• Cost and return on investment

Famous social media influencers, like the Jenner’s and Kardashian’s charge a phenomenal fee per post when pushing products and services for brands. Unless you have a sizeable budget, you are unlikely to nab someone famous.

There are, however, other social media influencers who can deliver brilliantly when it comes to recommending your products online. But you need to be confident that you will enjoy a return on investment and that means talking through what they can offer, who their followers are and so on.

How to find social media influencers?

There are various ways in which you can find the right people to work with;

• Approach an agency – there are agencies that manage social media influencers. They can not only find you the right person but negotiate fees, contracts, help with posts and so on.
• Find an influencer yourself – you can scope out interest by ‘advertising’ on your social media platform for users who have a certain reach and following to showcase your brand. As with all professional relationships, you need a contract that protects you both, as well as laying out deliverables and so on.

Are social media influencers marketing right for your brand?

It can be if you get the right person, with the right following on the right social media platform. It works for other brands across a range of industries, why not yours?