Understanding Influencer Marketing

Marketing has come a long way since the days of “Mad Men” and the marketing giants of the ‘50’s, but some still don’t understand the extent to which marketing has completely changed into an industry that is almost unrecognizable. 

The advancement of technology has created entire industries and careers that did not exist 20 years ago. One massive example of this phenomenon is what is known as influencer marketing, and its existence has changed the way that companies sell products forever.

If you haven’t heard of influencer marketing, chances are you have seen it in action, but just weren’t aware that it had a name. Essentially, it is a digital marketing strategy that consists of achieving a series of collaborative connections between companies and those people with high visibility and prominence on the internet. These people are known as ‘influencers.’ 

JIFU and countless other companies pay individuals to use the power of an influencer’s online presence to help sell experiences and products.

Social networks were created to connect people and groups to each other, regardless of location. This is clearly a beneficial system for brands to use to their advantage, and often they will pay influencers very well to do just this. 

Online influencers are followed by a target audience that are often very consumerist and whose opinions are easily impacted by the influencer. The brand is able to advertise to a more direct audience and increase their own online presence. 

In order to become an influencer, someone must have an open mind, perseverance, and dedication. Aside from these characteristics, it’s also important to master the leading social networks and create beautiful content to elevate them within their niche.  

Often, brands will pay more to influencers who have more interaction. Someone may have a lot of followers, but if they have low engagement, they could be paid less than someone who has less followers on social media than them.

For example, Christiano Ronaldo has 240 million followers on instagram and a reported engagement of 2.22%. This means that 5,328,000 people engage on average with each post he makes, which is a decent interaction ratio. 

However, nano-influencers (1,000-10,000 followers) can make a reasonable amount of money as well, as long as they have consistently good engagement. Micro-influencers(10,000-50,000 followers) generally make $100–$500 per post, again depending on several factors. 

So how much do they make? It all depends on the brand, the influencer, and the platform. However, no matter your reach or your niche, there is money to be had. The influencer marketing industry is on track to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022 according to Business Insider.