The world of advertising has undergone a massive transformation. While a decade ago, mainly celebrities and a handful of bloggers ran the show when it came to promoting a brand’s products and services, today, it is the social media influencers who help brands reach out to the masses, improving brand engagement and increasing sales. This has brought a new era of outreach for companies, also known as social media influencer marketing.

What is influencer marketing?
Simply put, influencer marketing is the collaboration between businesses and individuals who have amassed a large online presence to promote a product, raise brand awareness, and improve engagement. It’s quite like the influence peers have on one’s life and purchasing habits, just in an online format.

Types of influencers
Although relatively new, the influencer industry has expanded far and wide in its scope. This has led to the emergence of various categories of influencers, each with a different reach, range, cost, and engagement.

1. Mega or celebrity influencers
This category includes influencers with 1 million followers or more , such as famous actors, musicians, athletes, etc. Their established following makes it easier for them to improve brand outreach. Working with such influencers is ideal for big brands with sizable budgets for social media campaigns and luxury brands looking to create an exclusive niche for their products.

2. Macro-influencers
A little more niche compared to celebrities, macro-influencers have a social media following of 100,000 to a million and have gained popularity by consistently creating content and posting over time. As these influencers have established themselves in a certain subject area, the following also typically bends that way, allowing brands to reach out to like-minded individuals. Deals with macro-influencers tend to be expensive as well , so they are best suited for startups seeking rapid growth and exposure, mid-sized companies with a specific target audience, or non-governmental organizations looking to raise awareness.

3. Micro-influencers
Next in line is the category of micro-influencers , which includes those with 10,000 to 100,000 followers. They have a strong presence across various social media platforms, giving brands access to highly engaged audiences. Moreover, most marketers choose to work with micro-influencers as their services are more affordable than macro-influencers. They also come up with creative ways to market the products, providing genuine interactions and relatable experiences to prospective buyers.

4. Nano-influencers
At the end of this chain is the category of nano-influencers , with 1,000 to 10,000 followers. These  influencers tend to have the strongest relationships with their audiences, making them a stellar choice for niche brands that have a limited budget and want to reach out to specific groups.

How to create the right social media influencer marketing strategy
Influencer marketing has been shown to have a significant impact by increasing brand awareness, improving conversion rates, building trust and brand loyalty with the audience, and even targeting precise groups for improved advertising efforts. But how does one get to this point?

Developing an effective social media influencer marketing strategy requires careful thought, commitment, and planning. It is important to consider some factors during the planning stages.

1. Identify the right influencers
The most important step of influencer marketing is finding the right face for one’s brand. To begin with , it’s important to consider factors like the influencers’ overall content quality, their experience, and even where they post. Co-relate this with the brand’s social listening research to determine what the audiences are interested in following. This will help narrow down a list of influencers who may be right for one’s brand.

2. Understand the influencer’s payment structure
Every influencer does not take the same approach to payments when it comes to promoting products. Some may be willing to do it for exposure, others in exchange for products, and some will have unique pricing plans (direct payments or a cut of the sales). One can turn to tools like online influencer rate maps to get a snapshot of current industry trends.

3. Set up a budget and plan
Just like any other advertising or marketing campaign, one needs to develop an influencer marketing budget as well . Some people turn to online templates while doing so, while others develop their own. This is also a good time to consider the team’s involvement, including the time needed to plan, execute, and review the influencer strategy.

To make this process more enriching and audience-centric, many large brands have established ambassador programs to encourage upcoming influencers to build their platforms.

4. Define campaign goals
No plan is complete without a clearly defined goal. So, t hink about the overall objective of the campaign and determine whether   it aims to reach out to a new audience, introduce a new product, improve engagement, or announce a sale. Highlighting this beforehand will be extremely beneficial throughout the  project’s execution process.

5. Reach out to influencers
Once the base work is done, it is time to start reaching out to influencers. While for smaller influencers, a direct approach may work best, for macro-influencers and celebrities, one may need to approach the social media influencer agency or talent management agency they work with.

6. Refine the strategy over time
Companies need to review and refine their strategies with each influencer campaign to ensure the right engagement. To simplify this, one must define their key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, set a clear aim and benchmark, and monitor all progress against it.