Influencer Marketing

An effective form of social media marketing is influencer marketing. This involves incorporating product placements or providing endorsements from people and organizations with a relatively high level of expertise or knowledge about a subject. That expertise results in a large following among social media fans, prompting brands to partner with the influencer in order to gain exposure among that following.

While there is no one metric that determines whether one qualifies as an influencer, carrying influence online can begin with those who have as few as 20,000 followers. The Advertising Standards Agency in the UK determined that 30,000 or more followers qualifies someone as a celebrity. The number of followers required to position someone as an influencer varies from country to country and from industry to industry. It’s also worth mentioning that influencers for consumer brands typically have far more followers than influencers for B2B brands.

Measuring the impact of influencer marketing can be done in a variety of ways. The most effective ways include tracking impressions, assessing engagement, monitoring traffic before and after an influencer campaign begins, tracking affiliate links, and gauging revenue generated specifically by the influencer’s involvement. There are several tracking methods available for measuring influencer marketing, including Google Analytics and Facebook pixels.

Like many other professions, becoming an influencer requires time and dedication. Unlike some other professions, an advanced degree is not required. What is required is the ability to select and completely understand a niche that has relevance to a large number of people. Becoming an expert in a particular field should be followed by optimizing your social media profiles, creating and posting relevant content, and regularly engaging with your audience. The more knowledgeable you are about a subject and the more you are inclined to share that information with an engaged audience, the better your chances of becoming an influencer.