Is a Social Media Influencer Right for Your Business?

From Mega to Nano

Leveraging the popularity of an active voice on social media needs to be a carefully thought out decision.

Influencers are their own brand, so you need to choose someone whose existing brand is aligned with your product or service. One of the most important first steps to consider is to define the reason that you want to engage an influencer.  It could just be wider exposure, or to get more subscribers to your web site or increase your number of contacts, sell more product, etc.

Within the world of influencers there are four levels of influence. Celebrities with millions of followers are referred to as Mega influencers – these are often movie stars, musicians, celebrities. The next step down is 100K+ followers, known as the Macro level, followed by Micro at 10K to 100K and lastly Nano at less than 10K. Each level brings something specific to a campaign so you want to match the campaign objectives with the level of exposure and be in balance with both brand messages.

An example of a Mega might be a country music star. If he is traditional country, then he might rightly be associated with trucks, hunting, BBQ etc. So if you have any products that might fit in with that image, then it might be a good match, especially if your goal is just more exposure. Keep in mind the more followers, the more expensive it is to get that exposure.

The majority of influencers are at the other end of the scale. Micro and Nano influencers are great for giving testimonials or supporting for more narrowly focused support. Here is where you’ll find book or movie reviewers, fitness instructors, conservationists and so forth. They usually are experts in their field or are developing a following in some new area.

Finding the Right Voice

Based on the objectives for your brand, the next step is finding the appropriate influencer. Fortunately most common social media platforms: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok and LinkedIn all have search functions. Research your influencer type by keyword searches or by name directly and you will get an idea of how many followers they have. Also, you’ll want to make sure that you know how the influencer trends are moving. There are sites dedicated to following the trends in influencer markets. One such site indicates that MICROS in the range of 15 – 75K are some of the most effective at moving the needle on adoption rates for examples. Once you have a list of potential influencers of the right type matched up with your objectives and in-line with your brand, the next step is to reach out.

Setting Up the Relationship

This is getting down to the nuts and bolts. The end result is a contract that runs for a specific period of time. Among the details that need to be worked out include:

• What are the deliverables, on what platforms, with what frequency and any content guidelines
• Payment and/or any other compensation terms such as payment for travel for example
• Level and duration of exclusivity and prohibition of competing products
• Ownership, usage, approval process, disclosures
• Performance, termination, confidentiality, liability and dispute resolution

In short, a fairly standard performance-based contract with an outside contractor. If you don’t have a standard contract, you will need to draft one up, or you may be able to model a contract based on an existing contract that the influencer is using for another client. Regardless, you will want to make sure that a legal representative that has your best interests in mind has reviewed the terms of the contract.

Other Considerations

Ensure you have the necessary time and resources to manage influencer relationships and campaigns effectively. You may also want to run a small pilot campaign to test the waters before committing significant resources. You can get feedback from the pilot campaign to understand its effectiveness and make data-driven decisions. Be open to a changing relationship with an influencer. Their conditions, or your requirement, may change with time in ways that might either benefit your company or cease to resonate with your core prospects. Be open to change.

By following these steps, you can determine if influencer marketing is right for your business and effectively leverage influencers to achieve your marketing goals.