What is an influencer?

These days, the word influencer can be heard just about everywhere. But we are curious about what exactly entails to be able to hold the title of this ambiguous term.

To us, the most logical explanation is that influencers are a type of people that have built a reputation for being reliable and having expertise in a specific topic.

They generate a lot of content on different types of platforms and have a relatively large amount of followers, who share and engage with their posts. A lot of companies love influencers because they can encourage their followers to buy products they are paid to promote.

That way, when a product is advertised by influencers, it seems more approachable and “less in your face” like more traditional marketing methods. After all, your favorite influencer would never lie to you and advertise products that are 100% genuine to them. (Heavy sarcasm).

Now that we’ve scratched the surface of the general idea of what being an influencer is, let’s dig deeper and try to differentiate between other types of influencers.

A lot of influencers do exactly that “influence” their followers and, for better or worse this is a great opportunity for some of them, to use their platforms for good and drive positive change in their environment. To be good role models for their fan base and engage with them.

At the end of the day, influencers can be whatever you perceive them to be. There are so many types, so it’s impossible to group them into just one category.

Being such a diverse group of people with all the good and bad, there can be a lot of opportunities to work with them and drive your brand message and vision to their followers.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the world of “influencers”.

1. Who were the first influencers?

Let’s go back in time a little and try to see if there were some old-school influencers—way before the modern understanding of the term influencer.

All the way back to the Medieval royalty which had an influence on the peasants and were viewed as having the right to rule and that the only person above them was God or the pope who was his earlier representative. The Pope wielded power to influence the first uses of medicine, which can be viewed as one of the earliest recorded influences.

The Industrial Revolution which started in the 1700s in Britain was a pivotal mark for the transition of agrarian society and the start of the technology-based economy which meant that more goods were being produced that needed marketing.

In 1905, Murad Cigarettes had an idea to feature film star and comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle in their print ads, making him one of the first celebrities to publicly endorse a product. The campaign was so successful, that numerous celebrity and athlete endorsements followed suit.

The commercialization of the radio in the 1920s broadened communication channels and proved a powerful new way to influence people. Historically, Christians sent missionaries to convert followers, and some recognized the radio as an opportunity to enhance traditional missionary efforts.

2. How to become an influencer?

The most vital step in becoming an influencer is to select a niche that can be described as your specialty and to try to grow your brand and reputation from there. You need to be interested and have some level of expertise on the topic to be able to constantly create new content for it.

Optimizing social media accounts, choosing the right platforms, and understanding your target audience are important because it lets you build a loyal fanbase that you can engage in and be able to sell and promote products.

3. Different categories of influencers.

You can group influencers in millions of ways. The most obvious ones are by followers, by levels of influence, and by the type of content, they are producing. From fashion bloggers to lifestyle influencers, to fitness gurus, or comedy/entertainment influencers to podcasters, the list can go on forever…

It could be a celebrity, athlete, prominent society figure, a friend whose advice you trust, or in some cases a fictional character. Basically, influencers can take the form and shape of whatever your imagination decides. Working with the right type of influencers that align with your brand values and aesthetic is important and it will grow your brand recognition in your specific niche.

The main difference is celebrity influencers who have more than 1 million followers and can be very good for providing wide reach but might not be best for ROI and engagement.

The other group is micro-influencers who have between 3k – 100k followers. They are more affordable and with a more reliable niche fanbase that has great engagement. And while you may reach fewer people the amount will be more interested in the content you are sharing.

4. How much does it cost to work with influencers?

Another topic that is less discussed is how much it costs to work with influencers. What’s their pay rate, their conditions, etc? Influencer marketing is a great way to reach your target audience, especially on social media. The cost of influencers may vary greatly by the social platform used, the influencer’s reach, their engagements with their followers, and the types of partnership being established between both parties.

According to the 2020 Influencer Marketing Outlook report, the top 5 social media platforms for influencer marketing are Instagram (82%), YouTube (41%), TikTok (23%), Twitter (23%), and Facebook (5%).

5. Is it worth working with influencers?

There is a recent statistic that states that over 80% of marketers say that influencer marketing is effective! This can be very telling about how marketing is one of the most dynamic and fast-changing industries that there are.

And if you want to be on top of the game and to stay in front of the minds of customers you need to be able to adapt fast influencer marketing is one of the more recent developments that can be just as successful as older more traditional methods in reaching potential customers.