What is an influencer: 5 Types of Influencers and What They Do
Influencer marketing is all the rage these days. An influencer can either make or break your campaign. Let’s look at the definition of a social media influencer followed by the different types of influencers.
What is the first thing you do when you want to buy something? You go to your friends or family and ask them for recommendations, right? And more often than not, we trust their recommendations because we trust them and their opinions.
If this has ever happened to you, then congrats! You already know what an influencer is. But I’ll describe it in detail, just in case.
What Is An Influencer?
An influencer is someone who influences the buying decisions of people on social media. People listen to them because they have built trust with their followers and people respect their opinions.
Influencers usually choose a niche that they are passionate about, and promote products or services from brands in that niche. For example, someone who is passionate about travel may promote things such as tourism packages/ resorts on their page.
How do they promote the products and services? By creating unique content on their own which talks about their experience with the products. This could be a photo or a video or even a tweet.
The above mentioned travel influencer might make reels or videos that showcase the resort, highlight the benefits of staying there, and talk about how much they loved it. This influences the people to check it out for themselves. After all, who doesn’t want to go on a luxury vacation? Especially if there are offers going around.
5 Types of Influencers and Their Job Descriptions
Just like ice cream, influencers come in a variety of types. Here, I talk about 5 types of influencers to make it easier for you to pick the type that fits you best!
Celebrities/ Mega Influencers
Also known as mega influencers, celebrities are usually public figures such as actors, singers, and athletes. They have more than a million followers, so they have an incredible amount of reach. Think 500,000 likes within a minute!
But, the term mega influencers doesn’t include public figures alone. Any influencer with more than a million followers can be called a mega influencer. Due to their high amount of engagement, they are very attractive to big brands, but come at a high cost.
Macro Influencers
These types of influencers usually have between 1 M – 100k followers. These influencers tend to be more or less well-known in the world of social media. Maybe they run a famous podcast, or are a popular activist.
Unlike celebrities, macro influencers usually tend to stick to posting about their niche. Although they will still be expensive, you have a very high chance of getting great results if you work with macro influencers in your niche!
Micro Influencers
Influencers who have between 100k – 10k followers are called micro influencers. These types of influencers have the best results because they have a closer relationship with their followers and they strictly stick to a specific niche.
Followers trust them because they are normal people like you and me. Their views tend to come off as being more authentic. Studies show that over 82% of consumers are more likely to buy something when a micro influencer recommends it! A great way to promote your brand without breaking the bank.
Nano Influencers
These are people who have 10k – 1k followers and are in the process of building their online presence. At 8.8%, they have the highest engagement rate! Since their content is very personalized, their followers have a more close-knit relationship with them.
You might not get thousands of sales from them, but nano influencers can work wonders if you are a small/ local business!
Customers
Yes, you heard that right. Your own customers can act as your influencers! This is the most authentic type of influencer marketing you will get without spending a dime! They are your customers because they already love your products. Who better to influence others?
But how can I use my customers as influencers? You can do this by creating social media campaigns/ contests where you encourage your customers to share their experience with your product. Ask them to use your branded hashtag. Run the contest for a certain number of days and give away one of your products as a gift to a couple of random winners!
How To Become An Influencer?
Becoming an influencer can be a great way to make money doing something you love! But how do you get started?
The first thing you need to do (apart from creating a social media account, duh), is to choose your niche. Think of the things you are passionate about; something you can talk about for days. It could be travel, or food, or fashion!
Once this is done, start creating and posting authentic high-quality content. If your niche is fashion, you could post reels on styling certain clothes, picking clothes based on the occasion, and many such tips and tricks. Use hashtags to promote your content!
The next thing you need to do is build a loyal follower base. Start by networking with people. Follow other fashion bloggers, engage with them, reshare their content and show your support.
It will take a while, but maintain consistency, and you will get there! Read this article to learn about becoming a paid influencer in detail.
Once you feel that you have a good enough audience, you can start contacting brands!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does YouTube pay influencers?
You can make money as an influencer on YouTube. But the platform itself does not pay the influencers. (Neither does Instagram, for that matter.)
To make money on YouTube, you need to join their partner program. This allows you to get paid through ads. There are certain perks to becoming a partner- YouTube gives you access to in-depth analytics and also promotes your videos!
What do influencers do?
Like the name suggests, influencers are people who get paid to influence the buying decisions of people. They promote products/ services that they believe in by providing reviews for the same. They highlight the benefits of using the product and talk about their experiences with it. In this way, they urge people to buy the products.
What are the qualities of a good influencer?
The most important quality of a good influencer is that they are authentic and trustworthy. Not only do they align with your brand, they also have the best intentions of their followers at heart.
Second, to promote your product well, they should be sociable and friendly.
Finally, they should be an expert content creator with the marketing skills and creativity to match it.
How do I get hired as an influencer?
Once you pick your niche and build a loyal audience, you can contact brands asking them to collaborate with you. Pitch yourself to them with your social media analytics to back you up.
Another way you can get hired as an influencer is by joining influencer marketing platforms or agencies. Example: IMA agency. They will connect you to brands that fit your profile!
Now you know everything there is to know about influencers, including the definition and different types of influencers. I hope this article gave you valuable information to help you with your journey- whether you are a brand or an aspiring influencer. Don’t forget to comment and share!
Karina Gandola was born and raised outside the city of Charleston, in the beautiful mountain state of West Virginia. Karina loves writing about the influencer marketing space and an area she is passionate about. She considers her faith and family to be most important to her. If she isn’t spending time with her friends and family, you can almost always find her around her sweet yellow Labrador retriever, Poshna.
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What is the first thing you do when you want to buy something? You go to your friends or family and ask them for recommendations, right? And more often than not, we trust their recommendations because we trust them and their opinions.
If this has ever happened to you, then congrats! You already know what an influencer is. But I’ll describe it in detail, just in case.
What Is An Influencer?
An influencer is someone who influences the buying decisions of people on social media. People listen to them because they have built trust with their followers and people respect their opinions.
Influencers usually choose a niche that they are passionate about, and promote products or services from brands in that niche. For example, someone who is passionate about travel may promote things such as tourism packages/ resorts on their page.
[EcommerceIQ]
How do they promote the products and services? By creating unique content on their own which talks about their experience with the products. This could be a photo or a video or even a tweet.
The above mentioned travel influencer might make reels or videos that showcase the resort, highlight the benefits of staying there, and talk about how much they loved it. This influences the people to check it out for themselves. After all, who doesn’t want to go on a luxury vacation? Especially if there are offers going around.
5 Types of Influencers and Their Job Descriptions
Just like ice cream, influencers come in a variety of types. Here, I talk about 5 types of influencers to make it easier for you to pick the type that fits you best!
Celebrities/ Mega Influencers
Also known as mega influencers, celebrities are usually public figures such as actors, singers, and athletes. They have more than a million followers, so they have an incredible amount of reach. Think 500,000 likes within a minute!
But, the term mega influencers doesn’t include public figures alone. Any influencer with more than a million followers can be called a mega influencer. Due to their high amount of engagement, they are very attractive to big brands, but come at a high cost.
Macro Influencers
These types of influencers usually have between 1 M – 100k followers. These influencers tend to be more or less well-known in the world of social media. Maybe they run a famous podcast, or are a popular activist.
Unlike celebrities, macro influencers usually tend to stick to posting about their niche. Although they will still be expensive, you have a very high chance of getting great results if you work with macro influencers in your niche!
Micro Influencers
Influencers who have between 100k – 10k followers are called micro influencers. These types of influencers have the best results because they have a closer relationship with their followers and they strictly stick to a specific niche.
Followers trust them because they are normal people like you and me. Their views tend to come off as being more authentic. Studies show that over 82% of consumers are more likely to buy something when a micro influencer recommends it! A great way to promote your brand without breaking the bank.
Nano Influencers
These are people who have 10k – 1k followers and are in the process of building their online presence. At 8.8%, they have the highest engagement rate! Since their content is very personalized, their followers have a more close-knit relationship with them.
You might not get thousands of sales from them, but nano influencers can work wonders if you are a small/ local business!
Customers
Yes, you heard that right. Your own customers can act as your influencers! This is the most authentic type of influencer marketing you will get without spending a dime! They are your customers because they already love your products. Who better to influence others?
But how can I use my customers as influencers? You can do this by creating social media campaigns/ contests where you encourage your customers to share their experience with your product. Ask them to use your branded hashtag. Run the contest for a certain number of days and give away one of your products as a gift to a couple of random winners!
How To Become An Influencer?
Becoming an influencer can be a great way to make money doing something you love! But how do you get started?
The first thing you need to do (apart from creating a social media account, duh), is to choose your niche. Think of the things you are passionate about; something you can talk about for days. It could be travel, or food, or fashion!
Once this is done, start creating and posting authentic high-quality content. If your niche is fashion, you could post reels on styling certain clothes, picking clothes based on the occasion, and many such tips and tricks. Use hashtags to promote your content!
[ItaliaOnline]
The next thing you need to do is build a loyal follower base. Start by networking with people. Follow other fashion bloggers, engage with them, reshare their content and show your support.
It will take a while, but maintain consistency, and you will get there! Read this article to learn about becoming a paid influencer in detail.
Once you feel that you have a good enough audience, you can start contacting brands!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make money as an influencer on YouTube. But the platform itself does not pay the influencers. (Neither does Instagram, for that matter.)
To make money on YouTube, you need to join their partner program. This allows you to get paid through ads. There are certain perks to becoming a partner- YouTube gives you access to in-depth analytics and also promotes your videos!
Like the name suggests, influencers are people who get paid to influence the buying decisions of people. They promote products/ services that they believe in by providing reviews for the same. They highlight the benefits of using the product and talk about their experiences with it. In this way, they urge people to buy the products.
The most important quality of a good influencer is that they are authentic and trustworthy. Not only do they align with your brand, they also have the best intentions of their followers at heart.
Second, to promote your product well, they should be sociable and friendly.
Finally, they should be an expert content creator with the marketing skills and creativity to match it.
Once you pick your niche and build a loyal audience, you can contact brands asking them to collaborate with you. Pitch yourself to them with your social media analytics to back you up.
Another way you can get hired as an influencer is by joining influencer marketing platforms or agencies. Example: IMA agency. They will connect you to brands that fit your profile!
Now you know everything there is to know about influencers, including the definition and different types of influencers. I hope this article gave you valuable information to help you with your journey- whether you are a brand or an aspiring influencer. Don’t forget to comment and share!