The concept of influencer marketing has been around for some time.
Some even say the practice of using people with substantial stature and influence to endorse products and brands dates back to the late 19th century.
However, it is only in recent years that we’ve seen it rise to become the digital marketing juggernaut that it is today.
By 2022, the influencer marketing industry is projected to be worth up to $15 billion, a staggering figure by any standard.
Influencer marketing campaigns take place across all social media platforms. So far, however, Instagram marketing campaigns are looking pretty good right now.
If you ever consider marketing your business on Instagram, you might want to give Instagram influencer marketing a try to increase not only your brand awareness but your sales and follower base as well.
Here are some things you need to know about Instagram influencer marketing to get you started.
Instagram Influencer Marketing In A Nutshell
Instagram influencer marketing refers to the practice of collaborating with Instagram users who have a considerable and actively engaged following to promote products, services, or brands on the social media platform.
Influencers on Instagram can talk about the businesses that partner with them in a positive light through Instagram posts, stories, and even contests or giveaways.
With their followers trusting their opinions and recommendations as they would a friend, Instagram influencers hold considerable sway among them, which makes them an incredibly potent partner in helping you achieve your business goals.
It’s Not All About The Number of Followers
The number of followers definitely matters on social media.
However, massive followings don’t automatically make an Instagram influencer.
What really matters is the engagement they get within a particular niche, where they have established a level of credibility to the point where they are considered experts worthy of our trust.
If they have incredibly high engagement in their given niche, they have what it takes to be considered an Instagram influencer, even when they don’t have that many followers.
Instagram Is Tops In Influencer Marketing on Social Media
With 79% of brands taking to Instagram to launch influencer campaigns, Instagram trumps all the other social media platforms when it comes to influencer marketing.
Facebook is a distant second with 46%, while YouTube comes in at 36%.
Factors To Consider When Choosing An Instagram Influencer
It would seem odd if you’re eyeing an Instagram influencer who is firmly entrenched in the food and drink niche, but your business is all about sports apparel.
So, when choosing an Instagram influencer to partner with, you need to make sure that they are a good fit for your brand.
You can also choose to partner with influencers who already use your brand and have said nice things about what you have to offer.
You can find them by looking through your unique brand hashtags or mentions.
Once you confirm that they are, indeed, fans of your brand, reach out to them and arrange an authentic collaboration that can only yield positive results for your business.
Other things you need to do when choosing an Instagram influencer to work with include confirming if your values match, checking out the quality of the content they post, and finding out if their followers are genuine.
Instagram Influencer Rates
In the early days, rising stars on social media wouldn’t mind partnering with brands and would be happy to get nothing more than freebies out of them.
While the practice continues to this very day, the fact that influencers have rendered themselves indispensable for many brands has put them in a position to charge more.
Factors like reach, follower engagement, the type of content impact Instagram influencer rates.
The rates could range from $10–$100 per post for nano-influencers, who have 1,000–10,000 followers, to $10,000 for mega-influencers who have a million followers or more.
You can expect to pay a whole lot more if you partner with a celebrity Instagram influencer, who typically has tens of millions of followers.
Like mobile marketing, Instagram influencer marketing has made quite an impact on the industry over the last few years. By all indications, it’s here to stay and could only reach greater heights in the future.
About the Author
Shawn Byrne is the founder and CEO of SEOPhoenix.net. Shawn started his career in I.T. troubleshooting workstations, servers, and networks, then went on to doing SEO as a side project and quickly found success in ranking websites. It was easy for him to grasp not only the algorithms but also the technical side which most SEO strategists miss and neglect because of its complexities. SEO Phoenix then grew based on its own rankings and referrals.