Everything You Need To Know About Brand Influencer Marketing

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• What Is Influencer Marketing?
• Why Do Brands Partner with Brand Influencers?
• The Influencer Marketing Landscape
• The Value of Influencer Marketing
• Types of Influencers
• What Do Brand Influencers Do?
• How Do You Become a Brand Influencer?
• Brand Influencer Payment
• 10 of the Most Successful Brand Influencers

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a specific type of social media marketing. It relies on endorsements and product mentions to increase brand awareness and sales.

Influencers are people with a niche social media following of trusted supporters. Because of the goodwill they’ve fostered with their followers, influencers have the ability to shape their audience’s buying practices and decisions through their content and product recommendations.

Why Do Brands Partner with Brand Influencers?

Brands used to dictate how consumers viewed their companies. In print, radio, and even television advertising, they controlled the content and messages. With social media, consumers have more influence on how marketers approach the advertising process. Consumers today use networks of people who have shared values to get trusted opinions. For this reason, brands that partner with an influencer—someone their target audience sees as reliable—can in turn make the product seem more reliable and appealing. Other benefits of brand and influencer collaboration include:

• Creativity: Influencers bring their own style to each post. This can help brands find and utilize new marketing trends.
• New audiences: Influencers have followers who may not know about a brand. The followers can learn about the company through any sponsored content.
• Relevance: Influencers have a niche audience. This means brands can find the most relevant consumers by choosing the right partner.
• Synergy: Partnerships between influencers and brands are collaborative. Both sides get something valuable out of the agreement. For example, companies pay or reward influencers for their advertising time, and the brand can see an increase in followers or sales from the content.
  

  Photo via Unsplash by Diggity Marketing

The Influencer Marketing Landscape

Influencers have many options when choosing a social platform and home for their content. Instagram is one of the most popular platforms for influencer marketing because it showcases both photos and videos. When the app launched in 2010, it was easier to get featured on the suggestions page for accounts to follow. It was also easier to build a following if a creator had unique photos or content on their profile. This helped brands find people and hire them as influencers.

Now, more creators are competing for influencer opportunities. Trends have changed as content in certain areas has become over-saturated. This has challenged current and aspiring influencers to find new ways to stand out to brands. Typically, the youngest generation on any platform helps set these trends. They may even change platforms—such as moving from Instagram to TikTok—to get more followers or draw better attention to themselves.

Because video plays a key role in influencer marketing, it’s helpful to know how to effectively utilize this type of content. Download CopyPress’ free eBook on video marketing to learn more about this powerful marketing tool.

The Value of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is popular because it is financially beneficial for brands. Studies expect the influencer marketing industry to make $13.8 billion by the end of 2021. That’s up from the prediction of $9.7 billion in 2020. Over 75% of brands say they intend to dedicate a specific budget to influencer marketing in 2021. That money funds sponsored posts and content on popular apps like Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok.

About 67% of brands measure the return on investment (ROI) from their influencer campaigns. Many find that for each $1 spent on influencer marketing, brands can expect to make about $5.20 in profit.

Types of Influencers

Not every brand influencer has to be an actor, dancer, or celebrity. Broadly, there are three main kinds of influencers. They include:

Casual

Casual influencers are people who may not even consider themselves influencers. Within their own circle or niche, they’re known for their taste, expertise, or opinions. Casual influencers may make recommendations or set trends without intention. This type of influencer may be more helpful to small brands or startup companies. These influencers may also trade sponsorship for free products or discounts.

Career

Career influencers run their social media accounts specifically for influencing. They build their personal brands and actively look for sponsorship opportunities to earn an income. They may work with both big and small businesses if the content or campaign fits their own budget and persona.

Passionate

Passionate influencers combine different elements of casual and career categories. These people love their niche topics. This makes them excited to find sponsorship work. Brands enjoy their enthusiasm, trust, and belief in the products they promote. They’re also valuable to followers because of their relatable attitudes.

What Do Brand Influencers Do?

Brand influencers use their social media platforms to engage an audience. They earn the trust of their followers and then connect them with brands, products, and services via sponsored brand partnerships. Influencers share their content out through many channels. Some even take advantage of services like content syndication, which we provide at CopyPress.

Brand influencers serve as extensions of a brand. This means that while they’re paid or compensated for their partnerships, they’re not traditional staff members. Many influencers also enjoy and use the brands they promote in real life.

How Do You Become a Brand Influencer?

You can follow these steps to start a career as an influencer:

1. Choose a Niche

Choose a topic or niche of interest to specialize in. Your subject can be anything from music to fashion to food. It’s a good idea to pick an area where you’re knowledgeable and feel confident posting content or reviewing products. Some people work in two or three related niches. For example, some beauty bloggers may also create fashion or wellness content.

2. Choose a Channel

Influencers that are building their personal brands typically post content on one or two social media platforms. This can help you build a following and learn the marketing trends for one area before expanding. Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are popular channels for new influencers.

3. Create a Profile

Create a business profile on your chosen platforms to market your personal services. Add profile pictures and cover photos that represent your brand identity. You can also write a bio that shares who you are, your niche areas, and your professional contact information.

4. Do Research

Conduct online research to find out what’s popular in your niche. Look at trending hashtags and competitors’ posts to understand what your audience wants. You can use analytics to track your own content and check follower responses when you change your routine or post something new.

5. Make Relevant Posts

Use your research to shape a content strategy. Decide how you want your feeds to look and feel to followers. Some influencers share only business content. Others have a mix of personal and professional content on their profiles. Decide what works best for your audience and what is sustainable for your creation and posting habits.

6. Post Consistently

Some studies claim to know the best days and times to post on social media to get the most engagement. While not all influencers follow this advice, most have a regular posting schedule. You may choose to post daily, weekly, or bi-weekly content. You can also use social media scheduling software to share content.

7. Engage Followers

Create a dialogue with your followers on social media in order to build your relationships with them and establish your persona. You might use stories to ask questions or share polls. Consider answering questions or responding to direct mentions. Being an influencer means valuing the community you create, it’s worthwhile to put effort into conversing and engaging with your audience.

8. Open for Business

Let brands know when you’re open to collaborations. Put the information in your bio or conduct outreach and contact brands you want to work with. Some influencer talent platforms also let you submit credentials and get matched with a brand that shares your niche and values.

Brand Influencer Payment

There are three common types of compensation for brand influencers. They include:

• Cash: As with any job, this is a traditional payment method. Brands may pay established influencers this way.
• Products or discounts: Offering other incentives may attract influencers to your brand. This may work with lesser-known influencers or for smaller brands.
• Commission: This compensation is helpful if you’re trying to increase sales. Influencers receive payment or rewards for the direct sales they make through sponsorships.

10 of the Most Successful Brand Influencers

Ranking influencers can depend on their platform and audience. Trying to compare an Instagram influencer to a YouTube influencer to decide who’s more successful isn’t an equal match. In fact, many of the most successful influencers work across platforms. Some of the best recognized and most successful influencers by follower count include:

1. Kids Diana Show

This Ukraine-based YouTube channel follows six-year-old Diana and her brother Roma. Their 79.7 million followers tune in for children’s songs, toy reviews, and family vlogs. Diana works with brands like Barbie, Target, and Walmart.

2. Dude Perfect

This group of American sports and comedy enthusiasts met in college. They originally gained popularity in 2009 after performing and posting trick shots on YouTube. Now, their 56.5 million followers on the platform enjoy sports stunts, battles, and comedy sketches. They partnered with YouTube’s brand in 2020 to release a documentary called “Dude Perfect: Backstage Pass.” It discusses their journey from a one-hit viral sensation to global recognition on the site.

3. Charli D’Amelio

Charli D’Amelio is a 17-year-old American TikToker. She puts her 10 years of competitive dance experience to use on the app by sharing trending dance videos. As the most-followed TikTok user with an audience of 120.5 million, she often collaborates with her older sister Dixie to promote brands like linktr.ee, Ulta Beauty, and Morphe 2.

4. Addison Rae

Similar to Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae is a 20-year-old American former dancer who shares trending dance videos on TikTok. She shares lip sync videos and content from brands like Nintendo, American Eagle, and NBC with her 82 million followers.

5. Huda Kattan

Huda Kattan is a makeup artist and beauty blogger. Working as an Instagram influencer with a following of 49 million people let Kattan create her own beauty line. She shares makeup how-tos, beauty reviews, and sponsored content for brands like Harrods.

6. Lele Pons

Lele Pons is a Venezuelan-American content creator. She started her influencer career on the now-extinct platform Vine. Pons moved to YouTube before branching out into singing, acting, and writing. She shares content with her 45 million Instagram followers for brands like EyeBuyDirect.

7. Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan is an Australian singer-songwriter who started gaining attention in the mid-2000s for his performances on televised singing competitions. As an established musical artist, Sivan also partners with brands for influencer marketing. He shares his original songs with his nine million Twitter followers and partnership content with brands like Optus.

8. Austin Mahone

Austin Mahone started his music career on YouTube singing pop covers. He gained 9.1 million followers on Twitter after signing with a record label. Besides promoting his own music, Mahone works with Clubhouse Media Group, an influencer-based marketing and media firm.

9. King Bach

Andrew Bachelor, better known as King Bach, is a Canadian-American content creator and actor. Like Lele Pons, he got his start on Vine before moving to YouTube and TikTok. He also has a Snapchat influencer presence.

10. Frankie Greek

Frankie Greek is a social producer and content creator. She considers herself a Snapchat journalist. Not only is Greek an influencer, but she also develops Snapchat marketing for brands. Her experience in radio, television, and social media makes her successful in both areas.

Influencer marketing is now a staple in most digital marketing plans. Knowing how to become an influencer can help you determine your own path within this field. By identifying a niche and making yourself available to brands for partnerships, you can start developing your own engaging content.

Christy Walters

CopyPress writer

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