Influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly popular way to promote companies, brands, products and services. Social networks like Instagram and YouTube are dominated by influencers whose followers act as a built-in audience for photogenic or disruptive brands. And it’s easy to see why — in a digital media landscape that throws ads at us everywhere we go, some people turn to celebrities and social media stars for advice on what products they love.
Social media influencer marketing has some impressive numbers to back it up:
There were over 1.5 million influencer posts on Instagram in 2017.
Worth of influencer marketing industry in 2017, and is expected to be worth $10 billion over the next couple of years.
Almost three-quarters of influencers on Instagram are in the 18-to-34 age range.
4 in 10 millennials say that their favorite influencers understand them better than their friends.
As you can see, if you’ve got the makings of an influencer marketer, the size and growth potential of the industry could give you an amazing opportunity.
Here’s how brands, influencers, social networks and end customers interact in influencer marketing.
Brands have certain products or services that they want to promote to audiences that are hard to reach via other means. For example, they may have a new clothing line targeted at women between the ages of 18 and 22. The brand decides which products they want to promote and defines an audience for each one, typically including age, gender, location, interests and similar demographics.
Once they understand audience demographics, a brand will look for influencers who have that audience. They will explore areas like follower counts, the influencer’s interests, the type of posts they create and various other factors. They will narrow influencers down to a short list and identify those most likely to connect with their desired target market.
This is where it gets interesting. Typically, a brand or marketing agency will approach individual influencers and discuss terms for promoting their products. This will include areas like:
After terms have been agreed to, the influencer will create posts to promote the brand, product or service. They might use predesigned imagery, photograph a product themselves or work with a brand or marketing agency on other types of content. Once the posts have been created, they are then shared with the audience, typically on a predefined timetable.
The post is shared with the audience and they purchase the offering based on the influencer’s endorsement. The brand or marketing agency will track the success of their social media influencer marketing campaigns based on the revenue they generate. This helps the brand understand their return on investment and which influencers are most effective.
If this sounds like something you want to be involved with, it’s important to understand what brands and marketing agencies are looking for. This could include:
The main area you’ll be focusing on is creating original content. Your followers will spot when you’re just sharing generic marketing messages, so you need to personalize all of your posts. This could involve taking videos of you using or wearing the product, staging beautiful photography or creating engaging descriptions and copy.
You’ll need to post regularly as well — not just for the offerings you’re being paid to promote, but about other aspects of your interests and life. This helps to keep your followers engaged and encourages more people to become fans.
You will also be reporting and sharing from others in your social network and interacting with your followers to build personal connections. You may also be seeking out marketing deals yourself and contacting agencies and brands to offer your services.
Influencers make money because brands and agencies pay them to promote their products or services. You may get paid in several ways based on multiple metrics:
You should work with the brand or marketing agency to agree on payment terms that fairly represent the effort you’re putting in and the results they expect to see. In terms of how much you can make, Instagram broke down the average of what influencers were charging by follower count and category. Here’s what they found:
If you’re interested in becoming a social media influencer, it’s worth exploring how exactly you’re going to turn your follower count and original content into a money making marketing machine.
You can’t spread yourself too thin as an influencer, so it’s important to focus your attention on the right social networks. Brands and marketing agencies are seeking out influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Other networks like Twitter and Pinterest can also be popular for the right niches. We recommend starting on just one or two social media networks and building up your engagement, reputation and follower count.
Although influencer marketing is all about connecting with people, you’ll also need to rely on data and analysis to make sure you’re spending your time wisely. Experiment with different types of posts, images and interactive content. Track the posts that get you the most attention, shares and followers. Carefully analyze the content that gets you noticed, and build that into your own marketing strategy.
Being a great social media marketer means building your own personal brand. You should be sharing authentic stories, interesting viewpoints and building connections with your followers. Make sure you have something unique and interesting to say and offer a fresh perspective in your chosen field. Learn about your followers and create content that speaks to their needs, while showing yourself in the best possible light.
You’ll be defined by the content you create. Make sure you have a content strategy that shows your talent and viewpoints, while creating content of several different types to engage with your followers. Create a strong visual identity and hashtags so it’s easy to identify you.
The best platform for influencers, by far, is Instagram. It’s designed around beautiful images and easy sharing, so it’s one of the best ways for brands to showcase their products through you. YouTube is also becoming increasingly popular, as more of us are choosing to consume content via video.
Here’s a selection of advice on building and making money from an Instagram business.
Although most YouTube creators make money from ads posted on their videos, there’s a growing market for YouTube influencer businesses:
You need to define how you’re going to run your influencer business, market yourself, get sales, make a profit and grow. This can only come about through creating a watertight business plan. It will help you get your thinking in order and show your commitment to your influencer marketing business.
Business plans do vary slightly, but they should cover the following areas:
We’ve got the perfect guide to writing your business plan.
Now that you have all the background information for your influencer business, it’s time to make it into a reality. That starts by choosing the right structure or “legal entity” for your business. In the U.S., there are five main business structures. They are:
This is the "default" business structure and is what your influencer business will be if you decide not to create a more formal structure. We don't recommend this type of business as it doesn't give you the legal protections you need.
Similar to a sole proprietorship, if you go into business with someone else without forming a legal business entity, you will be treated as a partnership. This doesn\’t give you limited liability protections, so we don't recommend it for your social media business.
The Limited Liability Company (LLC) is ideal for most marketing businesses. An LLC is easy and inexpensive to set up, and it has the least administrative requirements of any formal business entity.
This is a more complex type of business and isn't generally recommended for smaller organizations, like an influencer business.
These are the largest and most complex types of businesses and are typically far more than the average entrepreneur or business owner will need.
Even though you’re running a virtual business, you can’t escape real-world licenses, permits and regulations. You will need to explore local, state and federal licenses and permits, and we can also help out with researching your business licensing needs.
Taxes are a fact of life if you’re in business, and there are various ways you will need to file and pay them. This can include self-employment tax, state income tax and federal income tax. Depending on where and how you’re selling products and services, you may also be liable for sales and use tax.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend holding back around a third of your earnings to pay your taxes. We can also prepare and file your tax returns for you.
Social media has launched the careers of many successful influencer marketers. If you can find a great niche, understand your competitors and put together a solid business plan, you will have every chance for success
Start your Social Media Influencer Business with us, today.
