How Instagram influencers are changing marketing
Ellie Wilbraham - 16 September 2019
An Instagram influencer is an individual with a large following on their Instagram profile. Their huge loyal following across social media means that they are trusted role models to their followers, making them the perfect candidates for companies and brands to target and promote their products and services.
Celebrities vs macro-influencers vs micro-influencers
There are many types of Instagram influencers covering a range of industries, from beauty and fashion bloggers, to fitness accounts and travel profiles. All of these fall under three main categories:
- A-lister celebrities
- Macro-influencers
- Micro-influencers
Celebrities are our most well-known famous faces from around the globe, with millions of followers but less engagement.
Macro-influencers tend to have over 10,000 followers and are more well-known than micro-influencers, who usually have a few thousand followers but more engagement with their followers.
Each of these tiers of influencers carries its benefits and the type of influencer that is right for your business is dependent on the business itself, the industry it falls under, the target audience and budget. Collaborations with big names come with a much higher price tag and it may in fact be more cost-effective to target micro-influencers for promotions.
More recently, brands have begun moving away from using celebrities and are starting to focus their efforts more on micro-influencers. Despite their smaller following in comparison to celebrities and macro-influencers, they tend to see more engagement and interactions with their followers and, as a result, more personal connections and authentic recommendations are provided to their followers. People are easily able to relate to and seek interactions with micro-influencers, and brands can use this to their full advantage when using micro-influencers to promote their products and services.
Potential benefits of Instagram influencer marketing
Influencer marketing can generate a massive 11 times the ROI of traditional marketing and it’s on the rise…
Using Instagram influencers within a broader marketing strategy to promote your business’s products and services to your target audience has benefits including:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Expanding their reach and engagement
- Increasing followers on Instagram and other social media platforms
- Boosting click-throughs, conversion rates and sales
How Instagram influencers are changing the traditional marketing game
Influencer marketing enables brands to connect with their target audience in a way that appears to be more natural and honest than traditional marketing techniques.
Customers are indirectly targeted by businesses via Instagram influencers who promote their products and services and research has found that a massive 94% of customers trust influencer’s recommendations.
With over one billion active users on Instagram and statistics such as these, it is clear that Instagram influencers can have a vast influence on purchasing decisions in a huge range of industries. Most notably is the fashion industry, with 72% of users saying they have made a fashion, beauty or style-related purchase after seeing something on the platform.
The future of Instagram influencers
With the Instagram influencer space predicted to grow to a $5-10 billion industry by 2020, influencer marketing is likely to continue to grow in its popularity.
More recently, Instagram has aimed to improve the transparency of influencer marketing by ensuring that influencers use the hashtag #Ad when they’re being paid to promote a brand’s product. Additionally, Instagram has added a ‘Paid partnership’ tag which influencers must use if they’re collaborating with a brand and promoting them. Whilst improving the transparency and honesty surrounding influencer promotions, this may also further increase user’s trust in influencer’s recommendations.
So, what is the future of Instagram influencers? We’re expecting big things. As influencers gain popularity across the platform, businesses will have to work hard to ensure they stand out from competitors.
Looking for further guidance and advice on how your business could collaborate with Instagram influencers? Take a look at our social media management and strategy services or contact us for more information.
