Influencer marketing is one of the most effective and popular types of digital marketing right now. If you’re new to the world of Instagram, influencer marketing might be the best strategy for your business. After all, billions of people around the globe use Instagram and follow these social media personalities. 

But what is influencer marketing, and how do you create a strategy for your business? This guide will show you how to create an effective influencer marketing strategy for Instagram.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is one of the latest trends in marketing. In this type of marketing, brands and companies collaborate with influential individuals online to endorse and promote their products and services. The idea is derived from celebrity endorsements and applied to the digital world. As such, influencer marketing can be called a hybrid of traditional and new marketing techniques. 

Most influencer marketing happens on social media platforms because this is where these people have the most influence and the majority of their followers. These social media personalities have built a high amount of trust with their followers, so when they endorse a product, their followers flock to try it out. 

Anyone can be an influencer. They are defined by the huge following they have on social media. They could be a travel photographer, a doctor, or a social rights activist. There’s an influencer in almost every industry. They work with brands in their industry and niche to promote products that are relevant to their profile and content. 

Types of Influencers

There are many types of influencers out there on Instagram and other social media platforms. These can be divided into four categories.

Nano Influencers 

Influencers with the smallest number of followers are called nano influencers. These personalities have one to ten thousand followers. The advantage of having a very small following is that you can engage with your followers at a much closer level. 

Nano influencers have a close relationship with their followers, which is slowly built over time. They take the time to use products and offer very authentic reviews to their followers. So when they endorse a product, their followers know that it’s authentic and that they’re not just doing it because they’re paid to do so. 

Nano influencers are the best option for small businesses and startups. It’s because they prove to be very cost-effective and SMBs have limited budgets. If you’re going to penetrate a new market and want to test the waters with a small population, nano influencers are a good option. 

Micro Influencers

Micro influencers are those who have over ten thousand followers but less than a hundred thousand. These influencers are still considered to be very engaging with their audience and have some level of relationship with them. 

Another thing to note about micro influencers is that it is at this stage that you’ll see niches emerging. While nano influencers may post about general content, micro influencers are usually centered around a particular topic, such as gaming, sports, fashion, or beauty. As such, they have a targeted audience. 

Since these influencers have a very targeted audience, brands with more technical products and those looking to market to a specific niche can leverage them to their advantage. Micro influencers also have high engagement rates, so they make a good choice. 

Macro Influencers 

Macro influencers are where things start to get serious. These are influencers who have followers in the range of a hundred thousand to a million. These are typically social media celebrities, famous bloggers, vloggers, or influencers from other platforms like YouTube. 

Since macro influencers have a large following, it’s much harder to interact at a personal level. So you’ll see lower engagement levels than with micro and nano influencers. But that doesn’t mean their audience doesn’t have a relationship with them. Macro influencers build their huge following over years of interactions and by offering healthy and valuable content. 

If your primary strategy with Instagram influencer marketing is to build brand awareness, macro influencers are the way to go. Macro influencers can increase your brand’s reach significantly. Working with a macro influencer will get your name in front of hundreds of thousands of Instagram users, giving your marketing the boost it needs. 

Mega Influencers

The biggest players in the influencer marketing world are the mega influencers. These are influencers with over a million followers on Instagram. Mega influencers aren’t just limited to social media personalities; they can be actual celebrities themselves too. They could be movie stars, athletes, famous chefs, or models. 

As these influencers have millions of followers, it’s almost impossible for them to maintain a personalized relationship with their followers, so engagement rates can be low. But they are perfect for raising brand awareness. Their followers are on a global scale, so they can help brands reach out to international markets. 

Another thing to note about these influencers is the cost associated with them. Due to their huge scale, they can be very expensive to collaborate with. For example, Kylie Jenner is known to charge upwards of $1,800,000 for every post on Instagram. Only the biggest brands and those companies with significant marketing budgets get to work with mega influencers. 

How To Find The Right People For Your Instagram Influencer Marketing Strategy?

You may want to partner with an influencer who has over a million followers. It can help you reach a huge number of people. But it may not be the best option for you. There’s no telling how many of those million followers are actually interested in your product or even need it. Sometimes, an influencer with just a few thousand followers can prove to be much more useful. So it’s important to work with the right influencer. 

You need to look at several factors when deciding which Instagram influencer is best for your marketing strategy. A critical factor is your budget. The amount of money you’re willing to spend on influencer marketing will determine which type of influencer you should work with. It goes without saying that the bigger your budget, the bigger the influencers you can work with. 

The second most important factor is audience match. Look for influencers whose followers are your target audience. It’s vital that they be the same people. If the followers of your chosen influencer don’t match your target audience, your strategy will fail. Your marketing message will fall on deaf ears. Find influencers in your niche and study their followers. Who are they? Look at the demographic data and make an insightful decision. 

Another factor you should be considering is your goal. What is it exactly that you want to achieve by collaborating with an influencer? If your goal is to increase brand awareness and get your name out in the market, macro and mega influencers are the best choice. If you want engagement or to convert customers, micro and nano influencers are the best choice. 

How to Create an Instagram Influencer Marketing Strategy?

The first step to creating an Instagram influencer marketing strategy is to define your goals. What will the endgame of your influencer marketing strategy be? What do you want to achieve? Are you looking to increase your social media followers, improve brand awareness, expand your reach, or convert social media users into customers? 

Next, create a budget for this campaign. How much of your total marketing budget will you be contributing to influencer marketing? As we discussed above, your budget is crucial in deciding which types of influencers will be a part of this campaign. 

When you have set your budget, it’s time to find influencers. There are many ways you can find influencers that fit your brand. Social listening can help you find influencers and celebrities who are already talking about your brand. A good social listening tool should be able to tell you who’s saying what about you. 

Another method is to use an influencer marketing platform to find and analyze Instagram influencers. Upfluence and HypeAuditor are two of the most popular tools on the market for this job. 

Now that you’ve found the best influencers for your campaign, make an outreach plan. This plan will include details about how you should contact them. Will it be directly or through their agencies? 

To end your strategy, you have to make a compensation plan for your influencers. This will include how much you’re willing to pay for their services. Compensation can vary largely across industries, niches, and types of influencers. Research beforehand what the current rates are in your industry. Influence.co can help you with a rate map for Instagram influencers. 

Create Your Instagram Influencer Marketing Strategy Today!

Influencer marketing has a high ROI, with brands earning $5.78 for every dollar spent on influencers. With this kind of return, influencer marketing is one of the best digital marketing strategies. 

Every type of business, small or large, in every industry can benefit from influencers. It really comes down to what you want to achieve by collaborating with an influencer and how you’re going to do it. 

Have you worked with an influencer before? Talk to us below!