Chart of the Week: The majority of marketers find influencer marketing to be an effective strategy, but it doesn’t come without its challenges

Influencer marketing has become a popular tactic for a number of brands, whether they’re using well-known names or micro-influencers. In fact, according to new research from Mediakix, 80% of marketers find influencer marketing to be an effective strategy. Almost half of marketers (45%) said they find influencer marketing effective, with a further 35% saying they find it very effective. In comparison, only 5% said influencer marketing was an ineffective tactic, while15% were neutral on the topic. This suggests that getting your influencer marketing campaign right - finding the right people to work with, promoting the best products or services and having them share content across channels that suit your audience – can help you…

Chart of the Day: How do micro-influencers and mega-influencers compare in Instagram engagement rates

When you think of Influencer Marketing, names like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are the first to pop up. Renowned celebrities or mega-influencers, with millions of followers, are often set as the benchmark of Influencer Marketing. However, you can be spending big budgets on a large reach and still get very little ROI. A recent report on Instagram Influencer Rates, carried out by Influence.co, shows us that influencers with smaller followings tend to have higher engagement rates than those of mega-influencers. Brands are now increasingly looking for micro-influencers, with a steady following and niche focus, to share their brand messages. Micro-influencers have a close-knit fan base, making their content more personalized, authentic and engaging for their followers. Looking at the top and bottom bars, the…

Influencers are revving up marketing campaigns’ engines in new and connective ways

Just look at Glossier, the skin care and makeup line that built its entire brand by engaging with everyday influencers on social media — no traditional marketing necessary. But let's dig deeper. While influencers can play a part in successful marketing campaigns, it is not only the influencers with the largest social followings who get the job done.

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It’s common to think that more followers mean more opportunities for exposure, but research shows the opposite to be true, favoring micro-influencers with smaller followings instead. Think about it — the lower influencer-to-followers ratio allows the influencer to give more…

Chart of the Day: Is your use of influencer marketing mainly campaign-based or continuous or always-on?

Our Managing digital marketing 2017 research report showed that integrating marketing campaign activities remains a major challenge, so it was interesting to see a new report from Traackr reviewing integration of influencer marketing. Their new report specifically considers influencer marketing in one sector, B2B technology, but references this research from a wider sample on the maturity of influencer marketing integration. Similar to our research, it shows that integrated 'always' on programmes are rare, instead it's more common to have campaign-based programmes. It's understandable that much influencer marketing is campaign-based since that makes it easier to manage as part of campaign activities. The report from Mark Schaefer and Evy Wilkins also considers the role of 'micro-influencers' which I'm a strong believer in. The report interviews several tech marketers including Nicole…

Engage the right influencers to get results from your Instagram marketing

When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger set out to create what we now call Instagram less than a decade ago, they just wanted to make a simple photo and video-sharing app. What they never anticipated is what Instagram has evolved into—a top marketing platform that has attracted startups and top global brands alike. The spoil is an immense consumer audience that recently hit the 700 million mark. Instagram’s response was decisive through ad campaigns in the mould of sponsored posts tailored for specific target audiences. Quite evidently, the owners of Instagram have not been the only parties to tap into the incredible financial benefits from advertisements. The meteoric rise of Instagram as a marketing tool has overseen an equally remarkable rise of Instagram influencers who can be likened to online marketing executives. In fact, currently, up to 12% of Instagram influencers…

How influencer and affiliate marketing can work in tandem to win you more loyal customers

In life and in marketing, it’s always tempting to create dichotomies: those who like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain and those who don’t, for example. But times have changed, and technology has fundamentally transformed how we consume information and make decisions. Even Jimmy Buffett isn’t taking out personal ads in the newspaper anymore, just as consumers are no longer waiting for brands to give them the information they want. Instead, people have access to instant information at the click of a button. Through social media, they can also post to large followings, whip up their own movements, and educate themselves — all before reaching out to brands. These changes mean marketers need to constantly think about how to engage and connect with consumers. Plus, they need to avoid false dichotomies when it comes to prioritizing who can…

5 Ways to Increase Your Conversion Rates with Micro-Influencers

Does size really matter? When it comes to influencer marketing it does, but not in the way you think. Influencers with a smaller following tend to have a much bigger impact on conversions. They’re called micro-influencers. And although they have fewer followers than top influencers and celebrities, their reach extends to a highly-relevant, targeted audience that is more likely to buy your product. In this post, you’ll learn all about micro-influencers, and how you can work with them to boost your conversions.

A Closer Look at Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers, as their name suggests, are influencers who have a relatively small following compared to other influencers. There is no exact number of followers to define these influencers, but some general qualities can be outlined. According to Mavrck, they are “everyday consumers” with a following size of 500-5,000 people. Based on this definition, micro-influencers are like regular people, just…