What is an Influencer?
Before the Internet, key influencers for any young adult were likely their parents. For teens today, if your parents are not on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or YouTube, they rank pretty low in the like category. It may surprise you to learn that children and teens are many of your social media superstars, monopolizing today’s most popular sites. Just check out Kids Diana Show or Vlad and Niki and their over 80 million subscribers on YouTube. YouTube surprisingly holds the title for most child accounts and children-themed channels and ranks as the most popular social media network for the under teen crowd, Gen Z, Millennials, and in between. Gen X and Boomers are still partial to Facebook with its nearly 3 billion monthly active users (MAUs), more than a third of the world’s population. YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram are neck and neck and equally impressive with MAUs in the lower 2 billion.
For any age, an influencer is any person or persona who sways the opinions of others and attracts potential buyers for a particular audience.
Influencers for business
For years, businesses remained uncertain about influencer marketing. Many believed social media was a passing fancy, and instead, chose to be complacent with four walls and yes, landlines. Some small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are still procrastinating, and who can blame them? Carving out time to learn and trust one more tool or application makes sharpening and restocking the pencil drawer all that more attractive. While every business doesn’t need to be on every platform, every business needs a brand. Branding gives your business a persona, that very Influencer you need to increase your brand recognition online.
What does an Influencer look like?
Influencers have always played a key role in marketing. From print and radio to television and now social media, popular people, lovable pets, and even colorful cartoons have been persuading us to purchase a multitude of merchandise for decades. Fashion and beauty, lifestyle and travel, toys and tech, and food and beverage benefit the most from influencer marketing.
Think about your business. Perhaps your Mom and her mum’s the word, if you ever tell anyone she will disown you, top-selling dipping sauce for everything fried is your family restaurant's main draw. The key ingredient to her unique knowledge and insight into this certain topic and product helps build your brand. Creating a campaign to make Mom your Influencer could possibly increase your following while making her an Internet sensation. Well, look there! Your parent is still a key influencer in your life.
Influencers, like Mom, lend credibility through different marketing techniques such as news, reviews, tutorials, endorsements, likes and comments on social media, blogging, and more. With all of these methods, any business can find a social media strategy within their budget. Not every channel will work for every business immediately. Your content has to be carefully thought out for your specific audience. In time, your content and your influencer will instill trust in your product or service, and consumer trust online become your real currency.
Now, don’t tell Mom, but you don’t have to rely on only one influencer to promote your product. A small group of carefully selected influencers from your target audience can be equally effective. Many mega influencers will even boost other less-famous, or micro or nano influencers, helping them on the path of social media greatness.
No longer a fad, we can all agree, that social media is here to stay with more than 3.4 billion users and growing. Naturally, users, your potential customers, will look to an influencer to do just that—influence their decision-making process. Remember those Millennials we mentioned? Seventy percent of your Gen Y demographics are swayed by peers and are the largest group of digital buyers in America.
Influencers and influencer marketing is transforming how businesses connect and communicate with customers online. Keep in mind, your influencer is only as successful as the legitimacy of your brand. If you don’t believe us, just ask Mom.