Influencer marketing 2018

Influencer Marketing 2018: Learn social media influencer marketing with influencer marketing examples here. In case you missed 2017 influencer marketing examples, let’s allow the numbers to speak for itself. 

• You want your money well spent. For each dollar spent on social media influencer marketing, marketers see an average of $7.65 in earned media value returned.
• The biggest platform for influencer marketing is Instagram. Last year saw a whopping 12.9 million brand sponsored influencer posts, estimated to double in 2018.
• Fastest-growing online acquisition method of the year with the term “influencer marketing” increased by 325% in Google searches over 2017. 
• This trend is likely to continue in the future. Marketers are expected to invest an average budget of $25,000 to $50,000 into multifaceted influencer campaigns.

Doing Social media influencer marketing

This high demand created a whole industry of its own, with intermediary agencies serving as matchmakers between companies and influencers.

Who and what is an influencer?

Well, basically, everyday people like you and me. They’re people who have a passion and aren’t afraid to tell the world about it. Thus, by posting about their passion on social media, influencers have gained immense internet popularity. Consequently, allowing them to shape and influence audience opinions on matters through their accounts.

It’s not hard to imagine how this makes influencers the ideal marketing tool for companies. They already have a large following at their disposal of a post. In return, influencers profit from participating in these campaigns, either by being paid to post or talk about products.

Why are social media influencers so influential?

So far, we have established who influencers are and how they are on the rise. But you may still question why. What makes them so attractive for online marketers? What makes their opinion so powerful?

Credibility of a Social Figure

Studies have shown that credibility of a social influencer depends on the factors of trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, and similarity. The degree of influence a person possesses depends on his degree of perceived power.

Relatability

But, what really sets social media influencers apart from competition is their relatability. Despite having a large popularity and internet following, influencers are still perceived as mostly normal people. They post about their everyday life, stay connected with their followers. They interact directly with them too. Plus, they often share the same age group, demographics, interests, and behaviors of their target audience.

Authority

A large number of followers, shares, and likes will provide viewers with a form of social proof. The notion that others value the opinion of an influencer, and adhere to their judgments, assures viewers that doing so is okay. If the majority is doing something, they must be right.

Attractiveness

Then there’s the matter of attractiveness. Furthermore, positive associations between the person and the brand is present too. These opinions influence the subconscious of the viewer, potentially priming them when faced with a product-related decision.