Influencer Marketing: How to Turn your Followers' count into Cash

Portuguese-born footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo is famous and wealthy not just for his exceptional football skills, but also for his strong online presence.

Here are a few things to know about his online presence:

• He is the most popular sports person on social media, he counted over 500 million total followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by February 2021, making him the first person to pass half a billion followers. (Source)
• He is the most-followed person on Facebook (148 million), the most-followed on Instagram (310 million), and the most-followed sportsperson on Twitter (92 million), his sponsors earned $936 million in media value across his accounts between June 2016 to June 2017. (Source)
• He is estimated to make more than $40 million annually from Instagram, more than his salary as a player at Manchester United. His pay-per-post fee has rocketed along with his popularity which has soared during the pandemic. (Source)
• ?As has also been covered in the New York Post, Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly makes an average of $975,000 on every post advertised through his Instagram account.
• Ronaldo recently signed a new partnership deal with Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange company in the world.

This might actually leave you thinking, why does Ronaldo make so much money off a mere Instagram post, but you don't? Why would brands pay Ronaldo so high just to make a post for them?

The answer is simple: Ronaldo is an Influencer, but you're not!

You might also be wondering:

Do you need to have over 500 million followers like Ronaldo before you can make money off social media?

How can you turn your followers' count into money?

What exactly is influencer marketing, and can you get started?

How much can you charge as an influencer?

The aim of this article is to teach you everything you should know about Influencer Marketing.

Ready? Let's hop right in!

What is Influencer Marketing?

According to Digital Marketing Expert, Neil Patel:

Influencer marketing is the field of marketing in which influencers are paid (via cash or other incentives) to promote a brand or product.

On the other hand, Sprout Social defined Influencer marketing as:

Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from influencers–individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche.

In this age and time, word-of-mouth recommendations and criticisms spread through social media faster than fire in a dry field, thus, influencers are more important than ever. They usually have huge followings on social media and are brand advocates as well as niche promoters.

Think of an influencer as a mutual friend connecting your brand with your target consumers. They do this by generating content about your brand, recommending your brand to their loyal following, and inserting themselves into conversations surrounding your brand.?

No doubt, Influencer marketing works because of the high amount of trust that social influencers have built up with their following, and recommendations from them serve as a form of social proof to your brand’s potential customers.

Meaning and Types of Influencers

An influencer can be defined as a social media user with an online community of at least 1,000 followers on any given channel. The influencer is a trusted source to their community and actively engages with them. Audiences look to?influencers?for inspiration and information, including purchase recommendations.

Although Influencer Marketing is favored more by Instagram, every other social network like Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok has its own set of influencers.

Therefore, it's essential to understand the different types of Influencers and what they mean.

While Influencers vary from one social media platform to the other and based on their number of followers, it's okay to say that influencers can broadly be classified into two major types:

• General Influencers - This group of influencers often grew their influence or audience outside of social media. They are known, liked, and trusted by their followers because of their personality, and not necessarily the type of content they put out on social media. Think of people like Cristiano Ronaldo, Oprah Winfrey, and Barack Obama. These types of influencers are often Mega Influencers.
• Niche Influencers - This group of influencers often comprises everyday, ordinary people outside of social media. They are known, liked, and trusted by their followers mainly because of the kind of content they create. These influencers might not have as many influencers as the General Influencers, but generally have a stronger influence on their following than General Influencers do. Micro-Influencers are often found in this group.

Niche Influencers often have a better understanding of their huge followers and have built a strong personal relationship with them over time. The relationship that exists between a niche influencer and their followers is not a hero-followers relationship, rather a niche influencer sees their followers as a family or community of friends that share a mutual interest.

A niche influencer is called one, because, they pick a niche and particular topics to build their thought-leadership around. Niche Influencers often give their candid, unbiased opinion about certain topics, be it food, travel & tourism, fashion & style, arts and crafts, technology, modern lifestyle, pop culture, music, sports, health, and anything they find interesting. The bottom line is that people who follow a niche influencer follow them because of the topics they create content about.

Categories of Influencers

Once considered something that’s just nice to have, influencer marketing is fast becoming an essential component in a brand’s marketing arsenal. 93% of marketers have used influencer marketing in their campaigns, and it’s now considered a key advertising strategy.

According to Oberlo, In 2022, the influencer marketing industry is valued at?$16.4 billion. This is an 18.8% annual increase from the $13.8 billion at which the industry was valued in 2021.

The four major categories of influencers are:

• Mega Influencers
• Macro Influencers
• Micro-Influencers
• Nano Influencers

Mega Influencers:

Mega-influencers have more than 1 million followers on at least one social platform. Their followers often cut across different demographics and interest groups.

They are often celebrities and public figures who have gained their fame offline – movie stars, sportspeople, musicians, reality TV stars, and even politicians.

It is often difficult for small businesses to approach mega influencers, as they could charge up to $1 million per post, and are very skeptical about brands they partner with.

Macro Influencers:

Unlike Mega Influencers, Macro-influencers are more accessible as influencer marketers. Their followers often range between 40,000 and 1 million followers on a social network.

This group tends to consist of two types of people - B-grade celebrities and successful online experts (who have more followings than micro-influencers).

Like mega influencers, the demographics and interests of their following differ widely.

Although there isn't an exact formula, Macro Influencers often charge between $5,000 to $10,000 per post.

Micro-Influencers:

Micro-influencers usually have 1,000 to 40,000 followers on a single social platform.

They become very popular within or beyond a particular social platform as a result of what they know, about the niche they have carved out for themselves.

Unlike any other category of influencers, micro-influencers have a devoted following, who share similar interests and goals. Micro-Influencers can only promote brands in their niche and/or sphere of influence. They care so much about their brand than financial gains.

Micro-Influencers have Better Engagement Rates than Mega-Influencers and business owners often pick this category of influencers because they exude authenticity, relatability, and credibility, which today’s audiences value.??

Micro-Influencers usually charge around $500 to $5,000 per post.

Nano Influencers:

If you have fewer than 1,000 followers but have built immense influence within a narrow niche, you're a Nano Influencer.

Do you have keen and interested followers, willing to engage with your content, and listen to their opinions?

These influencers are not in any way about the money but about the impact they make.

If you are very overt about your opinion in a given sphere with a relatively small following, don't freak out when you receive a request to become an influencer for a brand.

As a Nano Influencer, you can make $100 to $300 per post.

Why do businesses use Influencers?

According to a recent survey, this year, 59% of Brands have a Standalone Budget for Content Marketing, and 75% of them are dedicated to Influencer marketing.

Here are a few reasons why businesses are investing in Influencer Marketing:

1. A loyal audience soaks up recommendations like a dry sponge: There's a common phenomenon in social media marketing known as KLT Factor. It states that "People will only buy from people they Know, Like, and Trust." Influencers have been able to build their KLT over time, so partnering with them in promoting your brand earns you the KLT of their loyal audience.
2. Consumers trust recommendations from a third party more often than a brand itself: It's harder to convince someone about yourself than for someone else to. Any form of marketing from a brand itself is never taken so seriously. Come to think of it, who will ever say, "we are not a great brand" or "we don't create great products"? But when you hear from a friend or family that a brand is great, you're more likely to take their word for it.
3. People are increasingly spending more time on social media platforms every day, than anywhere else on the internet: The average person spends 2 hours 27 minutes every day on social media platforms. This means, that if your business is not yet on social media, you're missing out on a huge chunk of your target audience. Peradventure you're new to social media and have a relatively low following, maybe partnering with a Micro-Influencer (or even a Nano Influencer) can keep you on top of your game.
4. Influencer marketing is more effective than other forms of marketing: In a recent survey, 80 percent of marketers find influencer marketing is effective, and 89 percent say it is as effective or more effective than other channels.?According to studies, 11x the ROI than marketing using banner ads. On average, businesses and brands earn?$5.20 for every dollar they spend on influencer marketing.
5. It drives more engagement to your social page: In a recent study by Oberlo, 60% of marketers shared that influencer-generated content performs better and drives more engagement compared to branded posts. Influencer-generated content is extremely effective in getting the attention of your target audience because their (influencers) followers have opted to receive their messages and view their content.?
6. It sets your business up for success: Companies that leverage influencer marketing are more likely to succeed, especially if they’re able to establish a healthy and long-term partnership with influencers.?
7. It keeps your business top-of-mind: As people interact with brands and stay longer on social, their purchasing decisions are gradually being influenced by brands they see often. A recent study said, 93% of millennials believe and rely on online reviews to make informed decisions. The same study said, More Than Half of 18–24s Have Their First Contact with Social Media Each Day on Smartphones. So, imagine what it will be like for your influencer-generated content to be the first thing a consumer sees the first thing in the morning.

How to Become an Influencer

There’s no denying that influencer marketing is lucrative.

Maybe you have 100, 1,000, or even 10,000 followers on a social media platform, and you're wondering how you get your share of this $16.4 Billion industry, then this section is for you!

Here are 6 steps to get started as an Influencer:

Step 1: Choose the platform you want to focus on first

The first step in becoming a social media influencer is to choose the platform you want to focus on. Thankfully, there are so many social media platforms.

Each platform is unique, and so is the kind of content created there. You don't have to become a great blogger on Medium if you're more skilled to face the camera and do your thing!

On the other hand, being camera-shy shouldn't stop you from becoming an Influencer, there's Twitter and LinkedIn, that don't require pictures/videos to grow your influence.

As an Influencer, it's also important to expand to other platforms later but if you’re just starting out, find that one platform you're very comfortable with stick with one.

Step 2: Pick a Niche/Sphere of Influence

What are your interests? What's that one thing you can talk about every day and never get bored? What's that one thing you know most people don't?

Here's a rule of thumb: Never underestimate what you know and never overestimate what people know.

Yes! There's no topic you'll talk about that others aren't already talking about on social media, but there's always this secret sauce called perception. As our biological make-up differs, so do our perceptions about things.

Don't be afraid to share your own thoughts/opinion even if there are 999 people talking about it already! Be the 1000th person with a unique style, and your loyal followers will find you!

Step 3: Identify Top Influencers in that Niche and Follow them

Who are the top 10 influencers in your niche/sphere of influence across various social platforms?

What are they doing? What are they saying? What kind of trends do they hop on?

What is their style of content creation?

What are their strengths and weaknesses? Are there any lessons to learn from them? What can you do differently?

To become a successful influencer, you must first have honest answers to all the above questions.

The answers will guide you in developing your own unique content creation strategy, taking into cognizance the important lessons.

Step 4: Focus on Building a Strong Personal Brand

Social media can be a very distracting and noisy place!

If your focus to become an influencer in the end here 5 things you must avoid:

• Avoid jumping on every trend (especially those that don't suit your brand).
• Avoid gaining followers through dubious means (e.g. Engaging in Follow-for-follow and Like-for-like, or buying Fake Followers.)
• Avoid plagiarism/using anyone's content without giving credit to the original creator.
• Avoid inconsistency at all costs. (Have a content calendar/posting schedule and stick to it)
• Avoid being banned or suspended (Remember, every social media platform has community rules. Abide by them.)

Step 5: Focus on Giving Value

Whether it's a text post, a video, a blog, a podcast, or even a direct message, ensure that your followers get value all the time!

Be a person of value first, then money and fame will come knocking on your door.

Avoid begging brands to partner with you. Also, avoid influencing brands that don't align with your core value as an influencer, no matter the amount they offer you.

Even if your followers have run into hundreds of thousands, don't try to impress anyone, by acting or dressing fake.

Influencers should be able to engage their audiences on a more human level or through a down-to-earth approach.

As a matter of fact, Consumers are more likely to respond to people they find relatable.?

Step 6: Engage with other Creators or your Followers

Don't forget that social media isn't just all about you!

There are hundreds of millions of people in this giant universe, churning out content every day.

So, try to dedicate half an hour or an hour each day to see the contents other people are creating. Create time to engage with your followers' posts and the messages inbox too.

Your followers will appreciate you more when you're someone they can have conversations with.

Wrapping Up

As social media becomes an integral part of our lives every day, Influencers have become more important than ever before.

No doubt, Influencer Marketing is a niche with a massive opportunity for growth, and it's very important that aspiring influencers learn the right things to do.

In this article, several tips and tricks have been shared to set you up for success as you embark on your Influencer Marketing, and turn your followers' count in cash.

Cheers to success!