Social media influencers are dominating the game of online marketing, but how are they so successful?
Social. Media. Influencer. We’ve seen all kinds on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, but what does the title actually mean? A social media influencer is someone who has garnered enough following and credibility in their industry to persuade their followers to purchase products or services simply by advertising the product on their platform.
Social media influencers have flooded the internet in the past decade, but have grown incredibly popular in recent years. A recent study shows that the term “influencer marketing” increased by 325% in Google searches in 2017. They advertise products and services from beauty products to computer parts. The idea is that a company pays these influencers to make a specified amount of posts about a product, and in return the influencer’s followers often end up purchasing the product simply by taking the word of the influencer of the product’s credibility.
Last year alone, there were 12.9 million brand sponsored Instagram posts. That number is estimated to double in 2018. And why wouldn’t companies reach out to influencers to help sell their product? In a recent study, each dollar spent on influencer marketing generated an average of $7.65 in earned media value.
The beauty of this is that these influencers aren’t usually big movie stars or models (even though, yes, there are plenty of those too.) Usually they are normal people who generated a following online by creating content for something they’re passionate about.
So the next time you see a vlogger advertising that fabulous subscription box or when you order that new protein powder that you’re favorite fitness guru is promoting, just know that you are shopping under the influence.
How do you feel about this marketing trend? Leave a comment below and tell us what you think!
Read more about social influencer marketing in this blog post by Cynthia Castor. Check out more media blogs at meeman901strategies.com.