Influencer marketing is a word that has been circulating in the digital world for quite some time. Social media influencers, a type of internet celebrity, have emerged as a result of the internet. We’ll take a closer look at the true cost of influencer marketing in this article. What’s more, what’s in it for you?
According to Google Trends, the number of searches for “print advertising” has steadily decreased over the last two years. It also reveals that “influencer marketing” searches have been steadily increasing in recent years. After discovering the benefits, many marketers have begun to use it as their principal marketing technique.
But what is influencer marketing, exactly? It’s a marketing technique that entails discovering and working with influential people who can help you reach out to potential clients. Influence with enough clout to impact their buying decisions.
Kylie Jenner’s collaboration with the iconic clothing brand FashionNova is a prime example. More than 2.5 million people liked her Instagram post promoting @fashionnova jeans.
This is what today’s popular brands are paying for. To promote their company, even small firms and startups are investing in relevant social media influencers.
What is the reason for this? Businesses can gain visibility to their target audiences by partnering with influencers. The right customers are those who are not only interested in but also pay attention to, the brand’s offerings. This is the polar opposite of typical television and newspaper advertising.
YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and other social media platforms are predominantly used by social media influencers. Hundreds of millions of people watch the content that these influencers create and upload.
What’s even better? Its applicability isn’t restricted to mainstream niches. Influencers can be found in any niche you can think of. There’s an influencer for everything these days, from beauty to technology.
The most effective influencers understand that audiences have a short attention span. They have the ability to leave at any time if they are uninterested, therefore they must be handled with respect. This is why well-known influencers include marketing promotions in the form of unique stories in their postings. This gives it a more genuine and natural appearance.
Why should your brand go for Influencer Marketing?
In today’s digital marketing sector, influencer marketing is one of the most prominent tactics. Influencer marketing has grown in popularity to the point where most marketers are either using it or considering it.
Many advantages come with influencer marketing. Collaboration with famous influencers, on the other hand, might come at a hefty price. Many influencers are in high demand and highly sought after as firms seek to invest more in influencer marketing.
Of course, you may work with micro- or macro-influencers at a fraction of the price. Even said, because of its widespread appeal, the cost of working with influencers is skyrocketing.
Remember, only spend that money if you can get a good return on your investment in terms of deliverables. As a result, organizations must be aware of the true cost of influencer marketing as well as its benefits.
Here are four compelling reasons to use influencer marketing as your primary marketing strategy:
#1. It Builds Trust Among Consumers
In marketing, trust is a crucial aspect. Consumers may not buy from you if you don’t have it. Thankfully, influencer marketing possesses all of the characteristics necessary to establish your brand as a reliable one. Being suggested by influencers whose audiences have complete faith in them can be quite beneficial to your brand.
In order to better understand the value of influencers, Twitter worked with Analect in 2016 to conduct a study called “The Value of Influencers on Twitter.” According to this report, 56% of Twitter users make purchasing decisions based on recommendations from peers. According to the same report, 49 percent of Twitter users rely on influencer recommendations.
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for marketers to gain organic access to customers’ trust circles. It accomplishes this without coming across as pushy.
#2. Ad Blockers Do Not Affect It
According to a PageFair analysis, more than 615 million desktop and mobile devices use ad-blocking software. This means that ad blocker programmes are used by 11% of Internet users globally. According to the research, the use of ad blockers climbed by 30% in 2016.
Traditional types of online marketing, such as pop-ups and banners, have become difficult to deploy due to ad blocking technologies. All forms of online advertising are blocked by ad blocking apps and software, so visitors will not be able to see them. Marketers are effectively paying for adverts that consumers do not see because of ad blockers.
So, even if your advertisement is excellent, there’s a risk your campaign will fail. Because users who have ad blockers installed on these devices may not see your ads.
Influencer marketing conquers all of these barriers, and helps your brand deliver highly relevant and visible messages via a trusted face. This is a major reason why brands are utilizing influencer marketing instead of running traditional advertising campaigns.
#3. Amplifies Your Brand Awareness and Authority
Collaborating with relevant influencers benefits your brand by getting your branded content in front of the right people. They help you save a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on testing and locating your target audience.
Influencer marketing increases the value of your brand. Collaboration with an influencer promotes a positive image and perspective. Every influencer represents a set of values. As a result, collaborating with them imbues your brand with their values.
Millions of people follow influencers because they are authentic with their content and unbiased in nature. This is why collaborating with the proper influencers aids in the development of your band’s credibility and authenticity.
Even if your own content is completely genuine, it may be viewed with scepticism by some audiences. Because influencers do not work for you directly, their promotion of your company appears more authentic.
Influencers use social media to promote branded content. These posts are considered significant because of the trust that their followers have in them. Furthermore, many of the brand’s followers share the branded content on social media. This increases brand recognition and leads to more conversions for your company.
#4. It is Cost-Effective
Influencer marketing is widely regarded as one of the most cost-effective ways to promote a brand. So much so that in 2017, 39% of businesses projected their influencer marketing expenses to increase in the months ahead.
This cost-effectiveness, along with a strong return on investment, provides a lot of breathing room for brands. They can experiment with different influencer marketing techniques and learn from their failures since they have the financial leeway to do so. It enables them to fine-tune their marketing plan in order to maximise its effectiveness.
You can, of course, rely on data-driven decisions if you have a higher influencer marketing budget. You can use analytics to better target influencers and audiences, resulting in more effective advertising. As a result, your influencer marketing costs will be reduced even more.
But How Much does Influencer Marketing Cost?
It’s difficult to estimate the true cost of influencer marketing for brands. Costs vary widely from influencer to influencer due to the fact that different firms provide varying quotes. While some influencers place a high importance on cooperation, others place a low value on their followers.
The worth of an influencer is ultimately determined by how engaged their followers are. Keeping this in mind, you should carefully consider your influencer selection. Without it, there’s a good probability the influencer you’re working with has bought or false followers.
Many marketers have questioned the effectiveness of influencer marketing for years. Regardless of the fact that it has become one of the most effective digital marketing methods. TapInfluence did a comprehensive analysis on influencer marketing to see exactly what it delivers. Influencer marketing generates 11X better returns on investment, according to the study.
This isn’t entirely unexpected. Especially as people’s trust in brands has eroded and their reliance on word-of-mouth has grown.
One of the most difficult decisions marketers must make is how much to pay influencers. Or, to put it another way, the price of influencer marketing.
Determining the Cost of Influencer Marketing
The answer to this question is contingent on a number of things that are outside your influencer’s control. To begin, you must first comprehend the distinction between “micro” and “mega” influencers. This is due to the fact that when it comes to brand endorsements, they do not follow the usual pricing guidelines.
Brands must create crystal clear goals for their influencer initiatives in order to estimate the cost of influencer marketing. The following are some questions that marketers should ask themselves.
- Is it just to raise brand recognition that I’m after?
- Do I want to have a long-term relationship with the influencer and collaborate on content creation?
- Does the influencer I’d like to work with have a niche that corresponds to the message of my company?
When you collaborate with an influencer, try to think about what you want to get out of their audience. To accurately evaluate prospective ROI, you must first establish your brand’s and influencer’s conversion rates.
You might be able to evaluate your influencer’s contributions appropriately if you conduct the right calculations on prospective outcomes.
You should analyse the following variables after your brand has carefully developed an influencer marketing strategy. These considerations will assist you in determining how much you should compensate your influencers.
#1. Audience
The size of an influencer’s fan base is one of the most important variables in determining their price. Traditionally, brands inquire about audience demographics from print media publishers and other media outlets. When it comes to partnering with influencers, what marketers actually care about is engagement and effect.
The primary goals of an influencer marketing campaign are to raise brand awareness and convert leads. However, keep in mind that influencers with a significant following may or may not create appropriate leads for your business.
It’s also worth noting that there are a lot of “false influencers” out there. An influencer could have purchased the majority of their follower base and be billing you for it. If you work with an influencer who has 600,000 followers, but half of them are false, you’ll only have 300,000.
For some of its commercials, cosmetics behemoth L’OREAL has teamed up with popular Chinese supermodel Ming Xi. Ming was the ideal candidate for L’OREAL because she works in the fashion sector and has over a million followers on Instagram. Ming is advertising her cooperation with L’OREAL in the previous post. More than 17,000 people have liked or engaged with the post.
This leads us to our next topic of conversation. Engagement rate.
#2. Engagement
Brands must determine how active their potential influencers are on social media in order to run a successful influencer marketing campaign. The number of likes, comments, and shares an influencer’s social media post receives is referred to as engagement. When operating on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and others, retweets or reactions can also be considered engagement.
The following are some questions you should ask yourself. These can assist you determine whether or not your potential influencer is capable of providing the engagement you require.
- What is the frequency with which your influencer shares content on social media?
- What brands did they mention in their posts?
- How frequently does your potential influencer interact with their audience?
Although it may appear difficult, determining the engagement rate is rather simple. Take a look at your potential influencer’s recent 10-15 posts. Find out how many likes, comments, and shares their posts get on average.
Then divide that sum by the number of followers they have on that specific social media platform. This will tell you what your potential influencers’ average engagement rate is.
Of course, using internet tools like this Instagram Engagement Calculator to perform the work for you is a far easier option.
This analysis of an influencer’s social activity levels can assist you in determining what motivates them. It will also assist you in determining how successful your influencer marketing campaign will be if you work with that specific influencer.
If you look at the average number of likes on Kylie Jenner’s Instagram photos, you’ll see that it’s over 5 million. For a mega-influencer, her engagement rate is roughly 7%, which is excellent. This demonstrates that Kylie Jenner may be a powerful influencer when it comes to interacting with her fans.
#3. Number of Platforms
Every influencer is unique in their own way. Their levels of influence on various social media platforms are also variable.
Consider the case of Shannon Harris, a well-known beauty influencer. Shannon is well-known for her 3.1 million-subscriber YouTube channel dedicated to beauty. Her Instagram account, on the other hand, has 1.5 million followers.
Tamira Laboy, a beauty influencer, with roughly 53K YouTube subscribers and 39.6K Instagram followers. When compared to Shannon Harris, her numbers are significantly lower.
The general norm is that influencers with a larger number of followers across several platforms charge more. This greater rate is due to the influencers’ extensive reach across numerous media.
Check to see if your influencer is connected to traditional media such as radio or television. Traditional media exposure can greatly assist your brand in developing more face value.
#4. Campaign Structure
The cost of influencer marketing may differ greatly based on the kind of campaign you wish to run.
For example, if you would like your influencer to create content for your brand, the charges will be higher. This is because influencers will have to put in a lot of time and effort to create content.
Perhaps you’d like them to do a photoshoot, and then share the images on social media? In such cases, you need to be prepared to pay them a higher amount. Because the photoshoot will take up a lot of their time and resources.
You might even make customized content for them to share on social media. Because you would be doing the majority of the job, this would dramatically reduce prices. Many influencers, on the other hand, are averse to using this method. Simply because it detracts from the authenticity of the sponsored content.
Kiersten a.k.a. “The Blonde Abroad,” a prominent travel vlogger and blogger, has teamed up with GoPro to market the GoPro Fusion. We can perceive that Kiersten’s caption is credible, genuine, and natural. This indicates that a lot of effort was put into it, and it must have cost GoPro a lot of money.
How To Pay Your Influencers
#1. Directly
You have the option of contacting influencers directly, negotiating with them, and compensating them appropriately.
#2. Via Agencies
You could also pay respectable marketing organisations that work with relevant influencers. The agencies are to be involved in all negotiations.
#3. Via Platforms
Influencers who have registered on specific software platforms make up this group. Some platforms charge a monthly fee, while others charge a percentage of all campaigns run.
Cybees, for example, is a platform that brings together a big number of influencers. We have a number of subscription options for you to select from.
#4. Via Multi-channel networks
These networks are made up of a certain group of influencers, and you can only work with those that are members. In addition to the intermediary service fee, they may levy media fees.
Pricing Models
When it comes to influencer marketing, the most frequently asked question is “how much will it cost?” Influencer marketing is, without a doubt, costly. However, this is only true if you work with celebrity influencers. Only 25% of firms have a realistic knowledge of the expense of influencer marketing, according to a Bloglovin’ study.
Read on if you’re unsure about the true cost of influencer marketing. You should be aware of the most typical influencer marketing pricing methods.
#1. Pay-Per-Post
A pay-per-post pricing model is one of the most frequent ways to compensate influencers. Influencers are paid a set fee for each piece of branded content they share on social media under this approach. Depending on the type of influencer you’re dealing with, the flat price or cost-per-piece-of-content-posted varies.
The only disadvantage of this methodology is that it cannot ensure that the needed engagement will be achieved. Pay-per-post can be a smart pricing model for your brand if you plan on working with prominent influencers. You may use the Instagram Money Calculator to figure out how much a branded Instagram post will cost you.
#2. Pay-Per-Click
Pay-per-click is a payment strategy in which you pay your influencers each time a brand link is clicked. Influencers get paid based on how well their branded content performs in the pay-per-click paradigm. The number of times consumers click on the brand’s link is used to determine the program’s success.
With the potential of bot clicks on the rise, firms who use this strategy must be cautious. This will ensure that their influencer generates genuine traffic through verified clicks from truly interested followers.
Influencers develop highly engaging content to attract viewers because this reward model is based on audience reactions. Brands which use this payment model should expect to get a return on their influencer marketing activities. Pay-per-click advertising is frequently combined with affiliate marketing.
#3. Pay-Per-Acquisition
Brands compensate influencers when their efforts result in new clients using pay-per-acquisition. Customers are those who buy products or services, sign up for newsletters, or aid the brand in some way.
Influencers can earn commissions from purchases produced through affiliate links on various platforms that provide affiliate programmes. Brands, on the other hand, risk being featured alongside competitors in this model. They don’t have any say in where or how an influencer places their link.
#4. Pay-Per-Engagement
Brands pay influencers based on the number of engagements their content creates under this pricing model. In other words, you’re paying your influencers for the likes, comments, shares, retweets, and responses they receive. In this paradigm, the only thing you need to ensure is that you’re getting true involvement.
#5. Free Products
Giving out free products is one of the most prevalent ways that marketers work with influencers. With such gestures, the goal is to make them feel cherished and loved. In exchange, you encourage them to repost product-related social media postings or write a blog review.
For their influencers, some firms even host special events or provide one-of-a-kind experiences. They might pay for a whole trip to an unusual area and ask them to write about it.
Cut Down Influencer Marketing Costs
So far, we’ve spoken a lot about influencer marketing prices and how it’s a cost-effective and cost-effective technique. But, surely, reaping those enormous ROIs can’t be that simple?
Is it?
Influencer marketing, like any other marketing strategy, involves careful planning and implementation. However, following these few pointers should help you keep your influencer marketing costs low while increasing your results.
#1. Have a Clear Goal in Mind
It’s critical to have clear goals and well-defined KPIs before launching any campaign. This will help you better manage your resources and have the greatest impact on users. Knowing what you want will make finding the right influencers and deciding on the best plan much easier.
#2. Research Your Target Audience
You’ll notice that all of these suggestions are interconnected in some way. One technique to effectively manage your financial resources, for example, is to conduct extensive research on your target audience.
If you’re trying to reach a specific type of customer but use the wrong technique to accomplish it, it’s money down the drain.
For example, if your target audience prefers Instagram yet you want to collaborate with YouTube influencers. That isn’t the most cost-effective way to spend your money.
To keep influencer marketing costs low, it’s critical to conduct audience research.
#3. Find the Perfect Influencer
Everyone says that finding the appropriate influencers to work with is the key to a successful influencer marketing campaign.
But what exactly does that imply?
It entails selecting an influencer with a similar readership to your target market.
Working with models or influencers who advocate body positivity, for example, as a plus-sized clothes firm. Simply Be recognises this, which is why they collaborate with influencers like Gabi.
#4. Leverage Micro-Influencers
Working with micro-influencers is another great way to cut your influencer marketing costs. They may not have as large an audience as their more well-known rivals. They do, however, charge far less for a single post and have much higher engagement rates.
Glossier, for example, has established their brand from the bottom up by mainly relying on micro-influencers for marketing. They collaborate with micro-influencers like Lily Yeung (who has roughly 6,700 Instagram followers) to market their products through user-generated content like this one.
#5. Repurpose Influencer Content
It’s crucial to keep in mind that the value of influencer-generated content extends beyond a particular campaign.
Repurposing your previous influencer content for other marketing channels might help you save a lot of money on influencer marketing.
The most crucial thing to remember here is that you should always get your influencer’s permission before repurposing their work. You can repurpose the content for sponsored adverts, your website, or other social media platforms if they agree.
Wrap up!
The cost of influencer marketing can vary significantly based on a number of factors. This is due to the fact that influencer marketing relies significantly on influential people to help promote your brand and its products.
You can easily make wise judgments about how to compensate influencers by considering the criteria and price models discussed above. Finding a mutually advantageous compensation plan shouldn’t be tough if you can discover the correct influencers.
Do you have any concerns or questions about these elements or pricing models? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below.
The cost of influencer marketing can vary significantly based on a number of things. This is due to the fact that influencer marketing relies significantly on influential people to help promote your brand and its products.
You can easily make wise judgments about how to compensate influencers by considering the criteria and price models discussed above. Finding a mutually advantageous compensation plan shouldn’t be tough if you can discover the correct influencers.
