With the rise of social media, it’s no surprise that businesses have found a fantastic new way to make money with influencer marketing. The idea is that a company uses an influencer, someone on social media with lots of followers and/or a specific audience base, to help promote their products or services. However, while the idea is basic, the execution of these campaigns is nuanced. In fact, there are numerous types of influencers, and each can help businesses in unique ways.
Business Influencers
Most influencers have a target base of individual consumers. However, there’s another type of influencer — one that speaks to businesses, leveraging their expertise in areas like finance and marketing to solve problems and find commercial solutions. Business influencers, like Shannon Peel, are ideal for companies in the B2B space that want to build relationships with other enterprises. These influencers understand how business react differently to content than individuals and can thus better reach their target market.
Bloggers
A blogger is a type of influencer who primarily writes content. But more importantly, these individuals typically run their own websites or pages rather than just posting through various social media channels. So, bloggers have more control over the type of content produced and typically receive more focused attention from their followers compared to other types of influencers.
Celebrities
In social media terms, a celebrity is anyone with lots of followers. These individuals have huge sway over millions of people, so working with them is a guarantee that a company’s products or services will receive ample exposure. Celebrities are also seen as trustworthy, so an endorsement from these influencers can have a big impact.
Micro Influencers
Also known as niche influencers, these individuals are like celebrities in a way, but they typically don’t have millions of followers and don’t cost as much to work with. Instead, their audience base is narrow. The advantage of this fact is that micro influencers reach a much more specific market. Their followers already know lots about the content covered, so companies can create and publish more specific content with the micro influencer.
Thought Leaders
Thought leaders are experts in a given area, but their value goes beyond that. These individuals are pushing a field forward, whether they’re talking about business, finance, entertainment, or any other topic. Thought leaders can be celebrities, or they can be micro influencers specializing in a niche topic.
These influencers are often defining the latest trends or providing insight into what the future holds. As such, these are individuals people turn to and trust with any information related to their expertise. Having a thought leader talk as an influencer can be exceptionally valuable, as the business will benefit from that person’s authority.
Social media influencers can be incredibly valuable for companies, but it’s important to work with the right type of influencer for your brand. If you’re considering a campaign using an influencer or want to become an influencer, keep the above types in mind to get the best outcome possible from your efforts.
