Should you be using influencer marketing?

When it comes to marketing tools, nothing’s quite as powerful as hearing about someone’s genuine experience—especially when it’s from someone you trust.

And that’s basically the core idea behind influencer marketing: you work with trusted social media creators to promote your product or service to their dedicated audiences.

Now, we’re going to dig a little deeper and help you decide whether influencer marketing actually makes sense for your business.

Why does influencer marketing work?

We’re social creatures, by and large, and we want to do business and buy things from people we know, like and trust.

We also want to hear from relatable voices who have a keen understanding of our experiences. That’s where influencers come into play and what makes them so compelling.

Quick example: let’s say you’re a new parent shopping for a smart-enabled baby monitor. Chances are you’re going to do some research and get the standard sales pitch from the brand’s website. But beyond that, we bet you’ll also see if there are any mom influencers who have used it.

Yes, sales pitches serve a purpose, but a trusted mom-fluencer serves up content that feels real. You can connect emotionally and see yourself buying that monitor for your own baby. Suddenly, you feel way more confident in that purchase when a fellow mom has “been there, done that” and gives her seal of approval.

There you have it: the secret sauce behind why influencer marketing is so effective.

What types of influencers are out there?

Influencers come in many different flavours. Two of the most common ways to sort them are by audience size and content niche.

Let’s look first at audience size.

Nano-influencers: 1 – 10,000 followers

On one end of the spectrum, we have “nano-influencers,” who tend to have smaller, more tight-knit audiences and can command a high level of engagement. Because you’re not dealing with celebrities at this level, nano-influencers are often seen as more trustworthy and relatable. They can also be a very budget-friendly option for small businesses!

Micro-influencers: 10,000 – 100,000 followers

Micro-influencers are widely regarded as subject matter experts in areas like marketing strategy, parenting and more. While they tend to have larger audiences than nano-influencers, a micro-influencer’s bread-and-butter is still going to be credible, relatable content that builds close-knit relationships with their audience.

Macro-influencers: 100,000 – 1 million+ followers

Macro-influencers are generally considered highly credible experts in their field or industry, and can be useful for brands trying to get in front of a much broader audience than they could through micro or nano-influencers.

A good Canadian example of a macro-influencer would be someone like Andres Vidoza (@andresvidoza), a Montreal-based tech creator who tests and reviews the latest gadgets, shares his workspace upgrades and has a weakness for Porsches.

Mega or celebrity influencers: 1 million+ followers

At the very top of the pile are “mega” or celebrity influencers. They—as the name suggests—tend to be instantly recognizable household names. You’re not going for subtlety here, but pure star power and the widest possible reach.

Think in terms of folks like Ryan Reynolds or Jillian Harris. Of course, big profiles and large audiences come with a massive price tag.

Influencers by content type and niche

Influencers can also be grouped by the main types of content they produce, such as travel, health and wellness or fashion and beauty.

Then there are “educator”-type influencers, who serve up approachable content on a whole range of subjects, from science to finance and home improvement.

Take Rebekah Higgs, a.k.a. DIY Mom, for example. She taught herself how to pull off home renovations on tight budgets, and now shares practical, wallet-friendly design ideas and tutorials through her social channels.  

Is influencer marketing right for your business?

Now, we come to the central question: should you be investing in influencer marketing? Well, before you start firing out emails and DMs, do a bit of prep work first:

1.  Understand what your goals are in working with an influencer:

Are you looking for a different way to raise awareness for your brand and/or drive immediate sales? Is it important to put your product in people’s hands and have them react to it?

2.  Find your ideal influencer:

Like we said earlier, influencers come in all flavours and forms. So, you might need to do some digging to understand:

• What kinds of influencers your audience already follows
• What social platforms are the most important to your brand – e.g., TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
• What kind of creator are you looking for? Do you want to work with someone who’s an expert in a specific niche, or maybe someone local to your city?

3.  Start the search and reach out:

A great way to find influencers suited to your business is to search platforms like TikTok and Instagram and use hashtags like #ottawablogger, #smallbusinessowner, etc.

Once you have some promising leads, reach out with a brief message and be upfront about who you are, why you want to collaborate and what the influencer would be getting, such as gifted products and/or cold hard cash.

4.  Investigate the influencer:

Not every partnership will be a perfect match. So, before you dive in, make sure your chosen influencer’s aesthetic and values match your brand. You can do that by reviewing the tone and quality of their past posts to ensure there are no red flags.

Something else to explore: is your chosen influencer promoting competitors, or would they be open to an exclusivity agreement?

5.  Have some success metrics in mind:

Once you start working with an influencer (or influencers), aim to set some concrete goals. For example, are you looking for more clicks and impressions? Or perhaps you’re measuring success by the number of promo code redemptions and sales conversions on your amazing .CA website.

Wait—you don’t have a website!? That’s the foundation for any marketing effort and the place to drive all those glorious leads! If you’re a Canadian business or individual, you need to get yourself a .CA.

Start the search for your domain below.

So, is influencer marketing worth it?

We definitely think so!

If you go into it with a firm grip on your goals and the audiences you want to reach, influencer marketing can be a highly cost-effective and impactful way to bring awareness to your brand.

And once you’re a household name, could you put in a word with Ryan Reynolds for us? Just asking for a friend.