Social media influencers: What are they and why do they matter?

Social media influencers: What are they and why do they matter?

Many of the top social media agencies already know that having social media influencers as part of your digital marketing arsenal is one of the best ways to help their brands break free from the noise. Whether you are selling a product or service, working with social media influencers is a great way to help you elevate your message above all the noise.

A social media influencer is someone who creates content and has a following in a specific niche. Many times, these influencers build their target audience by providing authentic advice, interesting opinions and breaking news within a certain sector.

Take a social media influencer who blogs and tweets about makeup, for example. This influencer may have started a blog and YouTube channel to give people makeup tutorials. By posting interesting and unique content, she could have built up a following of hundreds and thousands of loyal fans who are keen to consume her content and listen to her product reviews. A company selling makeup or beauty products could greatly benefit from getting this influencer to review their product or post a tutorial on how to apply their brand of product.

In this case, the beauty company (or the company’s PR or social media agency) would reach out to the influencer, pitch their product, and hope that the influencer would want to partner with them and review their product in a post. In the past, social media influencers may have been willing to post branded content without expecting monetary compensation, but the social media landscape has changed significantly over the past few years. If free products don’t compel an influencer to write about your products (and it usually doesn’t), then the beauty company would pay the influencer for their effort as well as for the value they receive from getting positive PR in front of their audience.

Social media influencers matter because people trust them. It’s one thing for a company or brand to say their product is great and works miracles, but it will have a completely different effect on your target audience if a trusted, reputable social media influencer gives a raving review about the product.

Many times, social media influencers will include the word “Sponsored” or “BrandedTweet” in their updates to let their followers know that they are being paid or receiving some type of reimbursement for their review. This doesn’t take away from the fact that they still endorse the product – it’s only to ensure total transparency with their target audience.

It’s important to do your research and find good social media influencers to partner with. As a leading web design and social media marketing company, WSI New Media Marketing can help make sure you are partnering with the right influencers. Contact us for more information today.