We have to admit, Kim Kardashian West is the Oprah Winfrey of the new age (even though we are not proud to admit it). But unlike Ms. Winfrey who took the long route to becoming wealthy, with the invention of the Internet and the popularity of social network, KimK used social media to kind of shortcut her way to fame and fortune. She is the first and most successful social media influencer. Any brand that gets aligned with her name almost instantaneously becomes successful. In 2015 she accumulated $52 million from her Keeping Up with the Kardashian reality TV show, product lines, and endorsement opportunities. Forbes reported that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star’s app is one of her main sources of income. Her Facebook has 30 million likes. Her Instagram is at 107 million and her Twitter is 58 million. A tweet from her usually gathers a few thousand to a million of likes. Her success in social media has spawned more than a few wannabe celebrities to do the same. Some have made it and amassed a large of social media followers. They are called social media influencers and thanks to them, brands can reach their target audiences in unique ways.
Social media influencers carry a lot of credibility on their platforms. Engaging them in your social media marketing strategy allows their followers to become your friends. In essence, they are your brand ambassadors. With them on your side, your brand could expand its target audience base. Recommendations from social media influencers can give you credibility.
“We, as marketers have noticed their sheer power and influence over their social followers, and we use these social leaders as marketing partners to connect with our client’s target audience,” says Teodora Thompson.
But don’t rush to get an influencer. You need to have patience. Be diligent in your research. Here are the most important issues to address before deciding on rather you should use a social media influencer to promote your brand.
What should I look for in an influencer?
The number of followers is the first thing we think to look at but the ratio of engagement is a better indicator of social media influence. Also, the number of active followers they have is very important.
Sometimes the best influencers can be ‘micro-influencers’. These are influencers who have ‘smaller’ audience size but can be extremely engaging with their audience and can be a better fit for regional and local markets.
Devise strategies to measure the effect of the influencer on your brand. Obviously, they will get you likes but the right influencer should also increase your followers and be able to direct traffic to your actual website.
Lastly, influencers are not celebrities in the traditional sense. Most of them don’t have a long history of doing business with advertisers. In deciding on a particular influencer, make sure he or she understands the duties they will be required to perform. Have a firm written contract that stipulates everything and make sure you have a plan for crisis management.
If you need to run an influencer marketing campaign, feel free to send us a note, we work with Miami’s top influencers for all industries and have access to influencers worldwide. Please email teodora@miamimarketingco.com or DM @teodorathompson
