How influencer marketing works

Influencers (individuals or groups of people with a large social media following) are used to help promote or market businesses. These influencers may be paid for their work, but they can also receive free products to promote them. Influencers typically have a particular focus and often share an interest in their endorsed brands.
There are three main types of influencers: micro, macro, and mega. Micro-influencers tend to have between 1 thousand and 100 thousand followers. In comparison, macro-influencers tend to have between 100 thousand and 1 million followers, and mega-influencers are anyone with over one million followers. The smaller the number of followers an influencer has, the more impactful their endorsement will be for your brand or product. There is less competition for engagement from other brands—so you'll get more bang for your buck!
Influencer marketing works by leveraging existing networks with a strong affinity toward certain products or services on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter (let's say skincare). A company will then reach out to these networks, asking them if they'd like to try out their product (a new moisturizer), write about it on their blog or feed (posting about it), tag other users who might like it too (hashtags), etc., which would increase awareness among consumers who value those reviews as legitimate sources of information rather than traditional ads.

The rise of influencer marketing

The rise of influencer marketing is linked to social media platforms. You've probably heard about or seen social media influencers, who are people and animals with large numbers of followers on a particular platform. These influencers can reach out to their audience directly, which traditional celebrities may not be able to do through other marketing channels.

On Instagram, for example, an influencer may have millions of followers. Influencers also tend to have a high engagement rate, which means they get many likes and comments on their posts compared to the number of followers. For example, if an account with one million followers gets 10,000 likes on photos posted within the last 24 hours (1% engagement rate), this is considered low engagement. However, if an account with 100,000 followers gets 10,000 likes within the last 24 hours (10% engagement rate), this is considered high engagement.