Influencer marketing is the new wave in the sphere of advertising. Gone are those days of hiring salespersons who would go door-to-door with samples of products in their hands or even other social media marketing. These days, right from fashion to food, every possible brand aims to have a virtual presence. Instagram is a much-favoured place to be.
There are selected few who command much of the online traffic by being followed by tens and thousands of ardent ‘fans.’ Such elite is those that are called the ‘Instagram influencers.’
Companies are always on the lookout for those that command such a presence on Instagram that one single post on their account could garner hundreds of potential buyers. Brands are keen to capitalise the reach of the ‘ influencers’ who are celebrities in their own light. Now for the quintessential question- what constitutes an influencer?
The answer to this question in a million-dollar virtual industry lies in the behind the scenes analytics. Metrics are measurement standards that help identify the number of views per post. These include ‘clickthroughs’, that is the number of people clicking on the URL; Engagement rate, the number of followers commenting and liking the post, and ‘hashtags by interaction’ which reveal the trends in the conversations. Once these are satisfactory, the brand chooses that particular ‘Instagrammer’ to be their ambassador.
The companies pay them for posts, and they get commissions for each sale facilitated by them using a coupon that can be redeemed by their followers.
This is fast becoming a career avenue were young and inspired members of the virtual world document every movement of the day and capture it for their enthusiastic followers. These men and women are seen as aspirational, and they are viewed as trendsetters.
Influencer marketing is one serious business, which is calculative and strategic. Further cementing the view that business and marketing are continually evolving, are these influencers.
In this world, it pays to be liked, commented and subscribed.
