What are Influencers? Definition, Types, and Their Impact on Business

As the number of internet users increases and content on every social media platform increases, the term influencer is heard more and more often. Actually, what or who are influencers ? Simply put, an influencer is someone who can influence other people.

The closest person an influencer can say is your own family member. They can and do provide information to the household about a product or service. Family members will provide information because they have received information from other people or have experienced the benefits of the product being discussed. An influencer marketing is increasingly sought after by companies to increase engagement .

Definition of Influencer Marketing

The all-digital era makes many people have to be good at adjusting themselves, including you and the business you are currently running. Regarding marketing or marketing activities, you as a business owner are required to be able to do marketing in cyberspace, aka online marketing .

This activity is commonly known as digital marketing . The way it works is to use the internet as an opening for greater opportunities for your business. This strategy is packaged in a modern and up-to-date way by utilizing online platforms .

If your business currently has target consumers from social media, you can try using influencer marketing services to expand your reach and be able to open up opportunities for collaboration with other fields.

As the name implies, influence is an important strength of an influencer . They are one of the reasons many business owners invite them to work together to promote a product or service because of their influence.

Quoted from Hariyanti and Wirapraja (2018: 141), an influencer is a person or figure on social media who has a large or significant number of followers. What they convey can influence the behavior of their followers. Simply put, influencers have the influence for their followers to do something. That’s why, in strengthening marketing and promotion using digital media, using the services of an influencer is one of the strategies.

Quoting from Marketing Hub, an influencer is someone who has the power to influence the decisions of others because he has authority, knowledge, position, or because of his relationship with the public or audience. Usually, an influencer is someone who works as a blogger, YouTuber, celebrity, or a public figure who has tens of thousands to millions of followers on social media and is considered important in certain communities.

Influencer marketing is one of a company’s marketing strategies by inviting an influencer to work together in order to increase brand awareness as well as sales tailored to a particular target market.

As someone who actively uses social media, you must have often seen celebrities or famous people in a community getting endorsements from a product that repeatedly appears in the timeline. Influencer marketing is included in the category of native ads or paid content that displays the same attractive form, quality and function as organic content created by other promotional media.

The results of the cooperation can vary, depending on the expertise of each influencer . They are also known as key opinion leaders , even though they have different backgrounds, so nothing is really the same when conveyed to internet users.

Types of Influencers Based on Number of Followers

Along with the development of information and communication technology in the digital world, especially in social media, there are now types of definitions that make it easier for netizens to find out. Oddie Randa, Chief Operations Officer of Gushcloud Marketing Group, said that influencers are divided into three categories based on the number of followers they have on social media.

  • Nano : Number of followers under 10,000 accounts.
  • Micro : Number of followers 10,000 to 100,000 accounts.
  • Macro : The number of followers is more than 100,000 accounts.

Oddie further said, “If you have over one or two million followers , that’s a celebrity or what we call a premium influencer . The term celebrity here does not have to be those who have entered television, but are famous.”

A brief explanation below.

 

1. Nano Influencers

Nano is the smallest particle with a size of 50,000 times smaller than the size of a human hair. So, the type of influencer with the smallest reach is a nano influencer with a following of 1,000 to 10,000 people. Despite their small number of followers, nano influencers are a popular choice because they are inexpensive and offer quite a number of other benefits. Not a few companies choose to work with new influencers with no more than 2,000 followers.

The reason is because the smaller the influencer’s reach makes a company’s target reach more and more. Working with nano influencers can make your brand get other benefits from the community that is their follower. Because the number of followers is small, influencers and their followers can interact and get to know each other better through social media platforms so that the engagement that occurs is even higher.

See also  16 Things That Invalidate Ablution And Its Pillars

Because the community that is the follower of the nano influencer is relatively small and close-knit, his campaign also has a more intimate and personal touch. Followers of nano influencers feel as if getting recommendations from people they trust are like friends. They are also more likely to take action based on advertisements or product reviews of this type.

Although sometimes, nano influencers rarely identify themselves as influencers because for them social media is just a channel for expressing ideas or hobbies. It could be, the way they work is not or not very professional. Please remember that strong engagement will increase the trust of its followers even higher at very low and affordable costs.

2. Micro Influencers

A notch above nano, micro has a follower count of 10,000 to 100,000. In general, the public and netizens have higher trust in this type because there are certain fields they master.

They usually get followers because they have YouTube channels with special topics such as beauty, gadget reviews, traveling, culinary, or others. Or those who have built an Instagram account and are slowly increasing the number of followers due to actively uploading quality and specific content regularly on certain topics.

Usually a micro  is a health expert, beauty expert, or other expertise on these two social media. The more niche the theme of the social media content is, the easier it will be for engagement to form organically. Because of this expertise, micro can get loyal and trusted followers with every content they upload on social media. Usually the segment to look for in using micro services  is the age of 18 to 24 years.

The costs that must be incurred by a businessman to be able to work with micro are still relatively cheap and affordable.

3. Macro Influencers

The more followers you have on social media, you can be called a macro . This type can be pinned when it has between 100,000 and one million followers. The engagement between influencers and their followers is still there, but looks less strong. With that many followers , surely the need for the range of messages to be conveyed will be wider and the impact on costs incurred will be greater.

Macros  tend to have a diverse following or audience with diverse interests. They are on average very concerned with the brand awareness that clients need. They are also easier to access and contact than mega.

4. Mega Influencers

Those with more than 1 million followers are called mega influencers . In general, this type works as an artist or an influential person in society with a reach of influence and followers nationally.

The large number of followers makes it possible for influencers to spread messages in a short time with a wider reach. However, this also affects the funds and costs that must be incurred by businesses because the amounts are very large.

In addition, mega may not necessarily be considered an expert in a particular field. Because as is commonly seen on social media, the mega is their average celebrity status. Like most celebrities, this mega account  will focus on everyday life rather than a particular topic, aka not niche . That is, it could be that these influencers don’t know anything about your business and their followers are not interested in your brand .

Types of Influencers Based on Social Media Platforms

If above is a discussion of influencer categories based on the number of followers , in this section is the platform category used by these influencers .

1. Bloggers

This type of influencer is already known among blog writers or blog readers in general. Their posts are searchable by keywords embedded in each post. A blogger is someone who owns and/or manages a blog. There are quite a lot of blogs that are used or focused on doing reviews/reviews about a product, for example the latest gadgets or skincare .

Reviews written on a blog can be said to be more complete and longer, so readers get clearer information than if they get it on other social media. If the blogger has quite a number of loyal readers, it’s easy for the blogger to recommend a product based on the style of writing and client directions and entice readers to try buying and using the product.

The number of readers of a blog affects the success of a product campaign up to the marketing stage.

2. YouTube influencers

Better known as YouTubers, these influencers who have loyal subscribers/ subscribers always create content in the form of videos about information, including product reviews. Unlike bloggers who write information or product reviews on a blog, YouTubers review things in video form.

Initially, the term pinned on them was vlogger , aka video blogger . The role of YouTube influencers or YouTubers seems significant, especially with the development of digital technology as it is today. The reason is because more than 90% of internet users get to know a new product through videos uploaded on the YouTube platform. From a video, viewers can see clearly how the product being reviewed by the YouTuber is described.

3. Instagram influencers

The term that is more familiar or often heard for an Instagram influencer is Instagram celebgram or celebrity. Usually refers to a public figure who uses the Instagram platform to record various activities, including reviewing a product.

See also  difference between a web browser and search engine

Instagram has the potential to target the market in Indonesia because our country ranks fourth with the most number of 59 million Instagram users in the world. This data can be a mainstay for business owners or companies to partner with Instagram celebrities or influencers in campaigning or promoting products.

4. TikTok influencers

Not much different from YouTubers and celebgrams, TikTok influencers or creators who are usually called have loyal fans and followers who follow every latest content that appears on the homepage. The TikTok algorithm is programmed to rate the videos you like and share. Then, the algorithm starts counting the hours watched, the number of loves, including when the video was shared by its users.

The number of TikTok users is currently more than one billion. This allows anyone to access videos uploaded on TikTok and the opportunity to earn money from these uploads is even wider. Creators with a significant number of followers on TikTok can become influencers that you can work with because your opportunity to expand market share can be wide open .

Effect of Number of Followers

One important note to keep in mind is that the fee for influencer services will be more expensive in line with the increasing number of followers they have. However, you don’t need to worry if you want to use their services. The quality of the content that digital influencers display on each of their social media accounts will get better and better because they, especially mega influencers , have a production team that can produce the best content.

This is because influencers who have many followers will pay great attention to the quality of their social media content for the benefit of their business. Another important note that you should pay attention to is that choosing an influencer doesn’t necessarily just look at the number of followers. The brand message and corporate image will have an impact if you choose random influencers .

Make sure you choose influencers carefully. Check first whether the influencer you choose is relevant to your brand , pay attention to the quality of social media content, the influencer’s image in the eyes of the public, and of course adjust the price offered by the influencer according to the budget you have.

 

Tips for Becoming an Influencer

If you are interested in becoming an influencer, see the tips below.

1. Find Interested Things

This is the first tip from sinaumedia for you. To become an influencer, find something you really like and know about. That’s what you can share with others. If someone else creates content that is different from yours and he succeeds, that doesn’t mean you have to be like him. Create your own content. Research as much as possible before deciding.

2. Take Advantage of Existing Accounts

You don’t need to create a new account and start from scratch. Because finding and building followers is not easy. Simply clean up your social media account by deleting content from old posts that don’t match the concept and draft of the content you’re preparing.

3. Use a Business Profile and Personal Blog

Go to settings on Instagram and change your account to “ business profile ” for free. With this business account, you can see the engagement data that you have as a whole or per post that you upload. You can view data as needed, including the recommended hours for making a recent photo post. Now, additional reels on Instagram can be used to increase engagement .

Don’t forget to create a blog or website with your account name. Because you never know how long a social media can survive and exist in cyberspace. A blog or website is like a house that you have without worrying if other social media (which can be likened to a shopping center) are closed.

4. Working with Brands

If your social media followers are over 1,000, start becoming a nano influencer . You can try to find brands or companies that need your services. Adjust the needs of the brand with the theme of your account. Browse about the brand you are after and find out who the marketing department is. Introduce yourself and say that you want to create content featuring their product as a sponsor. Slowly, with more and more posts you upload, other brands will come by themselves.

Conclusion

The existence of an influencer is needed in the digital era like now. You can search for them and adjust them to the needs of the product or service you have. Influencers have influence for their followers to do something. That’s why, in strengthening marketing and promotion using digital media, using the services of an influencer is one of the strategies.

You can even become an influencer to gain success and fame like Ria Ricis, Gading Marten, or others. You just take advantage of the account you currently have and start creating useful content.

  • 12 Examples of Marketing Strategies Worth Trying
  • Marketing Management: Definition, Functions, Objectives, Duties, and Concepts
  • Definition of Variable Costs: Characteristics, Types, Examples, and Formulas
  • Definition of Marketing and 7 Types!
  • Definition of Promotion: Definition of Experts, Types, and Examples