Instagram Influencer Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

January 3, 2022
Contents

If you have an Instagram account, you must have seen some people post their collaborations with brands. These individuals are called influencers, and they are part of one of the latest marketing strategies brands use, Instagram influencer marketing.

Every once in a while, we stop and come across these influencers showing off outfits, makeup, candles, or even food. And every day, Influencers are always looking for new ways to be sponsored.

With so many views coming up on Instagram influencer marketing, it might not be apparent for you whether or not to invest in influencer campaigns. But, this guide will provide you with an in-depth look at all you need to know about an Instagram Influencer marketing campaign.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is a powerful way for brands to promote their products online through endorsements or recommendations from influencers.

Social media, blogs, podcasts, and others are the most popular formats for content creators, but there are other ways to reach influencers. You can use this type of marketing for brand awareness campaigns or generate sales and conversions.

Why use Instagram for Influencer Marketing?

Instagram is an excellent way to reach your target audience with 1.3B monthly active users. Although Instagram has fewer users than Facebook, the engagement rate is much higher.

This high engagement rate makes Instagram more effective for you to get their message seen and heard. You can feel Instagram’s effectiveness in sending your message even more if you use influencer marketing.

This is because influencers generally have a strong relationship with their followers. After all, they share some of their personal lives. 

This intimacy with their followers makes them feel like they know them, which is why when these influencers recommend something, their followers will often listen.

How Many Types of Influencers Are There?

As time goes on, the category of influencers continues to grow. There are currently five major types of influencers and are sorted according to the number of followers. Below is the complete lowdown on each category.

Nano-Influencers

They’re bloggers, ordinary people, and content creators and have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. It is not their full-time job to be influencers, but some may promote products on social media. They often build trust with followers, resulting in high engagement rates.

Brands should partner with nano-influencers to market their products. As they have a higher engagement rate and charge less for their services, brands have a more significant ROI potential from their efforts.

Consumers also trust nano-influencers more as they have a smaller community and focus on a niche. This means that they're more transparent and authentic.

Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers usually have around 10,000 to 100,000 followers. But there is no set number. Regardless of how many followers they have, they have the same personal touch as nano-influencers.

They are also more expensive, but they are still a good option for promoting your business and driving sales. However, they still have the same personal appeal that nano-influencers do. These influencers are a good option for promoting your business and driving sales.

Mid-tier Influencers

The number of followers Mid-tier influencers have on Instagram is usually anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 followers.

This influencer is the second largest group (26%), though their followers often don’t interact one-on-one. As a result, they’ve secured a wider reach and higher engagement rates than nano-, macro-, or mega-influencers.

Macro-Influencers

Macro-influencers are well known and lie between mega-influencers (celebrities) and influencers (around one million followers).

They achieved fame on the web, like vlogging or producing entertaining content. If you want to reach a broad category of people, like "young males," macro-influencers are an excellent choice.

Mega-Influencers

Social media mega-influencers are the most famous and influential accounts in the marketing world. They may have millions of followers and a broad audience with different interests, and these relationships are typically distant.

These influencers can help you with outreach campaigns but cost more than other tiers. Now that you know about the type of influencers let us look at how to find them.

How To Find The Right Influencer For Your Brand

There are several ways to determine which influencer is the perfect fit for your brand. This article will explain six of the best ways to do just that. Scroll down to get the lowdown!

Use Branded Hashtags

Defining your ideal influencer will make it easier to narrow down the best influencers for your brand. Don’t worry, though, because there are several options. One is to search for branded hashtags.

To find out who has already created content about your products, conduct a search using a branded hashtag. From there, you can check out the individuals who have made these posts to find potential influencers.

Search for Relevant Hashtags

If you are not yet an established brand or your previous tactics have not been successful, you can search for relevant hashtags.

When evaluating the results, it is essential to look at the accounts of users who have created content that appeals to you.

Use Influencer Marketing Tools

Influencer marketing tools are one of the best ways to simplify your search for potential influencers. For example, Influencer.co is exceptional because it's free and offers filters that will allow you to find influencers relevant to your campaign requirements.

If you are looking for an influencer online, there are some new options. Influencer marketing platforms can help you find the right influencer for your project based on their database and algorithms.

These platforms offer more than just influencers; they offer campaign management, marketplaces, analytics, and relationship management software to make campaigns more successful.

Measure Influencers’ Engagement Rate

There are many ways to measure the power of an influencer. The most recent trend is to measure their engagement rate. Brands are now more aware of the power of influencers and are focusing on measuring an influencer's engagement rate.

This is because it is increasingly important to brands. With tons of requirements and timelines to keep up with, communication is essential for an influencer marketing campaign to be a success. Make sure you can rely on the communication abilities of the influencer you are considering.

Build a List of Potential Influencers

It's essential to build a list of influencers before you start to look at anything quantitative, like the number of followers or engagement rates. Determining the criteria for what makes someone a good fit for your brand is crucial in this process. 

Be sure to take your time in this step! Finding the perfect influencer can seem daunting. The more authentic and genuine they appear to the consumer, the better the ROI potential of your campaign. Here are a few steps:

  • Find out what niche they fall into by looking at their posts and stories on social media.
  • See what topics frequently come up on their Instagram feed.
  • Check out the comments section on their posts to see what conversations occur.

Evaluate Potential Influencers’ Communities

You’ve found an influencer online who seems like a good fit for your brand. Now, you need to evaluate their community. The key is to see if the influencer’s Instagram Stories and feed match your brand and products.

If they seem like a good fit for your company and products, you should check out how often they post and their general style. Once you’ve found someone who seems like a good fit for your brand, it’s time to check out whether they’ve got the following they claim to have.

Now that you know which influencer you want, it is time to decide what type of marketing campaign you want.

Types of Instagram Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts are one of the most popular types of marketing on Instagram. Influencers will advertise your product for you in their content, or they can tell an entire story about your product, depending on what you need. This campaign can help achieve any marketing goal.

Contests

An excellent way to get your product to new audiences is through influencers. To do this, you might want to send them products for a giveaway contest. This can be an excellent way to engage your followers and raise brand awareness. It could also be an opportunity to generate buzz around a new product.

Branded content

Nowadays, branded content is an easy way for businesses to promote their products or reach new audiences. For example, you can pay influencers to create content with your company in mind. Influencers will create something using your product or participate in your storytelling. The content will be yours, but it will also be theirs.

The content will effectively reach a new audience or promote a new product. It's an easy way for brands to get the word out there.

Reviews

Getting the opinion of an influencer might be your best bet. Influencers will review your products, and their followers can decide whether or not to buy from you.  Ensure that the reviews are honest, so that customer trust is won, but know that it's also a perfect campaign tool for raising brand awareness and driving conversions.

Brand Rep Programs

There is a new way for brands to strengthen their connections with consumers. You can convert influencers into brand reps with a custom discount code or link. For each conversion they drive, they get a small percentage of the profit. This type of program can increase brand awareness and generate profit effectively.

How To Start An Instagram Influencer Marketing Campaign?

If you're wondering how to use Instagram as an influencer marketing platform successfully and how to prepare for a campaign, here are some essentials that you should consider:

Set Goals

Setting clear goals and KPIs is the first step in any campaign. You'll need to know what you want to get out of it. 

Next, you'll determine what type of campaign you want: do you want to promote a new product, increase traffic, or drive more sales? With these things in mind, you can then plan your campaign, knowing that it will meet the needs of your business.

If you're not sure about your ultimate goal, you need to define it clearly. This will help you know how to approach your campaign and measure. If your goal is to raise brand awareness, you should look at metrics like impressions, reach, and engagement. 

If your goal is to grow your email list, you should look at metrics for signups and conversions. Whatever the metric, make sure you follow your competitors' lead to choose the right metrics.

Determine Your Budget

Ensure you have enough cash on hand before initiating influencer marketing. Influencers are not always willing to work for free or discounted products.

Influencer marketing is a legitimate form of marketing, which you can budget for in the same way you budget for other forms of marketing. Your budget will dictate just how many influencers you can approach and meet your goals.

Select Your Influencer Type

As we’ve mentioned before, there are five types of influencers, categorized by their number of followers, which are: 

  • Nano-influencers
  • Micro-influencers 
  • Mid-influencers
  • Macro-influencers
  • Mega-influencers

Make sure to choose the type of influencer that perfectly suits your niche, your brand, and your marketing goals.

Decide On A Collaboration Structure

If you're working with influencers for a campaign, you'll need to figure out how you will collaborate. This will make it easier for both parties and make the campaign run more smoothly.

Set Campaign Timeline

Determining A campaign timeline is the key to success, ensuring that your influencers are well aware of the deadlines. No one wants to follow up multiple times with their influencer if they fail to meet these deadlines.

Create a Fair Compensation Model

Compensation is a problematic issue that many brands and marketers fail to fullyconsider when starting their Instagram influencer marketing campaigns. Will you offer them a flat fee per post? Or, would you prefer to pay them based on performance?

There are three ways brands can compensate influencers:

  • Free product compensation: The brand provides the influencer with a complimentary product or service.
  • Paid product compensation: The influencer receives compensation for purchased products or services.
  • Affiliate compensation: The influencer links to a company using their affiliated links on platforms like rewardStyle or ShopStyle to make a commission

Brands will need to work out the compensation type with the influencer based on their unique audience, campaign, deliverables, metrics, and brand fit.

When determining how much to compensate an influencer, here are some of the aspects you'll need to take into account:

  • Production
  • Travel expenses
  • Agency fees
  • Additional usage rights

The most significant debate is between receiving the product or receiving the money.

Ensure Content Usage Rights

Getting the rights to use content can be tricky. For example, if you plan on using an influencer's content for social media ads or on your website, you need to consider their ownership of the content. Make sure to get full content usage rights while they still retain ownership.

Start Content Production

Be clear with what you want your influencers to produce for the campaign. An excellent place to start is the type of content. Here are a few things to ask:

  • Do you want them to make Instagram posts with your product mentioned? 
  • What about videos? 
  • Maybe you want them to post Instagram stories with your product? 

Whatever you want them to provide, make sure to communicate it beforehand. You should also discuss how much content you need.

11 Best Instagram Influencers

Now that you’ve got a better idea of starting an influencer marketing campaign, you should start looking for influencers that match your brand. However, if you still need help to look for influencers, here are some of the best Instagram influencers.

Keep in mind that your budget needs to be on the high side to use any influencers we mention below.

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver is Instagram famous for his approachable and delectable-looking cuisine, as well as his love of teaching others to cook. His account reflects a mix of food pictures, recipes, and photos of his family and personal life. With over seven million followers, he's one of the most popular accounts on Instagram.

Jack Morris and Lauren Bullen

Jack Morris and Lauren Bullen of Jack and Lauren's Dream Jobs are world-famous travel bloggers who document their travels around the globe on Instagram. 

Jack and Lauren's combined 4.8 million followers love their posts because of their signature style, using the same few filters on Instagram, and posting fantastic travel destinations.

David Chang

Celebrity chef David Chang is best known for his world-famous restaurants and big personality. His shows on TV and Netflix and his food videos on Instagram have earned him a considerable following. 

Recently, he was a judge on Top Chef and the creator of Netflix's Ugly Delicious, which led him to a lot of popularity.  Most of his feed is filled with the drool-worthy food he cooks.

Chiara Ferragni

Chiara Ferragni is one of the most influential fashion bloggers of her generation. She started her blog, The Blonde Salad, to share her tips, favorite fashion lines, and personal photos.

Forbes has recognized Chiara for her accomplishments in fashion and is on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list.

Jimmy Chin

Award-winning photographer Jimmy Chin captures intense climbing expeditions and breathtaking scenery with his high-quality images. With 2.4 million Instagram followers, he has a following for a reason.

Huda Kattan

Huda Kattan's Instagram was a beauty empire that changed the industry. She amassed 1.3 million followers and a company worth $1.2 billion in just a few years. She filled her homepage with makeup tutorials and reviews, as well as snaps of her expensive lifestyle.

Zoe Sugg

Zoe Sugg is a digital celebrity who has built a platform with her blog, YouTube channel, and best-selling books that helps young people with their fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. She's got nearly 10 million followers on Instagram, shares photos of her pug and selfies, and posts trendy outfits.

Jeffree Star

YouTube makeup celebrity Jeffree Star is widely known for his playful personality and expert commentary on the latest in beauty products. He fills his Instagram feed with videos of his creative makeup applications for his 13.6 million followers.

Murad Osmann

When Russia-based photographer Murad Osmann’s girlfriend pulled him to an incredible destination, he snapped some photos. Since then, the phenomenon of followers has grown exponentially on Instagram. 

The pictures depict someone holding the photographer’s hand, pulling them towards some incredible vista that eventually went viral. This trend has gone viral with four million followers and is still an active Instagram sensation.

Massy Arias

Massy Arias is a full-time personal trainer with 2.6 million followers on Instagram. She posts videos of workouts, healthy food ideas, and her successes. 

Her feed manages to inspire her followers to keep training to improve their health. Arias has successfully capitalized on fitness trends on Instagram. Her posts have proven that exercise can improve all areas of your life.

The Bucket List Family

Ever feel like you need to get away from it all? The Bucket List Family is a YouTube and Instagram sensation that lives in exotic locations worldwide. They only have one goal: to inspire people to create their bucket lists. They share their adventures with 1.8 million followers on social media.

BONUS: 7 of The Best Influencer Marketing Platforms and Agencies

There are three main methods to sourcing influencers: self-discovery, influencer agencies, and influencer platforms. 

Self-discovery is easy if you already have connections or know an influencer personally. You can also use influencer agencies, companies that connect brands with influencers. Let us now look at several platforms and agencies to help you find influencers

1. rewardStyle

rewardStyle is a leading influencer marketing agency and operates worldwide. They provide end-to-end influencer services and are a one-stop-shop for brands that use influencer marketing.

Furthermore, they provide a user-friendly app that helps influencers and brands work together and create mutually beneficial relationships. 

Besides that, Rewardstyle has many other advantages. You can also easily track organic sales and content, license content, and integrate conferences and events into your business. Rewardstyle is even a one-stop shop for growth consulting.

Thanks to the app, rewardStyle is an easy choice for brands looking to build their business with influencer marketing.

2. AspireIQ

AspireIQ is the first company to use AI technology to analyze influencers. The platform offers influencer discovery, management, analytics, and scaling. This company’s unique value is that it can find the perfect influencer for your brand in just a few clicks, saving you time and money.

3. Traackr

Traackr helps brands find influencers on social media. With an influencer relationship management system, you can track their performance, collaborate, and get insights to see what's next.

Here are some of the things Traackr can help with:

  • Finding influencers
  • Evaluating their influence
  • Figuring out who your audience is
  • Running a campaign
  • Optimizing it later
  • Collaborating with the influencer

4. Collectively

Collectively takes a different approach to influencer marketing services. Naming itself an influencer marketing agency, the company positions itself in a spot for change – understanding that influencer platforms will change with time.

Collectively is an influencer marketing agency, and it's positioned (right now) as an 'agency for change,' understanding that the landscape is constantly changing.

5. Grin

Grin is an excellent option for eCommerce brands because it offers 37 million influencers on social media. This includes Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Twitch.

Furthermore, the platform also offers a suite of services for managing and tracking campaigns — making this a comprehensive choice for you to use.

6. Upfluence

Upfluence is a self-serve platform for finding influencers. You can choose your criteria and set your prices to find the perfect influencer for you.

And with brands like PayPal and Microsoft already using it, this platform can be an excellent choice for your brand.

7. Creator.co

Creator.co is a marketplace with over 500 million influencers to choose from. Opt for their self-service option if you want to manually search for an influencer, or go for their hands-free option, which will discover the perfect match for you.

FAQs: Instagram Influencer Marketing

What is Instagram influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a powerful way for brands to promote their products online through endorsements or recommendations from influencers.

How much does it cost for Instagram influencer marketing?

Below is the cost per Instagram post, categorized to each influencer type for your convenience.

Type of Influencers                      Rate

Nano (1-10k followers)               $10-100

Micro (10-100k followers)          $100-500

Mid (100-500k followers)           $500-$5k

Macro (500k-1m followers)        $5-$10k

Mega (1m+ followers)                 $10k+

source: Andrew Macarthy.com

How do I start influencer marketing on Instagram?

  • Set Goals
  • Determine Your Budget
  • Select Your Influencer Type
  • Decide On A Collaboration Structure
  • Set Campaign Timeline
  • Create a Fair Compensation Model
  • Ensure Content Usage Rights
  • Start Content Production

How impactful are Instagram influencers marketing?

According to Digital Marketing Institute, 51% of marketers say influencer marketing helps them acquire better customers.

How successful is influencer marketing?

Mediakix reported that 89% of marketers deem the ROI gained from influencer marketing is similarly good or even better than most other marketing channels. Furthermore, 80% of marketers say that influencer marketing is effective, with 71% rating the quality of traffic and customers acquired from influencer marketing to be better than other marketing sources.

Is influencer marketing effective in 2021?

According to a Business Insider forecast, almost 68% of marketers from companies operating in the USA will make use of influencer marketing in 2021, and that number will only rise to 72.5% in 2022.

Conclusion

Instagram influencers can make a huge impact on your social media marketing efforts. You can trust that they have engaged audiences and will create beautiful content for your brand. 

They also give consumers authentic exposure that traditional advertising cannot get.

Use this guide to find the perfect Instagram influencers for your company. Identify who your customers trust and spend in your budget. Once you find the right influencers, collaborate on campaigns together.

You can use our animation maker from OFFEO to create videos that will spice up your feed. It helps your audience stay hooked to your profile, thus giving you new followers. Go and get started!

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