What exactly is an Influencer?

What exactly is an Influencer? What is the benefit of hiring an influencer? Where do you find them? How do you choose them? These are all questions that I often get asked.

First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Lauren Jordan and one of my favorite titles here at Bottom Line Marketing is Influencer Manager. In the last year and a half, I have had the pleasure of working with, and getting to know hundreds of amazing men and women, all over the country.

So back to the real question; What exactly is an Influencer? An Influencer is an individual who has authority, knowledge, position or a relationship with his/her audience. Whether the individual is a blogger, a social media guru, or a fashionista, they have the ability to guide their followers with their decision making. This individual actively engages and encourages their followers to purchase products they promote. Although the number of followers an Influencer has can play a big role in their success, it is the relationship and interaction that really make a difference. Quality of engagement & posts is much more important than quantity of following.

The first thing we need to ask ourselves when deciding to work with an Influencer is would an influencer be beneficial for your business? The answer is most likely YES! Influencer Marketing has been on the rise the last few years. With a whopping 81%* of the U.S. population on social media, what better way to reach your target market? Word of mouth is a much stronger way to gain more branding and following on social. It is important to find an influencer who meshes well with you, as well as your target market. For instance, for our jewelry stores, I try to find an influencer who has an interest in fashion and style, that also has quality content on their page. The influencer will be the one representing your company and product, so they need to be able to take eye-catching, and quality photos.

Once you find an influencer to represent your brand, they will visit your store to create content. They may take creative photos, videos of your store, and even a few team photos. They will then use these materials to promote your brand on their social media, as well as your own. These images will “influence” their followers to check out your business, and see what the hype is all about.

Hiring an influencer is a reasonable way to spread popularity. Price varies on the number of social media followers and engagement rate, as well as, the amount of in-store visits, live videos, and posts you request from them. Give us a call and tell us what you are looking for. We’d love to help you find your perfect match!

Meet Holly @hollybmurphy. Holly is a fashion blogger who has been a Meritage Jewelers influencer for over a year. She has made many in-store visits, multiple live videos, and countless posts. Occasionally, she will also host a giveaway for her followers. Giveaways are a great way to get engagement and followers involved. Each month we get together and go over upcoming events and brainstorm ideas for the following month. We schedule a day for her to visit the store to gather content for her social media, as well as Meritage’s. We are proud to have Holly as a Mertiage influencer! Why not give influence marketing a shot?

*According to Statista as of 2017