In a time when nearly half of the top social media influencers are fraudulently inflating their follower count and engagement metrics, it can be challenging to sift through all the noise and find the right influencers for your marketing campaigns.
“Right”, in this context, doesn’t necessarily mean the most popular influencer in your industry. It’s more about finding the top social media influencers in authenticity, niche authority, target audience engagement, brand connections, influencer marketing strategy, resonance, and return on investment (ROI).
To identify this ideal group of prospects, brands should look beyond the surface-level impressions and dig deeper into meaningful influencer metrics. You must also know where, when, and how to scout for, vet, connect with, and engage the right social media influencers.
The following guide walks you through that entire process while providing actionable tips for finding the right influencers in your industry.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a social media promotion strategy, in which brands commission influential content creators to endorse their products or services.
Influencers recommend items to their social media followers, who, in turn, make consumer decisions driven by audience trust built over time. This type of marketing is often more well-received than traditional ads because of the personal connections social media influencers share with their audiences.
The impact of this is particularly significant among younger consumers. For example, 36% of Millennials now find influencer posts more trustworthy than traditional ads, while 74% of Gen Z shoppers rely on influencer recommendations as a primary product discovery channel.
Brands continue to aggressively engage in influencer marketing, with most of them leveraging multiple partnerships simultaneously. About 37% of businesses are served by up to ten social media influencers, 46% have tens to hundreds, and 14% work with over a thousand influencer collaborations.
These influencer partnerships can be categorised into four tiers – mega, macro, micro, and nano social media influencers.
1. Mega Influencers for Brand Awareness
Mega influencers are individuals with over one million followers. They are often celebrities, public figures, or prominent content creators. Their extensive reach guarantees access to a wider audience size, making them ideal for global awareness campaigns. However, it all comes at a high cost, and the engagement rates for mega-influencers may be lower than in smaller influencer collaborations.
2. Macro Influencers for Brand Awareness and Conversions
With follower counts ranging from 100,000 to one million, macro influencers offer a balance between reach and engagement. That means you’ll have broad exposure while maintaining a moderate level of audience connection. You can thus partner with macro-influencers for both awareness and conversion campaigns.
The costs here are lower than those of mega-influencer marketing, but you’ll still need a substantial campaign budget. Another thing you can probably expect is brands competing fiercely for the attention of the top macro influencers in your industry.
3. Micro-Influencers for Targeted Conversions
These influencers have a following of between 1,000 and 100,000, with the majority attracting niche audiences. They are known to cultivate close, personal connections with their followers, which make their recommendations feel more authentic – leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.
As such, micro-influencers are well-suited for targeted influencer marketing campaigns on a budget. Their limited reach can however restrict your scaling options.
4. Nano Influencers for Strong Engagement
Nano influencers, with fewer than 10,000 followers, enjoy the strongest community support and the highest levels of audience intimacy. Their small but dedicated following interacts closely with them, making their recommendations feel deeply personal.
You can thus consider nano-influencers for hyper-targeted influencer marketing campaigns with exceptionally strong engagement. However, their limited reach means that scaling up will require collaborations with multiple social media influencers.
Choosing the Right Influencer Marketers for Your Social Media Campaigns
- Relevance to Industry: Examine whether the influencer operates within your niche. Their content themes should resonate with your brand's message and values.
- Audience Demographics: Analyse the age, location, gender, and interests of their followers. They should closely match your brand’s target customer profile or persona.
- Engagement Rate: Check how actively their audience engages with their content through likes, comments, shares, and saves. While social media sites have different benchmarks, you can aim for an engagement rate of about 2% to 5%.
- Authenticity: Don’t stop at the engagement numbers – review the authenticity of their engagement. Are their followers leaving thoughtful comments or generic one-word replies? Do their influencer posts spark genuine discussions? Authentic interactions prove that the influencer has built trust with their audience.
- Content Quality and Style: Check their previous social media posts and look at their creativity, consistency, and professionalism. Their content should also be styled with high-quality visuals, compelling captions, and storytelling.
- Reach: Choose social media influencers whose reach corresponds with your marketing campaign goals. While large follower counts are great for raising brand awareness, smaller influencers with highly engaged audiences often deliver better conversion results.
How to Discover the Right Social Media Influencers for Your Brand
To establish a list of potential social media influencers, start with these three steps to discover and qualify prospects:
1. Explore Relevant Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are naturally the richest source for discovering potential influencer marketing partners for your brand.
You can begin by searching for hashtags relevant to your industry, products, or target audience. For instance, a skincare brand could look up hashtags like #SkincareRoutine, #CleanBeauty, or #GlowUp. Influencers using these hashtags are likely already creating content that resonates with your niche.
Many social media platforms additionally run “explore” pages that showcase trending content according to your interests. Their algorithms often feature influencers creating content within your industry.
You can also use location-based searches to find influencers active in your target regions.
2. Use Influencer Marketing Platforms
Influencer marketing platforms are purpose-built tools that simplify the process of building, executing, and managing influencer campaigns on social media.
Many even provide analytics and filters for sorting through influencer profiles, trends, interactions, and topics across social media. You can use them to identify potential influencer marketing partners based on their engagement rates, audience demographics, and content themes. For a broad but simplified view of the social media influencers driving conversations in your niche, consider using Streem Social. It analyses global social media data to find influencers by topics, hashtags, handles, themes, and reach.
3. Search Google and YouTube
As the biggest search engine on the web, Google taps into all the indexed blogs, journals, forums, websites, and digital publications in your industry. YouTube, on the other hand, is the single most expansive web directory for videos.
On both platforms, you should be able to discover top social media influencers by searching industry-specific keywords. You should then open influencers’ content pages to review their material for relevance. Pay attention to their titles, descriptions, tone, messaging, target audience, and engagement.
Google and YouTube can provide analytics that you can use to gauge a social media influencer’s reach. For data on traffic visibility, for instance, go to the Google Search Console. On YouTube, you can qualify potential influencers based on their videos’ views, subscriber count, and engagement rates.
How Much Does Influencer Marketing Cost?
Unfortunately, there's no simple answer or guideline. Costs fluctuate according to the following factors:
1. Social Media Influencer Tier
Influencer marketers often calculate campaign rates according to their follower count and tier:
The biggest payment checks often go to mega-influencers for engaging large audiences over wide-reaching awareness campaigns. Their averages, as reported by influencer marketing benchmarks, are as follows (AUD):
- Instagram Post: $15,500+
- YouTube Video: $31,500+
- TikTok Video: $4,000+
- X Post: $2,000+
- Facebook Post: $3150+
Macro-influencers demand lower rates due to their reduced reach. Pricing tends to range between:
- Instagram Post: $775–$16,000
- YouTube Video: $1,550–$32,000
- TikTok Video: $195–$4,000
- X Post: $150–$3175
- Facebook Post: $1975–$40,000
With up to 100,000 followers, micro-influencers charge even less per sponsored post. You can expect to pay the following:
- Instagram Post: $195–$800
- YouTube Video: $315–$1,600
- TikTok Video: $35–$200
- X Post: $30–$160
- Facebook Post: $395–$2,000
Nano-influencers are the cheapest option due to their limited audience reach of less than 10,000. Typical rates include:
- Instagram Post: $15–$160
- YouTube Video: $30–$320
- TikTok Video: $8–$40
- X Post (formerly Twitter): $3–$32
- Facebook Post: $40–$400
2. Social Media Marketing Platform
The social platform you choose also affects your influencer marketing costs, as each has its own unique content requirements:
- YouTube: Attracts the highest rates for sponsored videos due to their demanding production process and the potential for long-term visibility. In 2022, for instance, you’d pay a minimum of $3,975 for a sponsored video with more than one million views.
- Instagram and Facebook: As the leading social media platforms for influencer marketing, Instagram and Facebook attract premium rates for general posts. Micro-influencers can charge upwards of $1,985 per post, while their macro counterparts may stretch beyond $39,750.
- TikTok: Arguably offers the best value for short-form video marketing. You can find influencers for as low as $8-$40 per post, much lower than on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
- X: Due to its lower adoption rate among influencer marketers (less than 10% of brands), X tends to have the cheapest rates. Nano-influencers may charge as little as $3 per post, though larger influencers may go upwards of $3175.
3. Influencer Marketing Campaign Scope
Broader influencer marketing campaigns that are more demanding usually incur higher charges than their simpler counterparts.
Some common campaign formats used by the top social media influencers include:
- Shoutouts: This is a basic mention of your brand or product on an influencer’s platform. It can be through text, images, or videos with a call to action. Since they’re non-technical and very straightforward, shoutouts are relatively cheap and accessible to everyone.
- Brand Ambassadorships: These are long-term brand partnerships, and require social media influencers to routinely promote your brand. You can expect the costs to be higher due to the significant time commitment and extended visibility.
- Sponsored Content: Here, you can either provide pre-made marketing content for the influencer to post or pay them to create and share their own. The latter is more expensive because production is passed on to the influencer.
- Affiliate Marketing: Social media influencers promote your product in exchange for a commission on sales. Compensation is performance-based, with brands only paying for successful conversions.
How to Measure the Performance of Social Media Influencer Marketing
Performance metrics are another way to identify the right influencers for your social media campaigns. While there are many types of analytics you can review, the best ways to measure the performance of candidates are:
1. Reach and Impressions
Reach is the total number of unique users who have seen an influencer's content. Impressions, on the other hand, measure how often a post appears in users' feeds.
2. Engagement
This measures how audiences interact with influencer posts through likes, comments, shares, and saves. High engagement rates indicate that the content resonates well with viewers and persuades them to take action.
Brands may calculate an influencer’s engagement rate by dividing the total number of engagements by the follower count, and then multiplying by 100.
For instance, if a social media influencer receives 500 engagements from 10,000 followers, their engagement rate is 5%.
Increased engagement happens to be the most successfully fulfilled influencer metric, according to 32% of marketers worldwide.
3. Conversions
Conversion analytics measures the audience members that take a desired action after engaging with influencer content. This can include making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
To monitor such conversions from social media, brands may use unique tracking links or promo codes associated with each influencer marketer. These results help you to evaluate the amount of revenue generated from the social media influencers.
4. Website and Social Media Traffic
Traffic metrics establish the volume of users directed to your website or social media profiles through influencer campaigns.
You can use these figures to gauge an influencer’s ability to generate interest and bring target audiences closer to your brand. Influencer marketing industry reports suggest that brands can easily maintain a positive performance trend with the right influencers, ranking traffic as the second best-performing influencer metric, behind engagement growth.
5. Long-Term Impact Analysis
While reach, conversions, traffic, and engagement metrics measure immediate impact, long-term impact analysis evaluates how influencer partnerships drive sustained brand awareness and customer loyalty over time.
You can, for example, use social listening tools (like Streem Social!) to capture post-campaign brand mentions across social media platforms. A consistent increase indicates long-term brand growth, sparked by your social media influencers.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing campaigns have the potential to drive brand awareness, product discovery, conversions, website traffic, audience engagement, and long-term sentiments. You just have to find the right influencers for your brand.
To do that, you need to prioritise authenticity over sheer popularity. You should go for social media influencers who maintain genuine engagement with their followers, consistently post industry-relevant content, and target the same niche audience as your brand.
You can always search for them manually across social sites by topic, location, demographic, keywords, mutual connections, and so forth. Or, you could make things much easier and more accurate by using a social media intelligence platform like Streem to discover influencers. Our traditional monitoring platform can also find influencers, by using your brand's name as a keyword, then filtering down to 'Influencer Social' media type mentions.
FAQs – Finding the Right Social Media Influencers for Your Brand
How do I know if an influencer's audience is genuinely engaged and not made up of fake followers?
Whenever you find social media influencers with a suspiciously large fanbase, assess their engagement rate by dividing the total number of likes, comments, and shares by the follower count. While platform benchmarks vary, unusually low engagement rates may indicate fake followers.
You can also review the influencer’s content quality and consistency. Look for thoughtful posts, genuine interactions in the comments section, and a consistent tone that resonates with their audience.
Another method would be tracking follower growth patterns on influencer marketing. Sudden spikes in follower counts may suggest the purchase of fake fans.
What's the difference between micro, macro, and mega social media influencers, and which type is right for my business?
Influencers can be categorised into three main types based on their follower count. Your choice depends on your influencer marketing campaign objectives, audience size, and budget:
- Micro-influencers: Typically have between 1,000 to 100,000 followers. They often attract higher engagement rates and a more niche audience. Their perceived authenticity and relatability make them Ideal for brands targeting special demographics or local influencers.
- Macro-influencers: Have between 100,000 to 1 million followers. They offer a balance between reach and engagement, which is a favourable combination for brands looking to increase visibility while still maintaining some level of audience connection.
- Mega-influencers: Possess over 1 million followers. They provide extensive reach but often have lower engagement rates compared to smaller social media influencers. Their mass exposure makes them attractive to brands with large influencer marketing budgets seeking visibility.
How much should I budget for a social media influencer marketing campaign?
The cost of social media influencer marketing varies based on follower count, platform, content type, and the scope of the influencer campaign.
Nano influencers typically charge between $10 and $250 per post, micro-influencers ask for $25 to $1,250, their macro counterparts go up to $25,000, while mega-influencers may bill you upwards of that.
On the content type, you can expect video marketing to cost way more than other forms of media – because they require more resources to compose and share.
YouTube itself, being the largest video-sharing platform on the web, attracts the steepest influencer marketing rates from its sponsored videos. Facebook and Instagram influencers also earn premium rates per post, ahead of both TikTok and X.
As for the influencer campaign scope, short-term collaborations may cost less than long-term partnerships. The latter may however offer better value than one-off posts, as they allow influencers to build a deeper connection with your brand.
What should I include in an outreach email to the right social media influencer?
Your influencer outreach email should begin with a personalised greeting that mentions their name and maybe any of their content pieces that resonate with you.
Next, state your brand's mission and link it to the social influencer’s values or niche. Be concise about what you are offering – whether it's compensation, free products, or exclusive access – and explain what you hope to achieve through the collaboration.
Include details about the marketing campaign timeline, the deliverables expected from the influencer, and the mutual benefits that will come with the brand partnership.
How do I measure the success of my social media influencer marketing campaign beyond just likes and comments?
To measure the performance of your influencer program beyond surface-level metrics, you might want to review both quantitative and qualitative results. You can use influencer marketing tools to help you. The key influencer metrics here include:
- Reach: Assess how many people were exposed to your campaign through influencer posts. This can be measured using analytics tools provided by social media platforms.
- Engagement: Beyond likes and comments, assess the number of shares and saves as indicators of deeper audience interaction.
- Website Traffic: Use tracking links or UTM parameters to monitor social media traffic directed to your website from influencer posts. This helps gauge interest in your brand or products.
- Conversions: Track sales or sign-ups generated through unique discount codes or affiliate links provided to social media influencers. From that, you should be able to work out the RoI of your influencer marketing campaign.