What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing is a marketing strategy where brands collaborate with influential people (influencers) on social media to promote their products or services. Influencers have an engaged follower base on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or LinkedIn. Categories range from mega-influencers (1M+ followers) to macro (100K-1M), micro (10K-100K), to nano-influencers (1K-10K). Micro and nano-influencers often have higher engagement rates and more trust from their community. Influencer marketing can be organic (product gifts) or paid (sponsored posts). Important: Transparency through advertising disclosure is legally required.
Key Points
- Authenticity more important than pure reach
- Micro-influencers often more effective than mega-influencers
- Check engagement rate, not just follower count
- Long-term partnerships vs. one-time collaborations
- Disclosure requirement: Mark as advertising/sponsored
- Tracking with individual discount codes or UTM links
Practical Example
“The collaboration with 5 micro-influencers generated 200 qualified leads at an ROI of 6:1.”