With over 800 million monthly active users, Instagram is a juggernaut of a network. According to research, consumer engagement with brands on Instagram is 4 times higher than on Facebook. Instagram is definitely something every brand should explore, even emphasise on.
People nowadays can sniff out ads quicker than a freshly baked doughnut, and that’s why Instagram succeeds. Today, ads need to be appealing and not come off as a slick salesman in a cheap suit. This is where Instagram influencers step in, with their reach and following, they can convey trust for a brand like no other.
What is an Instagram Influencer?
An influencer is an Instagram user who has an established and substantial following on Instagram. They can help you build a level of trust with a large audience in a very short amount of time, by simply featuring your brand on one of their posts on Instagram. With the level of trust these influencers have, not only will you likely get thousands of people looking at your product, but also the odds of converting those people into sales is also high.
How Influencer Sponsored Posts on Instagram Drive Engagement
According to Newswhip, influencer sponsored posts drive more than 19 million engagements weekly. Have a look on Instagram yourself, you can easily spot sponsored posts with hashtags such as #sponsored, #paid, #ad and #promoted. Also, more recently, Instagram has introduced a feature called “paid in partnership with” tagging option, so influencers can clearly call out that their posts are sponsored by a brand.
People love transparency, this builds trust with their fans.
Ok, let’s look at the actual impact of a sponsored post versus an average post from a brand.
Urban Decay is a cosmetics brand with an already extremely successful online presence, especially on Instagram. They collaborated with ‘Cats of Instagram’ and saw a significant boost.
Jetblue, an American airline, collaborated with Victoria Justice and saw a dramatic increase of 102 times the engagement of their normal posts that month.
How much do Instagram influencers cost?
It’s hard to say, every influencer has their own rates and they vary, wildly. As a starting point, marketers advise sticking to the 1 cent per follower rule, but only as a guide. Some influencers will even do posts in exchange for free products, depending on your product of course.
How do you find the right influencer for your brand?
Find someone that really speaks to your brand’s values and overall story. They don’t need to be a Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson of Instagram either, smaller Influencer have arguably a more loyal following and potentially an even high engagement rate then the top of the food chain Instagram profiles.
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