Influencer: what is it, types of influencers

What is an influencer?

An influencer is a person who has credibility on social media or the blogosphere and who can "influence" the opinion of large groups of people.

Generally, influencers are experts on a topic or develop a line of content consistently, which makes them individuals recognized by an audience with whom they share common interests.

The term influencer is an anglicism and a neologism that the Royal Spanish Academy has not yet recognized. However, in Spanish the word "influencer" is used as a translation.

The influencers are own digital phenomenon of massification of the emergence of blogs and social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).

Their potential, in commercial terms, has turned out to be attractive for various brands and companies, since they can connect with their target audience through marketing strategies that include people with presence and popularity in digital environments.

Types of influencers

The influencers can be classified according to their number of followers, the area of expertise or the type of content they develop.

Influencers according to their number of followers

There are several criteria regarding the figures, but in general terms they are classified as follows:

• Microinfluencers: They have between 5,000 and 25,000 active followers. Small influencers : between 25,000 and 200,000 active followers. Big influencers : between 250,000 and one million active followers. Macro influencers : between 1 and 7 million active followers. Celebrity : More than 7 million active followers.

In addition to the number of followers, the percentage of engagement is also considered , which refers to the level of commitment that is generated between the influencer and his follower base.

This data is calculated taking into account several factors, such as the number of comments on a post, the number of times the post has been shared or saved, the number of likes or likes, among other variables.

In recent years, brands and advertising and marketing companies that work with influencers have refined their selection criteria, considering that there are currently mechanisms to artificially increase the number of followers.

There are companies specialized in creating and selling fake users, generated from millions of fake email accounts, and which are sold in batches (500 followers, 1,000, etc.). Its accessibility in economic terms means that many people have resorted to this irregular mechanism to increase their base of followers in a non-organic way.

When this happens, it translates into low or sometimes null percentages of interaction (comments, likes, shares, etc.). And since most of the followers are not real or do not target the interest segment of the brands, the strategies fail because there is no conversion (no sales are generated).

Hence, although the number of followers is still considered as a relevant criterion, many brands and companies have fine-tuned the mechanisms to detect influencers with false followers, also known as fake influencers.

See also Fake

Influencers according to their subject area

Although there is an almost infinite variety of topics in the digital world, the most popular influencers are found in the following areas:

• Makeup: Professional makeup artists or stylists who share tips about your area. Travel: people who travel and make recommendations on places to visit and stay. Gastronomy: chefs, baristas, barterders or others who share details of their profession. They can also be ordinary people who love gastronomy and became popular by sharing content on the subject, such as recipes or recommendations for places to eat. Maternity / Paternity / Parenting: mothers, fathers or specialized personnel who share information of interest, advice or daily anecdotes on these topics. Well-being / Fitness: Sports trainers from different disciplines who share routines, healthy recipes or show the advances they have made in their bodies as a result of their training. Fashion: people linked to the fashion industry, or with an interest in this topic, and share tips and data on trends and good clothing. Health: specialized medical personnel who share scientific information on their area of ​​expertise and / or health advice. Gamer : they share the characteristics of a video game, their experience playing with it, as well as news about the industry. Entertainment: actors, singers, entertainment personalities.

Influencers in marketing strategies

Once a person has become an influencer by creating a real audience interested in your content, the next step is generally to monetize their convening power. This can be done by creating your own products, or establishing commercial alliances with companies and brands.

Some of the most common strategies are sponsored posts, in which the influencer makes a review (in text, audio or video) about a particular product and for which he receives some type of payment, either monetary, receives as a gift the mentioned products or any other method previously established between both parties.

In these cases, it is considered a good practice to clarify that it is a sponsored post, or that it is being advertised.

Another common strategy is invitations to events. Brands invite an influencer to generate content about the event (post, live broadcasts, interviews) and share it with their followers.

Collaborations are another way to include an influencer in a marketing strategy. In this case, the person contacted will help create or improve an existing product, which will bear his signature or authorship.

A very common example is collaborations between artists and clothing or shoe brands. The artist (singer, actor, designer) creates a clothing collection or a shoe model for a particular brand that is responsible for producing and distributing the product.

See also:

• BlogBlogger