Everyone loves celebrities, and if a celebrity we admire tells us to buy something, we’re more likely to do just that. It’s not just that we trust and believe the celebrity; we subconsciously transfer the positive feelings we have about celebrities to the products they’re endorsing.

It’s like advertising’s version of the transitive property of equality you learned in high school algebra: If you like Santa, and Santa likes Marlboro cigarettes, then you’ll like Marlboro cigarettes too! 

 Not all celebrities hold up as well as Santa, as evidenced by Ronald Reagan who, like Santa, was seen in ads hawking cigarettes. Sadly, only one of those two would go on to become president, and it wasn’t Santa.

But now it’s 2023, and Gen Zers and Millennials don’t trust corporate advertising; nor do they trust the celebrity shills those corporations hire. Consequently, yesterday’s celebrity endorser has morphed into today’s influencer.

 One difference is this: Celebrities are chosen by someone other than you — the movie industry, music industry, cable industry — and foisted upon the public. Influencers are chosen by you, the public.

 The power of influencer marketing lies in its ability to tap into the trust and authority that influencers have built with their followers. It can create a more personal connection between a brand and its target audience, leading to increased brand visibility, credibility, and potential conversions. Additionally, influencer marketing can reach niche audiences that might be otherwise challenging to target through traditional advertising methods.

 Which is why, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing has grown into a $21.1 billion dollar industry; a 29% increase from 2022. They define an influencer as “an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience.” Most importantly, to become an influencer, the first thing one needs is a significant social media following.

 From Celebrities to Influencers

While companies used celebrity endorsements to attach someone’s fame to a brand or product, the website Convince and Convert says influence marketing creates word-of-mouth advertising by using those who are trusted in certain circles.

 Celebrity endorsers could only be watched or heard, but influencers engage with their followers every day via social media sites. When an influencer mentions how much they love the Acme Rocket Sled, it’s done in the context of a conversation. It’s a sales pitch that’s so subliminal, the ad-avoiding Gen Zers and Millennials don’t even realize they’re being sold something, and that presents an ethical problem.

 Influencers are paid to endorse products and brands and, in 2017, the Federal Trade Commission began reminding influencers that endorsing products for cash requires disclosure and, for some, followers, it was disillusioning to realize that a highly regarded and trusted influencer was simply a shill for some big corporation.

 Still, endorsing products for cash, even if you endorse them in a friendly, casual, conversational way, required the endorser to disclose the relationship, especially when you consider that influencing can be pretty good money. Instagram influencers average $1,000 for every 100,000 followers; YouTube influencers average $2,000 per 100,000 followers. Top influencers can make many thousands for a post. Soccer/footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has 592 million followers and receives $2,397,000 per Instagram post. With 395 million followers, Kylie Jenner reportedly makes $1,835,000 per paid Instagram post. Being an influencer isn’t a bad career choice.

 Here are some key factors that show why influencer marketing is so successful:

• Reach and Authenticity: Influencers have a dedicated and engaged following on social media. They can help expand the reach of a brand’s message to a wider audience. When influencers advocate for a product or service, their audience perceives it as a genuine recommendation rather than a traditional advertisement.
• Trust and Credibility: Influencers often develop a strong bond of trust with their followers over time. Their authenticity, expertise, and relatability make their recommendations more credible. This trust transfers to the brands they endorse, leading to increased brand trust and credibility among their followers.

• Targeted Audience: Influencers specialize in specific niches and are experts at building communities around those areas. This allows brands to access a highly targeted audience that aligns with their target market. By partnering with influencers whose followers match their target audience, brands can effectively reach potential customers.

• Engagement and Interaction: Influencers have a direct line of communication with their followers. They actively engage with their audience through comments, likes, direct messages, and live sessions. This engagement creates a unique opportunity for brands to interact with their target audience and gather valuable feedback, opinions, and insights.

• Content Creation: Influencers excel at creating engaging and creative content. By collaborating with influencers, brands can tap into their expertise and creativity to develop content that resonates with their target audience. This content can take the form of sponsored posts, videos, blogs, social media challenges, or product reviews.

• Measurable ROI: One of the advantages of influencer marketing is its trackability and measurable return on investment (ROI). Brands can measure the success of influencer campaigns through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as reach, engagement, click-through rates, conversions, and sales. This helps in evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of influencer collaborations.

Are Influencers Right For You?

The advantage to influencers is that many are accessible for small companies to hire. Larry’s Mortuary and Steak House may not be able to hire one of the Kardashians to promote the business, but there are probably several influencers who could do the job for an affordable amount.

 When an influencer endorses your product or brand, you’re paying for the size of the influencer’s social media following. If you’re a small business trying to attract a local following, you don’t need someone with a million followers.

 Within the sphere of influencers, CMS Wire delineates the following sub-genres:

• Mega Influencers – With over a million followers, mega-influencers are the closest to being celebrity endorsers and they often found fame in areas outside of the internet or social media. Mega-Influencers offer little or no one-on-one communication with followers, but also have the broadest reach.
• Macro-Influencers – Their followers number between 100,000 and one million. Macro-influencers generally have achieved fame because of their online presence through video or written content.
• Micro-Influencers – Having between 1,000 and 100,000 followers, micro-influencers concentrate on being experts in a niche area like food, fashion, travel, fitness, etc. The audience is fairly uniform and, because it’s smaller than mega- or macro-influencers, followers can regularly communicate with the micro-influencer.
• Nano-Influencers – Their audience may be small—less than 1,000 followers—but their influence within that small community is great. Often, nano-influencers are locally based and viewed as more authentic. They’re seen as having real-life relationships with many of their followers.

 Each month, McFadden/Gavender creates marketing reports for our clients, which shows info on website analytics, social media performance, and influencer marketing. This report lets brands know what is working and what isn’t and shows whether influencers are reaching the desired audience. We list influencers and, in this case, show the relevant Instagram stats:

 While there are some free or low-cost apps available to collect all the various stats on influencers, the research takes a lot of time and, unless you really know what you’re doing, it’s still kind of a gamble. Pick the wrong influencer and you get $0.00 ROI.

 Instead of struggling along by yourself, why not contact McFadden/Gavender? Our team of social media professionals are experts in selecting influencers, and we’ll find those that are a perfect fit for your company’s goals. McFadden/Gavender is waiting to take your brand further.