How many followers you have used to be a contest between kids. Now it is a way to make a living… an amazing living for some people. And it may just be a great way to promote your brand or product. There are 5 types of social media influencers.

Social media influencers can drive brand recognition and product sales in a major way. Just last year the influencer marketing industry was estimated to grow to $13.8 Billion. A capital ‘B‘ means this is well worth looking into, and understanding the different types of social media influencers will help brands decide the best way to use them.

Size Matters (So Do Budgets)
How to Choose Your Influencer5 types of social media influencers infographic

Nano Influencers (1k – 10k followers) The interaction tends to be more personal, and engagement is high, which is important for some brands. This is ideal for small budgets and niche products.

Micro Influencers (10k – 50k followers) This is ideal for targeting specific audiences, and micro influencers may also have individual product expertise and hands-on experience with certain brands.

Mid-Tier Influencers (50k – 500k followers) Sweet spot. These influencers have highly engaged audiences and often interact with their audience.

Macro Influencers (500k – 1M followers) They are also content creators, which help create and retain their audience with blogs, vlogs, videos and podcasts. Macro influencers can already be celebrities or might actually become celebs due to their online social media output.

Mega Influencers (1M+ followers) And major celebs and public figures don’t work cheap. But when you want a huge number of eyeballs and to launch a major campaign, this is the way to go.

RELATED: How to use Influencers to Drive Sales

How They Sell It – Types of Social Media

Content is king, and content creation is what separates the leaders from the pack. Many celebrities have been created thanks to their social media creations, and many celebrities create social media. Tapping into that existing audience can be huge.

Podcasts

What was once “must watch” has now become must listen. People listen to podcasts instead of reading books, and listen to them in their cars instead of the radio. They are perfect commuting companions. Brands can sponsor podcasts, or create podcasts of their own. And having a celeb or influencer mention your brand during their podcast can be worth its weight in spoken gold.

Blogs

A weekly or monthly blog or newsletter can be quite effective as well. Though attention spans have diminished in the age of social media and limited “characters,” people will read blogs from their favorite authors and people they follow. Again, if they love your brand or product, you might just get a “free” plug. Though many celebs also use this to command free stuff. Heck, sending out hot products like a free Stanley Quencher seems to have worked wonders.

Podcasts / Vlogs

Video logs or podcasts bring in the best of all worlds and allow audiences to see and hear the people they know and trust discussing a wide variety of topics… or products and brands.

Videos

Welcome to the world of YouTube, TikTok and Instagram Reels. Sometimes users will be so in love with an item they’ll make a fun video and post it themselves. If they have a big enough following, this can be a huge bonus for your brand. Otherwise, companies can create short, fun videos of their own to sell and push whatever they want.

Social media presence is essential. How and when to use it is up to you. And obviously the financial investment can run the gamut. But if you want your fans to be fully under your influence or under those magical social media influencers, you need to get online and get in the game.

RELATED: 7 Steps to Measure Video Marketing

Types of Social Media Influencers

Influencers exist across a variety of social media networks: TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, podcasts, blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, and countless others. Additionally, influencers specialize based on subject matter:

  • Gaming Influencers
  • Beauty and Fashion Influencers
  • Bloggers and Vloggers
  • Photographers
  • Fitness
  • Subject Matter Experts
  • Thought Leaders
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Finance
  • …many more.