What Is a Social Media Influencer? The Complete Guide for 2024

Influencer marketing has become one of the most powerful forms of social media marketing. But what exactly is an influencer, and how can brands leverage them as part of their digital strategy?

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll break down everything you need to know as we head into 2024 – from the different types of influencers to how you can collaborate with them effectively.

Let‘s get right into it!

A Brief History of Influencer Marketing

Before we jump into the specifics of social media influencers, it’s helpful to understand the evolution of influencer marketing over time.

The idea of influencer marketing has actually been around for decades in the form of celebrity endorsements. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, brands would pay millions for A-list celebrities to appear in commercials and print ads.

However, these endorsements were often seen as inauthentic by consumers. They knew the celebrity was simply being paid to promote the product, regardless of whether they actually used it or liked it.

The rise of social media completely disrupted this traditional celebrity endorsement model. Suddenly, average everyday people could gain large followings and establish themselves as influencers within their niche.

Influencers seemed more approachable and relatable. Audiences began to trust recommendations from fellow peers who genuinely enjoyed the brands and products they promoted.

As social media grew throughout the 2000s, influencer marketing gained popularity in tandem. According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, the industry was valued at just $1.7 billion in 2016. But it rapidly grew to over $13.8 billion by 2021.

And we’ve still just barely scratched the surface of influencer marketing’s potential. As we’ll explore in this guide, it continues to evolve across new platforms and innovating new formats.

Defining Social Media Influencers

Now that we’ve got some historical context, let’s clearly define what a social media influencer actually is:

A social media influencer is someone who has cultivated an audience and earned a strong personal brand on social networks like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc. They leverage their following and engagement to promote products, services, causes and ideas.

But keep in mind that the term “influencer” can actually apply much more broadly:

• Thought leaders and industry experts command influence through their knowledge.
• Community leaders influence a local network or demographic.
• Celebrities and public figures influence pop culture and national conversation.

However, in this guide we‘ll focus specifically on social media influencers who have gained a noteworthy following online.

These influencers are generally categorized based on their total audience size:

• Mega-influencers – Over 1 million followers
• Macro-influencers – 100,000 to 1 million followers
• Mid-tier influencers – 50,000 to 100,000 followers
• Micro-influencers – 5,000 to 50,000 followers
• Nano-influencers – 1,000 to 5,000 followers

However, follower count isn’t everything. Engagement rate and audience relevance matter significantly more for successful influencer marketing.

Now let’s explore the various categories of social media influencers that exist today.

Types of Social Media Influencers

One of the great things about social media is that literally anyone can become an influencer within their niche. For brands, this presents an opportunity to partner with creators who genuinely connect with your target audience.

Here are some of the most popular categories of influencers on social platforms today:

Lifestyle Influencers

Lifestyle influencers give an inside look into their everyday lives and interests. Popular niches include fashion, beauty, travel, photography, parenting, decor, and more. Instagram is a top platform for lifestyle influencers.

According to Mediakix, 86% of women turn to social media for advice before making a purchase. So lifestyle influencers that offer recommendations, reviews, and tutorials can greatly influence buying decisions.

Gaming Influencers

Gaming influencers share their experiences playing different video games and are popular on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming. Brands often partner with them for sponsored streams, product reviews and giveaways.

Gaming influencer audiences are highly engaged. According to Rallyverse, YouTube gaming videos generate over 200% more comments than other categories.

Travel Influencers

These adventurous content creators provide an inside look at various travel destinations through blogs and visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok. They can heavily influence booking decisions.

Camera and luggage brands often collaborate with travel influencers, but opportunities abound across hospitality, tour companies, and national tourism boards.

Food Influencers

From beautifully shot food photography to mouth-watering recipes, food influencers attract highly engaged audiences across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, blogs, and more.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, food influencers have the highest engagement rate at 7.2% compared to 4.5% average across other niches.

Micro-Influencers

As opposed to mega-influencers with over 1 million followers, micro-influencers have between 1,000 to 100,000 followers. Their smaller niche audiences lead to higher engagement rates and more personalized recommendations.

For example, a food micro-influencer in a specific city could be perfect for promoting local restaurants. Nano-influencers with just 1,000 highly targeted followers can also deliver great ROI.

What Does an Influencer Actually Do?

As we just covered, influencers come from all different backgrounds. But they all share a few common responsibilities:

• Creating Content: Consistently publishing videos, photos, stories, livestreams, blog posts, etc. that aligns with their personal brand image.

• Engaging Followers: Responding to comments, questions, and messages to build relationships and community.

• Promoting Brands: Proactively looking for sponsorship opportunities and activating influencer campaigns.

• Analyzing Performance: Tracking engagement data and audience insights to improve content and strategically grow their channels.

• Networking: Connecting and collaborating with other influencers through things like giveaways, cross-promotions, events, etc.

Essentially, influencers aim to create content that entertains, educates, inspires, or helps their audience in some way. By consistently producing value, they build authority around specific topics and gain trust.

This trust is what empowers influencers to impact opinions through their recommendations.

Now you might be wondering – how much time does it take to manage all of these responsibilities?

Can Influencing Become a Full-Time Job?

For top mega and macro-influencers with millions of engaged followers, influencing can absolutely become their full-time career.

According to a report by Upfluence, influencers earn on average $7,000 for a single sponsored Instagram post and $10,000 for a YouTube video. Instagram stories with swipe up links can earn around $3,000.

So as you can imagine, for influencers collaborating with multiple brand partners per month, their earnings can quickly add up to over $100,000 annually. Especially if they sell supplementary products like merchandise or online courses.

However, the majority of influencers actually still have regular day jobs and create content as a side hustle. Micro-influencers may only earn around $50 to $500 per sponsored post depending on follower count.

But for many, the creative outlet and community is more rewarding than the money. Their supplementary income is just a nice bonus on top of their primary career.

Now let‘s tackle one of the most common questions around becoming an influencer…

How Many Followers Do You Need?

Truthfully, there aren’t any definitive follower requirements to earn money as an influencer. Even accounts with just 1000 highly-targeted followers can secure promotions relevant to their niche.

However, as a general benchmark, here are the follower ranges typically associated with different tiers of influencers:

• Mega-influencer: 1,000,000+ followers
• Macro-influencer: 100,000 – 1,000,000 followers
• Mid-tier influencer: 50,000 – 100,000 followers
• Micro-influencer: 5,000 – 50,000 followers
• Nano-influencer: 1,000 – 5,000 followers

But remember – follower count alone doesn’t determine the value an influencer can bring to your brand. Engagement and conversion rates matter much more.

For example, a travel micro-influencer with 10,000 followers and 5% engagement may outperform a celebrity with 1 million followers and 0.5% engagement.

Look beyond vanity metrics and evaluate influencers based on how well their audience truly engages and responds to promotions.

How Much Do Influencers Make?

Influencer income can vary wildly depending on following size, post frequency, engagement rates, and vertical. Here are some average earnings across different tiers:

• Nano-influencers with 1,000 followers can charge around $30-$75 per post, earning up to $1000 monthly.

• Micro-influencers with 10,000 followers typically charge $100-$250 per post, earning $1,000-$5,000 monthly.

• Mid-tier influencers with 50,000 followers charge $300-$500 per post, earning $5,000-$15,000 monthly.

• Macro-influencers with 500,000+ followers charge $1000-$2500+ per post, earning $30,000-$100,000+ monthly.

• Celebrity influencers with over 1 million followers earn anywhere from $2500 to well over $100,000 for a single promotional post.

As you can see, influencer earning potential scales up significantly with follower size. However, even nano and micro-influencers can secure recurring brand deals and make supplemental income each month.

Ways That Influencers Earn Money

Influencers actually monetize their audience across several different avenues beyond the traditional sponsored post. Common income streams include:

Paid Sponsorships: Posting photos, videos, stories, live streams, etc. promoting a brand and influencing audiences to take a desired action.

Affiliate Links: Sharing special discount codes and affiliate shopping links, earning a commission on each resulting purchase or sale.

Product Seeding: Receiving free products from brands to feature in blogs and social content, increasing awareness.

Subscriptions: Charging a monthly fee for exclusive membership content and access through platforms like Patreon.

Donations: Raising one-time or recurring donations from supporters through platforms like PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee.

Events: Hosting in-person experiences like meetups or speaking on panels and virtual events.

Merchandise: Creating custom apparel, homegoods, accessories, and collectibles that fans purchase.

As you can see, influencers have plenty of options when it comes to monetizing their audience and partnering with brands. This allows talented influencers to build a diversified income stream.

Now that we’ve covered influencer basics, let’s look at actually finding and partnering with influencers…

How to Find the Right Influencer for Your Brand

When evaluating potential influencer partners, there are a few key factors to consider:

Target Audience Fit

Their followers should closely align with your customer avatar across demographics like age, location, gender, interests, etc.

Content Style

Their overall vibe and aesthetics should match your brand. Look at how they showcase products within their content.

Engagement Metrics

Analyze comments, likes, and overall engagement rate per post. Aim for an engagement rate between 3-10%.

Values Alignment

Do they share similar values, causes, and perspectives as your brand? Look beyond follower metrics to find true brand affinity.

Previous Brand Partnerships

Review brands they have worked with in the past. Established relationships in your industry show they will likely be a good fit.

Here are some strategies to find influencers that check these boxes:

• Check competitors: See who your competitors already partner with and follow relevant hashtags.

• Leverage influencer platforms: Sites like HYPR, Julius, and Obviously allow you to search by audience, engagement, location, interests, and more.

• Spot micro-influencers: Keep an eye out for accounts organically engaging with your brand and pivoting their careers into influencing.

• Connect at events: Attend industry conferences and networking events to connect with influencers in person.

• Mine your own followers: Engage your highly active brand followers and convert them into brand advocates.

Take the time to thoroughly research and vet potential partners. Establishing authentic relationships will pay dividends in campaign performance.

Best Practices for Working With Influencers

Here are some tips to build effective relationships with the influencers you partner with:

Set clear expectations

Be upfront about campaign goals, deliverables, content guidelines, usage rights, etc. Get everything outlined clearly within a contract.

Allow creative freedom

Avoid overly prescriptive instructions. They know their audience best – give them flexibility to showcase your brand authentically.

Highlight values over products

Focus on compelling stories vs. pure product promotion. Align with influencers who share your values vs. just paying for product placement.

Practice open communication

Be responsive to their questions and provide assets and information to ensure they can best represent your brand.

Build an ongoing relationship

The most successful partnerships span multiple touchpoints vs. one-off transactionsal interactions. Explore recurring ambassadorships.

Share results and optimize

Track performance data to understand what content resonates most with their audience and how you can improve future initiatives.

Show appreciation

Thank influencers for their partnership. Share their content on your own channels and promote them as part of your community.

By following these best practices, you can establish authentic relationships with influencers and activate truly effective campaigns.

The Future of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is still a rapidly evolving space. Here are a few trends to watch in the coming years:

• Growth of TikTok and YouTube influencers
• Adoption of live streaming like Twitch for more authentic connections
• Utilizing AR and VR for immersive branded experiences
• Increased focus on measuring ROI not just vanity metrics
• Diversifying the influencer pool beyond young able-bodied white women
• Putting tighter guardrails around transparency and faking engagement

The influencer marketing landscape will continue to change but one constant will remain – the human connection.

Brands that build genuine relationships with diverse influencers who align with their values will continue to thrive.

Wrapping Up: Key Takeaways

And there you have it! Let’s recap the key things to remember:

• Influencers are everyday people who gain authority within a specific niche by creating engaging content.

• Micro and nano-influencers often offer better engagement and conversion rates for brands compared to celebrity influencers.

• Take time to thoroughly research influencers beyond just follower metrics to find an ideal brand fit based on engagement levels and audience relevance.

• Successful influencer partnerships are built on authenticity, creative freedom and values alignment – not just transactional promotional product placements.

• Proactively nurture relationships with brand advocates and provide an amazing experience to earn ongoing support well beyond any one-off campaign.

The influencer marketing space will continue evolving rapidly. But brands that stay focused on forging genuine connections with their community will stay ahead of the curve.

Hope this provided an helpful overview of everything you need to know as you explore influencer partnerships. Let me know if you have any other questions!