**by Kirsty Visman, Director**
Many brands are recognising the appeal of social influencers in selling their products or services, however volume of followers does not always guarantee a positive outcome. As a society, we have always looked to others for our cues on what’s hot and what’s not, but influence can act like a magnet, attracting some and repelling others.
We often don’t consider the use of social influencers to repel people, but if you are a fan of trashy TV, you might recall Jersey Shore star Snooki being sent a free Gucci handbag to sport on the show and in the tabloid press. This was not a ploy by Gucci to sell more bags, but a tactic of one of their competitors to smear the Gucci name by association with a sub-par influencer.
While this a devious strategy, the takeaway is that your choice of influencers should not be solely based on their level of fame and following. In fact, 2018 could be considered the year of the micro-influencer, categorised by someone with a following of fewer than 30,000 people. Statistics show that compared to people with 100,000+ followers, micro-influencers have 60% higher engagement, are 6.7x cheaper, and drive 22% more conversions*.
The reason for the success of micro-influencers is their perceived integrity, inspiring greater trust in their recommendations, however with over a billion people on Instagram, finding the right micro-influencers for your brand can seem impossible.
If you are an established business, one method of finding the right influencers for your brand is by reviewing the accounts of your existing followers. Someone who is already invested in your brand with a following of 2,000+ people can be an affordable, grass-roots advocate. Another approach is to use relevant hashtags to find influencers who align with your brand’s vision and values.
And if all else fails, you can always send one of your competitor’s products to President Trump but if anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from us!
To talk more about influencers and how they can help your brand, drop our content team a line on (link: http:// text: hello@superdream.com )
*Source: Adweek, https://bit.ly/2O57sY6