If you’re a casual observer of social media, you might believe the common myth that “TikToker” and “Gen Z” are synonymous. The myth is common among many marketers and brands and seems to be widespread overall. Googling, “TikTok Gen X” yields results about… Gen Z. (I had to confirm I’d typed in the right term!)
To be fair, the platform was initially more popular among the group born between 1997 and 2012, currently aged between 12 and 25. But the truth is that the popularity of the app is increasing among a range of demographics.
Being most popular among Gen Z is decidedly not the same as being not popular with other generations. The percentage of users might be highest in Gen Z, but plenty of others still love it.
Just because Gen Z may have led the way doesn’t mean other generations haven’t also moved to embrace TikTok.
TikTok is the first non-Meta app (and the fifth app of all time) to surpass 3 billion downloads. In 2021, the platform remained the most-download app globally, with 656 million downloads.
No app grows to this phenomenal level of popularity by having a narrow appeal.
For example, some popular Swiss TikTokers on the cusp of GenX and millennials include _ohheyvivi_, who posts about fashion, beauty, food, sports, and being a mom, and soleil_fatima, who posts about sports, women’s issues, health, and fashion. Jonny Fischer shares his attempts at trends enjoyed by younger TikTokers, as well as amusing juxtapositions between youthful partying and his godfather role of Manu’s young kids aka his comedian partner from famous Cabaret Divertimento. Doris Flury posts healthy recipes, including vegan and gluten-free cookies.
Millennial TikTokers are among our “Swiss Influencers & Content Creators to Keep an Eye On.” Eric Lüthi creates comedy content on his own or with his friend T-Ronimo, where they often present two female characters, Bresha and Selina, in funny situations.
The hashtag #genX has 6.6B views and includes posts on parenting teens, nostalgic memories from the ‘90s, and aging. Popular GenX posters include Jack Black, a comedian whose WAP dance earned more than 5 million views. Finance expert Marie shares line dance tutorials and recreates ‘80s and ’90s dance moves with her friends and family, including her Gen Z and millennial kids.
TikTok Plays a Role in The Lives of Gen Zers
TikTok appears to be the go-to search engine for Gen Z. Prabhakar Raghavan, Senior Vice President who runs Google’s Knowledge & Information organization, said, “In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.”
Stanford scholar describes Gen Z as a highly collaborative cohort that cares deeply about others. Their social justice advocacy extends to TikTok. A coalition of top Gen Z TikTok stars is pledging to cease all work with Amazon until the company meets the demands of the Amazon Labor Union. The group of 70 TikTok creators boasts a combined following of over 51 million.
Different Generations Use TikTok Differently
Plenty of older people also enjoy dance videos, and who doesn’t love a silly animal video? My Gen Z son showed Gen X me this funny parrot one recently and I very much enjoyed it. AARP (formerly American Association of Retired Persons) outlined some ways in which use for older people may differ. “Some older adults join TikTok to bond with their kids and grandkids… TikTok is full of diversions that may help older folks, or people of any age, feel less bored or lonely.”
According to the Deloitte Digital Media Trends Survey 15th Edition, 84% of all consumers say they use social media platforms, although there are generational distinctions. 27% of Gen Z likes to watch TV shows and movies via social media, as does 23% of Gen X. However, only 25% of Gen X listens to music, whereas 44% of Gen Z does.
Older generations use social media differently than Gen Z… but they still use it.
TikTok, in particular, is used by 10% of Gen Xers, and 5% of baby boomers, according to a study conducted by Fortune and SurveyMonkey, but is rising fast. 40% of Baby Boomers view social media as an essential part of their lives. Engaging on social platforms is a top 3 entertainment activity for 17% of Gen X and 11% of Boomers. Kingfluencers has also worked with numerous influencers including and beyond Gen Z, such as CorEstilo Style, to build successful collaborations for L’Oréal.
TikTok is About Communities & Connection
NPR recently wrote that Facebook is making radical changes to keep up with TikTok. “TikTok’s got one fundamental thing that Facebook doesn’t have, TikTok is cool. And it’s very hard to recreate cool,” said Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, and analyst.
As users continue to spend a lot of time on the app, TikTok promotes a variety of positive, uplifting activities. TikTok also offers extensive support to content creators – even those creators who author content that’s consumed outside of the platform. Most recently, TikTok has partnered with Barnes & Noble and their creator community to launch the #BookTokChallenge, which encourages people to read new books and authors, and then share their reactions.
Even TikTok ads are enjoyed by a wide audience. Kantar’s latest Media Reactions Report ranked TikTok #1 for “ad equity,” a measurement of the audience’s attitude and preference towards ads. “TikTok’s branded solutions aren’t perceived as just “ads” by audiences. In fact, TikTok tops the list for delivering branded content that actually resonates with online consumers.”
Building a Strong TikTok Presence
Back in May 2021, TikTok was insisting that no platform has that reach without “something for everyone” while pitching marketers and looking to shake up perception that it’s a Gen Z phenomenon. TikTok’s continuing growth in global popularity reveals just how untrue it is to claim the platform is the exclusive domain of Gen Z.
Kingfluencers works with brands to build a strong TikTok presence. Contact us to get started developing and implementing a successful TikTok strategy that will generate multiple benefits, today and in the future.
“Ogilvy UK will no longer work with influencers who distort or retouch their bodies or faces for brand campaigns in a bid to combat social media’s ‘systemic’ mental health harms.”
While this rule is undeniably well-intentioned, it still permits influencers to alter their appearance through numerous other mechanisms such as contouring makeup, push-up bras, false eyelashes, and hair extensions. Therefore, I wonder how effective it will be in making substantive progressive towards the goal of reducing unrealistic beauty ideals.
Most agree social media promotes unrealistic, toxic beauty ideals which negatively impact people’s mental health. What can be done about this complex issue? Who should do it?
Well, we have some ideas.
Growing Recognition of Social Media’s Mental Health Impacts
“As a Gen Xer, the beauty ideals of my childhood in the ‘80s came from MTV (look it up, kids) and magazines. I have clear memories of the thin legs of the women in ZZ Top’s “Legs” video. My own legs have never been so thin, but I’ve learned to love them and appreciate their ability to cycle up steep hills in the woods,” says Megan Bozman, Content Creator at Kingluencers.
Body dysmorphia and depression certainly aren’t new developments that arose solely from social media. However, a myriad of research reveals social media use increases the prevalence of such maladies and worsens the conditions.
The BBC states, “using social media does appear to be correlated with body image concerns.” The impact is especially pernicious with adolescent girls. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt wrote, “The subset of studies that allow researchers to isolate social media, and Instagram in particular, show a much stronger relationship with poor mental health. The same goes for those that zoom in on girls rather than all teens. Girls who use social media heavily are about two or three times more likely to say that they are depressed than girls who use it lightly or not at all.”
People are increasingly seeking medical interventions to permanently alter their faces, inspired by touched-up or filtered photos of themselves. A 2020 survey of American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) members reveals, “a surge in surgical demand not seen in recent years,” followed in 2021 by, “catapulting demand for facial plastic surgery and aesthetic procedures.”
Does Low Self-Confidence Drive Increased Beauty Purchases?
Do beauty brands benefit from these toxic beauty ideals? It’s certainly possible that women who have a negative self-image might spend more money on beauty products. Are brands therefore incentivized to run campaigns that damage self-image?
Of course, top line revenue shouldn’t be marketers’ only objective, and we hope most brands wouldn’t want to deliberately make people feel bad. But the issue is worth addressing since for-profit companies must prioritize shareholder value.
The good news is that ethical behavior doesn’t harm revenue (at least in this case!)“Some studies show that women with lower self-esteem use more makeup, probably to hide imperfections. However, women with higher self-esteem can also use makeup to attract attention.”
In the long run, no one winsfrom toxic beauty ideals.
Where Does the Responsibility Lie?
If, as a society, we want beauty ideals to shift towards natural depictions and an inclusive appreciation for the diversity of human appearance, how do we get there?
Much like with the battle against misinformation, tackling this challenge requires multiple entities taking more responsibility. Each group should play a role and serve to compensate for the shortcomings of the others.
Social Media Marketing Specialist at Kingfluencers and Influencer Ha Vy Nguyen said,
“As an Influencer, this topic weighs on my shoulders, as one of our responsibilities is to be inspirational and set examples to our community. And if you heavily edit your photos, you’re contributing to the problem. At the same time, I have the pressure to present the perfect version myself and look a certain way. If I don’t deliver that, my engagement wouldn’t be as strong or my account wouldn’t grow as much. I would welcome a mandatory declaration, in the caption for example, stating that the photo has been edited. But to ban all photo editing I think would make too much of an impact, and not necessarily a positive one.”
Government Efforts to Combat Toxic Beauty Ideals
Conservative MP Dr. Luke Evans introduced a bill in the UK Parliament calling for advisory labels on images where influencers have digitally altered their bodies. Dr. Evans said people were “caught up in the arms race for the perfect selfie,” which was impacting mental health. He hopes “we can foster a society that aims for body positivity without physiques that are literally impossible without digital manipulation.”
A well-intentioned goal, to be sure.
But there’s a common phrase about where a path “paved with good intentions” leads. I’m not sure I agree with Dr. Evans assertion that his Digitally Altered Body Images bill is not an example of the ‘nanny state’ in action. Enforcement will be complex and multiple questions arise, such as if editing for artistic purposes would be permitted.
Brands Promoting Healthy Beauty Ideals
Brands should be trendsetters, taking the lead and setting a positive example. Revisiting the example at the beginning of the article, “Ogilvy UK will no longer work with influencers who distort or retouch their bodies or faces.” Dove only works with influencers that do not distort their appearance on social media, and has created campaigns that celebrate no digital distortion.
Dove has also launched a “#DetoxYourFeed” campaign, which includes a downloadable “Confidence Kit” and “Parents’ Guide” with academically-validated resources and tools.
Like brands, influencers can also strive to set a positive example. Influencers can also put our below tips into practice, including partnering with other influencers who vary in appearance.
Anja Lapčević, Co-CEO & Chief Influence Officer, Kingfluencers, said, “This topic should also be addressed by agencies. The issue of ‘false’ beauty ideals is not a new phenomenon, nor is it unique to social media. It is a social problem that has been with us for years. On the one hand, social media intensifies this problem, but at the same time it can also be a solution. Despite all the retouching, you can find unedited, exciting faces, and unfiltered stories on topics such as beauty mania, mental health, and sexuality.
“Banning something usually doesn’t solve the problem. Put more emphasis on transparency. Divulging edits and discussing the issue are the only ways we can develop awareness and move forward together as a society.”
One of Kingfluencers clients said, “I personally welcome these developments. I believe that the prevailing situation, with selfies that are heavily edited, puts many people under pressure to meet unrealistic ideals and can be detrimental to mental health.”
Another Kingfluencers’ client said, “As the Eau Thermale Avène brand, we want to encourage everyone to feel good about their skin. Our slogan, ‘Healthy skin is confidence,’ illustrates this. For over 30 years, our skin care products have been developed by scientists and dermatologists dedicated to the life of skin, especially sensitive skin. Soothed, protected and repaired, people with sensitive skin can trust our dermatological expertise to help them regain self-confidence. Our manifesto includes the fact that imperfections are what make us unique. That’s the beauty of life.”
A Code of Conduct to Guide Responsible Influence
Based in Switzerland, the Conscious Influence Hub (CIH) is a non-profit NGO with a mission of “promoting the core values of respect, empathy, and transparency in the social media influence sphere.”
Working together, Kingfluencers and CIH launched a Code of Conduct that includes best-practice guidelines and examples. Preventing the dissemination of unrealistic beauty ideals aligns with CIH’s guidance to influencers, which includes being transparent with your community.
France has required retouched advertising images to be marked as such since 2017. A new law in Norway will also require social media influencers to declare if they’ve modified their photos on paid posts. Swiss influencer Nives Arrigoni supports the law, ” In general, I’m for more reality on Instagram.”
Switzerland does not have such a law, although in 2019, the Swiss Compliance Commission (SLK) introduced the following in the regulations for fair and honest advertising, “It is unfair to use computer-processed images of bodies and body shapes in a deceptive manner in commercial communications in order to claim an effect or result that cannot be achieved.” The SLK has not yet received any complaints about it.
Top Tips for Brands to Promote Healthy Beauty Ideals
1. Work with influencers who vary in appearance.
It’s well known that women may use filters and digital editing to make alterations such as plumper lips, thicker hair, larger breasts, and smoother, wrinkle-free skin. Of course, plenty of women naturally have such attributes. It doesn’t help to ban digitally altered images if you then work only with influencers who naturally have the exact appearance everyone’s striving to recreate digitally.
Give the smaller-breasted lady a chance. Partner with the influencer with wrinkles. Let the short-legged woman model your dresses. Everyone likes to see themselves represented as people are so individual and special in their own way and come in all shapes and sizes.
2. Be transparent about your policies.
Make it clear that you either ban or at least discourage significant “face-tuning.” Clarify your position on using models and influencers who vary in appearance.
3. Reveal the power of non-digital visual alterations.
Makeup, lighting, and posture can all have significant impacts on people’s appearance. Show some “before and after” to give people a behind-the-scenes glimpse. Such transparency adds further authenticity to your social media presence.
4. Actively encourage mental health & wellness.
Encourage your community to take steps to improve and maintain their wellbeing, such as spending time in nature, exercising, and socializing in person. Back up words with actions. For example, make monetary contributions to charities such as Girls on The Run, or give staff a paid day off to volunteer building parks. Be part of the solution.
Cultivate Positivity and Brand Love for Longterm Revenue
Consumers aren’t eager to patronize brands that obviously strive to get their money via any means necessary, including deliberately making them feel bad. Fortunately, brands can clearly stand in opposition to this approach, and influencer marketing is a powerful tool for building such positive connections.
At Kingfluencers, we believe effectively matching brands and influencers drives value. Brands benefit from partnering with influencers who focus on positivity and realness, and who build a sense of community among their followers. Done well, influencer marketing can contribute to consumers feeling as though a brand adds value to their lives and understands them. Ultimately, cultivating positivity can drive brand love, resulting in long term revenue growth.
Take the high road. Not only does it feel good, it benefits the bottom line.
Next Steps for Brands?
If you need influencers to represent your brand while authentically demonstrating uplifting beauty standards, contact Kingfluencers. We can help you select influencers and design campaigns so you can be part of the solution, while simultaneously achieving your business goals such as increased reach.
We all want to be part of a community where we treat each other with consideration and communicate transparently. As an influencer, you have a special role in this. Because with your reach and influence on social media, you are a role model for others and inspire your community with your content every day. In this article, we’ll show you what that means and how you can consciously use your role, your work and your influence in times of crisis.
Responsibility
If you have followers, you have responsibility. You influence others with what you post and share. Your comments and contributions to discussions also have an impact. Social media is used by many to get information and find a community. Be aware of your influence and use it for good.
Credibility is your greatest asset. When you post or comment, stay factual and be critical of your sources. If you are not sure, wait and ask someone whose opinion you trust or contact the author.
Before posting pictures and content of other people, make sure you have their consent. Therefore, please do not share images of victims and injured people.
Take time off if you need it. It’s okay to not post anything and take the time to reflect. You can also ask your collaborations to postpone or take a break if you want to use the time for yourself or current topics. Also, consider donating your fee.
Full attention
Our attention span is very short. Therefore, use the attention of your community on your feed consciously. When you report on sensitive and current topics on your feed, do it with 100% conviction and willingness. This means that you dedicate that day completely to the topic and don’t switch back to Daily Business and Life in the next slide. This weakens the message and makes it fall into oblivion faster.
We are human beings
People have feelings and make mistakes. Whether you’re sad, overwhelmed, scared, or feeling powerless, your feelings are okay to show or share. It’s even better if you have someone you can talk to about it in person.
How is influencer marketing different when you’re targeting businesses as opposed to consumers?
B2B (business to business) influencer marketing is based on using an expert’s authority to reach, educate, and influence prospects to buy in the long term. This is different from the more entertaining and transactional nature of B2C (business to consumer) influencer marketing. B2B influencers often have smaller audiences, but their impact can be massive.
Let’s take an in-depth look at the top 10 differences between the two.
1. The time frame is different in B2B vs. B2C influencer marketing
B2B buyers research more
As a matter of course, your prospects spend more time analyzing a potential purchase than a consumer would. They are highly educated buyers who will do all they can to educate themselves about what it is that you offer – consulting reviews, educational websites, books, and industry reports. They’ll go to your competitor and compare offers. In short, your product or service will undergo much more scrutiny than it would from consumers in most B2C situations.
According to research, B2B buyers are 57% – 70% through their buying journey before contacting sales. They come to your sales team once they’ve thoroughly prepared – and this obviously takes a lot more time.
Generally, the B2B sales cycle takes at least four months to complete – as opposed to consumers seeing the same message from their favorite creator a few times and clicking ‘add to cart’ immediately.
There are more people involved in the buying decision
And this makes complete sense. In B2B, multiple entities participate in deciding which products and services the company buys. Different stakeholders and different departments in the company will be impacted by the decision. These decision-makers are usually dealing with other people’s money, not their own like in B2C buying.
B2B buyers usually wait to get opinions from a number of important people on the team. In that way, it’s completely different from B2C buyers, who mostly just consider their desires, their wallets, and maybe their friends or spouses before following an influencer’s recommendation to buy something.
2. B2B influencer marketing is not as simple as B2C
First off, B2B influencers might be harder for you to work with. Why is that? These people are acclaimed experts.
They are authorities in their niche, often with degrees and accolades – tech insiders, professors, journalists, and scientists on the cutting edge. They surely don’t want to risk their status by haphazardly promoting some random product or service. It would be highly detrimental for them to be labeled a “sell-out.” So, they might be apprehensive about working with you as an influencer. And rightly so.
For the same reason, they probably don’t have as much experience participating in influencer marketing campaigns – and onboarding them will probably be more complex than with your B2C influencers for whom that’s simply business as usual.
This means that your strategy with these influencers will have to be different. It’ll be more oriented towards a high-trust, long-term collaboration instead of a quick one-off campaign – a more complex strategy is needed for B2B influencer marketing.
3. B2B influencer content is not as flashy as B2C content
If you’re used to highly engaging social media content from influencers, someB2B content might seem more bland and boring in comparison. Of course, ideally, B2B posts should be as engaging as possible, too. But it’s just normal that when you’re dealing with numbers, statistics, tactics, and strategies, for example, it simply won’t be as sexy as showing off your latest fashion accessory by making a dance video for social media.
Whereas B2C influencers often seek primarily to entertain their audience, B2B marketing is about educating potential customers and displaying expertise in complex topics – which is less flashy by nature.
A good influencer will be aware of this inherent difference and try to make their content as engaging as possible while focusing on providing high amounts of value to the audience and maintaining the professionalism that B2B demands. They’ll be able to strike the right balance.
One way a B2B influencer might do this is by talking about how the different features of your product will help users increase revenue, save time, reduce costs, or mitigate risks – rather than discussing every product feature in isolation.
4. Businesses who use B2B influencers focus more on lead generation – vs a wide range of B2C goals
Whether this is the right strategy or not – the data show that businesses’ main goal with using B2B influencers is generating leads: 80% of brands focus on gaining leads through these campaigns, vs only 20% focusing on gaining brand awareness.
As a reminder, here are the different goals a business can aim to achieve with influencer marketing:
Improve the visibility of your brand and create awareness
Gain social media followers and boost engagement
Generate leads
Increase traffic to your company website or/and build backlinks
Conversions, such as email sign-ups
Improve your brand’s reputation
Generate revenue and social selling
With B2C influencer marketing, companies choose a multitude of these goals for their campaigns, as opposed to mostly lead generation with B2B.
5. Authority and expertise are even more important in B2B vs B2C influencer marketing
For B2C influencers, there are many ways to gain influence: They can accumulate more followers by consistently entertaining their audience, being very charismatic on camera, and looking classy in their photos.
While some of these things also play a role in B2B influencer marketing, one metric trumps all the others: Strong, real-world expertise in the topic they’re discussing.
This is because the influencers are talking to other experts in their industry. These people must be compelled primarily by authoritative facts, intelligent explanations, and novel insights vs charismatic appearance.
It doesn’t mean that some emotion-based marketing can’t also contribute to your B2B marketing success. After all, you’re still talking to humans, not machines. But factual authority remains the bread and butter of B2B influence.
B2B buyers need more tangibles vs intangibles to work with.
6. B2B influencers focus on different platforms than B2C
When most people think of the term influencers, they think of TikTok and Instagram. And that’s absolutely true for “traditional” B2C influencers. Their top platforms are Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
While B2B influencers do use Facebook and YouTube and are also beginning to work on Instagram, their main focus has historically been LinkedIn – the largest social media platform for professionals.
LinkedIn has over 500 million professionals (of which 61 million are influencers and 40 million are business decision-makers). It’s a great way for influencers to connect with business buyers.
Other prominent platforms for B2B influencers are webinar platforms such as BrightTalk. Remember, this kind of influencer marketing is mostly about educating the prospects as much as you can about your product or service, and proving your expertise on the topic – which webinar platforms are a great place for.
Also, do not discount the impact of B2B influencers on offline platforms: “Old-fashioned” conferences, trade shows, and seminars. An influential person reviewing your services or mentioning your product in one of their talks can lead to more awareness for your brand – and sales down the road.
7. Content types are different for B2B vs B2C influencer marketing
This point again highlights the more serious nature of B2B vs B2C influencer marketing: While the latter focus on posting photos and videos of themselves, supplemented with captions meant to entertain – the former will post educational texts, statistics, diagrams, infographics, etc.
It’s what their prospects want and need from their content: Deep information, reassurance about the product’s or service’s quality, and how-to guides. In one study, 47 percent of B2B buyers said they find case studies the best type of influencer content, webinars 39 percent, reports 35 percent, and user reviews and video content, 32 percent.
8. B2B influencers operate on a different (smaller) scale than B2C influencers
“Traditional” influencers who market to consumers have often grown huge numbers of followers: More than 100k, sometimes into the millions. Many of them have real mass appeal.
With B2B influencers, it’s a little different: They tend to operate in specific niches – which is a big reason why they were able to build up so much authority in the first place – by learning everything about it and becoming a niche expert. So it’s definitely not all about the numbers. It’s about expertise and engagement.
A 2021 study by Influencer Marketing Hub found that influencers with followers between 1,000 and 5,000 have an engagement rate close to 5 percent, while those with followers between 5,000 and 20,000 have an engagement rate of just 1.7 percent. As the numbers go up, the engagement goes down: Those with 100,000 followers to 1 million followers had an engagement rate of 1.06 percent. Comment rates follow a similar trajectory. Influencers with higher followers have lower engagement rates than influencers with few followers.
So even if an influencer has fewer than 10k followers, they can get you great results in B2B marketing.
9. B2C influencer campaigns are easier to price than B2B
Whereas the market is dictating an average price of CHF200-1000+ per influencer post on social media for marketing to consumers, it’s not that clear-cut at all in B2B influencer marketing.
The value that a subject matter expert is able to provide to your brand by helping you market to businesses is immense. They can provide industry connections, prop up your company in the eyes of many involved in the niche, and lead to sales – sales which could measure in the millions of dollars in the B2B space as opposed to the small purchases that B2C influencers mostly promote.
And as we’ve seen, this type of marketing is really only effective as a long-term strategy. Brands should be prepared to budget for a long-term financial investment in their B2B influencers as well.
10. B2B influencer marketing is harder to measure
It’s easier to measure the results of your B2C influencer marketing campaigns. You can record the number of impressions each post received, how strongly people engaged with it, how many clicked on an affiliate link, and how many sales were generated.
But as we’ve covered above, the B2B buying process is more complex. Prospects will never click on just one social media post and order your product right away. Their decision is much more involved than that. They must talk to other team members and higher-ups about it … and it simply takes a lot more time.
So it’s hard to know which of your posts had an effect – or didn’t. In the end, it’s the sum of your marketing messages, sent out over a long period of time, creating a deeper relationship with the prospects that are going to lead to the sale. It’s hard to isolate any one factor that led to success.
Thus, it’s important to be patient in B2B influencer marketing and look at the bottom line months later to see whether it worked. Don’t second-guess your marketing efforts too early.
Conclusion
There you have it, the top 10 differences between marketing to businesses vs to consumers using influencers! We hope this has given you more clarity in planning your next influencer marketing campaign. Should you need help in bringing your campaign to life, feel free to reach out to us.
Switzerland has a lot to offer when it comes to influencer marketing! And no wonder – it really has it all. This country provides an amazing environment for top-class social media content.
Amazing landscapes. Beautiful cities. Delicious food. Stunning architecture. Great fashion. Think of Zurich, Geneva, or the beautiful mountains of the countryside – it’s all perfect for an influencer’s VLOGs, photoshoots, and selfie backgrounds.
Naturally, many successful social media influencers hail from Switzerland in different niches like beauty, food, travel, comedy, music, and fashion.
We’ve gone out and compiled a list of the top 26 Swiss influencers in 2022. Use it to get inspired or entertained by their content. You might be interested in following some of them more closely.
Wendy Holdener
Olympic champion Wendy Holdener is not only a well-known face in alpine ski racing, she has also managed to build a large following of over 193,000 people on Instagram. In 2019, she even won the Swiss Influencer Award for the sports category!
In addition to her engaging social media posts, Wendy Holdener has teamed up with accident insurer SUVA to develop the Slope Track-App, which measures loads and speeds while skiing or snowboarding. The app is intended to increase the safety of snow sports enthusiasts and reduce the risk of accidents.
Nico Capone Comedy
Nicolas Scuderia and Daniela Pinto, aka Nico Capone Comedy, together with their son Mattia (born in July 2019), make millions of people laugh with their videos.
As opposed to influencers who are all about making the most profit with their posts, they remain down-to-earth: They make videos for fun, without thinking too much about it.
Dani and Nico share almost everything with their audience while keeping it simple. Despite all their success, Dani kept working as a dental assistant, and Nico kept his job in the family’s painting business. This couple keeps their feet on the ground.
Although their popularity only keeps growing. Currently, they have over 7 million followers on Instagram, 21 million on TikTok, and 4,4 million on Facebook.
Loredana und Kilian
Loredana and Kilian are a Swiss influencer couple who documents their relationship life, sometimes in a funny way, on social media and on their blog.
Their motto is “every day is a good day” and their goal is to entertain you. “Come with us to the most beautiful places on earth, in our day-to-day life, and experience the highs and lows in life and in a relationship with us. We love that you’re here with us.”
In addition to 76.000 followers on Instagram, they also have a YouTube channel with 13k subscribers, where they were “vlogging around the world” and documenting their travels for two years before settling down again in their home of Switzerland.
Zeki Bulgurcu
Zeki is one of the biggest social media influencers in Switzerland. The comedian was born in 1990 in Turkey but moved to Switzerland with his parents at age three.
He runs the popular Instagram accounts of Zekisworld and Swissmeme (the #1 social media account for memes in Swiss German). Back in 2013, he discovered that the social media world was lacking content made especially for Swiss people. The next day he started posting memes in Swiss German on Instagram and the account took off quickly.
He has a combined 1.4 million followers on Instagram, 660k on TikTok, 160k on Facebook, and a combined 155k subscribers on YouTube.
On his Instagram, he shares funny skits of himself. He has recently released his own Turkish sausage brand in collaboration with Migros and is planning to make music and produce film.
Olivia Faeh
Olivia Faeh is a fashion influencer and entrepreneur from Zurich, Switzerland. On her Instagram profile, she shares fashion and lifestyle content, especially promoting streetwear and highlighting beautiful places.
The Swiss influencer is loved for being authentic. People like following her IG stories about her life, including her dog. She also teaches her followers about trending topics and provides fashion, beauty, and home ideas.
Olivia also runs her own social media agency (Faeh Agency) and will soon launch her own online fashion boutique. She has studied fashion and design management in Munich, so she is uniquely qualified for her business ventures.
Additionally, Olivia is very focused on sustainability. She often sells old clothes to promote reusing resources.
Antonella Patitucci
Actress, presenter, coach, and social media influencerAntonella Patitucci is from Switzerland, too. In her diverse career, she has played in TV shows such as Aktenzeichen XY and Der Alte on the German station ZDF, acted in musicals, starred in commercials for brands such as L’Oreal, Nespresso, and Audi, and moderated several events.
Currently, she offers coaching services, workshops, and live events around self-development, relationships, and personal finance. On her Instagram profile, she shares inspirational content.
Antonella told us the following about what it takes to be a successful influencer: “The value is in telling your own story and putting emotion behind it. Give the product a face so people can relate. Share your unique story and opinion. A product alone is a picture, but with you and your story, it’s like a movie.”
Stefan Büsser
Stefan is a stand-up comedian and TV host and part of the podcast “Comedy-Männer.” On his 113k-strong Instagram account, he shares skits and promotes his tours and TV appearances. Since 2018, he has been producing the comedy series “Büssi zappt” together with Zappin.
He got his start in media in 2005 as a radio moderator in Winterthur, Switzerland. He then transitioned to the Swiss radio channel Energy Zurich, until he started working for the national channel SRF 3 in 2016.
Martina Bisaz
Martina Bisaz might be Switzerland’s most famous traveler. Born in 1981, the first part of her career was as a scientific illustrator, before she became a freelance photographer and social media influencer, documenting her world travels on her famous account called “kitkat_ch.”
Her photos are of extremely high quality, and they show off all the majesty and beauty the world has to offer.
Cabarett DivertiMento
DivertiMento is a Swiss cabaret duo that presents many elements of cabaret: Stand-up comedy, satire, and jokes. The duo is made up of Manuel Burkart, who lives in Zurich Oberland, and Jonny Fischer, who lives in Zug, Switzerland.
The two of them met in the year 2000 at their boarding school, and with their strong musical background, joined together to form the Cabaret DivertiMento.
Recently, they’ve also become social media influencers. Their Instagram account is up to an impressive 160.000 followers, where they’re sharing funny skits and promoting their live tours.
Cristina is based in Switzerland. She is an influencer in the fashion, beauty, and travel niches and has 240.000 followers on Instagram.
Her former travel blog was ranked one of the best in Switzerland, but currently, she concentrates on running her Instagram account.
Her content has a classic style and she focuses on family and beauty in her work.
Steven Epprecht
Steven Epprecht is a model, content creator, and entrepreneur based in Zurich, Switzerland. His influence on social media is large, with 315k followers on Instagram.
His posts center around travel, lifestyle, and relationships, “living the good life!”
Recently, Steven founded his own social media agency. Here is a quote he shared with us on a recent video conference:
“The most important thing is, if I collaborate with a brand, it’s crucial that I can stand behind the product, and it’s not just for the money. […] On my own channels, I’m saying I recommend it and I have a responsibility towards my community. It’s like a relationship with a friend. I’m considering whether I’d recommend this to my mom or a friend. They trust you and you have credibility and shouldn’t play with that, otherwise, it won’t work out in the long run. Only do what is you.”
Andri Ragettli
Swiss Slopestyle genius Andri Ragettli is a massive influencer on Instagram. His account has over 533k followers.
On his profile, he shares victories and defeats, and videos of his riding, as well as creative and funny challenges. “There’s been acrobatic bridge-diving in Zurich, ‘the floor is lava’ style workouts, as well as dabbling in parkour, biking, and splash diving — not forgetting ‘nipple deep,’ which is when snowboarders ride on deep, powder-like snow.” – CNN
If you want to learn more about Andri Ragettli’s most successful stations and hardest setbacks in his career as a freeskier, we recommend his book Attack your dreams.
Mergime & Xhem
Mergime & Xhem are an Instagram influencer couple living in Switzerland. Mergime runs a barber shop in Switzerland. They offer their community a view into their day-to-day and family life.
Additionally, they’re both very fashionable and appeal to their followers with beautiful outfits. When one is busy, the other takes over the social media accounts. That’s how they manage to run their business and be influencers at the same time!
Michèle Krüsi
“Thefashionfraction” on Instagram (461k followers!), Michèle Krüsi is the founder and creative director of her own lingerie and swimwear brand “Leonessa Lingerie.”
She is also a powerful social media influencer. Her profile features very creative photos and reels around fashion, travel, relationships, and more recently, pregnancy.
Michele is a graphic designer, which shines through in her work. Her account also features artwork, fitness, and new designs.
Sandra Rodrigues Pinto
Sandra Rodrigues Pinto’s Instagram handle is “entredois” (“between two”). This refers to her two places of residence—Switzerland and Portugal. Her background is Swiss / Portuguese.
In addition to accumulating over 432k followers on Instagram, Sandra has founded her own fashion brand at Lamarel which aims to create minimalist, beautiful pieces of fashion.
Her Instagram content centers around travel, lifestyle, relationships, beauty, and architecture.
For example, she shares pictures from her travels to Paris and great outfits she puts together for an old-school, but fashionable look.
Mimoza Lekaj
26-year-old Mimoza Lekaj from Zürich is a beauty-, fashion- and styling-influencer. Her Instagram account boasts an impressive 280,000 followers. On her social media, Mimoza aims to inspire her audience and give valuable tips for how to dress to feel good and beautiful.
She promotes a positive attitude to life – in her words, an optimistic outlook coupled with frequent laughter will automatically make you look better. The center of Mimoza Lekaj’s life is in Switzerland, but because of her family, she still has an intense emotional connection to Kosovo.
Loredana Zefi
Loredana is a somewhat controversial Swiss rapper with Kosovan roots. Her breakout single “Bonnie & Clyde,” which she made with her husband Mozzik, was released in September 2018 with Sony Music. In 2019 her first album “King Lori” followed, which made the top three in Switzerland.
Unfortunately, Loredana has had problems with the authorities and was even arrested. Nevertheless, Loredana is a famous influencer in Switzerland with three million followers. Her posts are about fashion, music, and her daughter.
Joung Gustav
With 4 Million TikTok and 200k+ Instagram followers, Joung Gustav is a huge Swiss influencer from Zürich. The 27-year-old has only been making content since 2020.
His schtick is to go out and make videos in the streets of Zürich – especially at the “Stadi”, the Stadelhofen railway station where his target audience of Swiss teenagers likes to hang out.
Mia Madisson Rocco (@shhhmadisson on Instagram) is a reality TV star and influencer from Zurich, Switzerland.
She became famous after starring in the popular show “The Bachelor” in 2018 and 2020. Nowadays, she is married and works on Instagram as a beauty and fashion influencer.
Aditotoro
Adrian Vogt, born in 1998, is better known in this country as Aditotoro. You can find him on all platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Twitch…), his main gig however is TikTok, where almost 2.2 Mio. followers (as of Dec. 2022) are eagerly awaiting his next uploads. Aditotoro makes entertaining videos that also give insights into his lifestyle.
The successful Swiss influencer lives on the “Rünenberg”, a small village in the “Oberbaselbiet”.
Patrick Burgener is a Swiss freestyle snowboarder and musician turned social media influencer. He is a two-time Olympian and won two bronze medals at the snowboarding World Championships.
On his 60,000-strong Instagram account, he posts reels about his lifestyle, snowboarding, and music performances.
Does he see himself more as a professional sportsperson or as a musician? Pat feels like music is his life purpose. He wants to continue snowboarding for the next few years, but fully concentrate on his music after that.
Nathistyle
Social media star Nathalie Sulser aka Nathistyle makes highly popular videos in Swiss German on TikTok (250,000 followers) and YouTube (35,000 subscribers).
The 20-year-old influencer from Zürich does cool challenges or performs sketches. In addition, she participated in the rap single “Bad Santa” by Gian Maria Finger and won the 2022 Swiss Influencer Award in the Lifestyle category.
Leo Monferini
Leo Monferini was born in 2001 and is a well-known TikTok star from Switzerland. On his TikTok account – with an impressive 4.6 million followers – he poses as the fictional character Eugène, whose trademark is his pair of big glasses.
As an influencer, Leo Monferini has worked with Raiffeisen Bank Switzerland to make the bank more attractive to young people and also with the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) to promote mask-wearing among teenagers.
Kris Grippo
With 5.2 million followers on TikTok and over a million on Instagram, “Kris8an” is probably one of the best-known Generation Z influencers. The man from Basel managed to build up his huge community in just two years.
His social media content consists of him dancing, lipsyncing, or simply posing for the camera in his room full of stuffed animals. According to Kris, 80 percent of his followers are female and between 14 and 18 years old.
Taulant Gashnjani
He’s called T-Ronimo. Over 160,000 people follow him on TikTok, 25,000 on Instagram, and he also has a YouTube channel. He makes videos in Swiss German, and isn’t afraid to use some swear words from time to time!
His take on the booming creator economy with more competition entering the field: “I just have to keep pushing to consistently make good and engaging content. I don’t see this as a negative, as I always have enough ideas!”
Lana Banté
Lana Banté from Geneva, Switzerland creates comedy TikTok videos, with themes such as beauty and fitness, and often collaborates with her friend Margaux Seydoux.
She has 45,000 followers on Instagram and over 660,000 on TikTok!
In 2021, Lana Bante was part of the “Collab House”, which had the most successful influencers from Switzerland move into a villa together to create as many TikTok videos as possible for their followers.
How to Work with Popular Swiss Influencers
We hope you enjoyed reading about these 26 influencers from Switzerland.
The world of influencers is steadily growing, and we’re seeing exciting developments worldwide, but also in Switzerland itself.If you’re curious about influencer marketing or interested in becoming an influencer yourself, subscribe to the newsletter of our influencer marketing agency to get the latest news and tips!
So, you’ve decided to use influencer marketing to grow your business, and you want the support of an agency. Influencer marketing is a wise choice. 89% of companies say their ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels.
The right agency will certainly be able to get you impressive results with influencer marketing. Now in 2022, there are numerous agencies to choose from. All of them are promising to be the perfect fit for you. Many claim they can help you achieve your goals – guaranteed!
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Not every agency is equally professional and effective. Even some that are excellent still might not be a good fit for your business, for different reasons.
Influencer Marketing Agency Red Flags
No brand wants to work with a service provider that isn’t capable of getting beneficial results. You obviously don’t want to risk launching campaigns not backed by a proven process, with a high risk of failure.
If an agency is focused more on their own revenue streams than understanding your business’ unique situation and needs, the campaigns they run for you might fall flat.
Another issue to consider is chemistry. If the process of collaborating with the agency is unpleasant and filled with friction, you can end up very frustrated. You want to be working with humans who are open, who care, and who you can talk to and contact with your concerns at any time.
Likewise, you don’t want to end up working with someone who doesn’t use the latest technology and is unable to capture all the analytics that are required for running effective social media marketing campaigns.
After all, when you hire an influencer marketing agency, you are making an investment that’s supposed to pay off – you don’t want to be burning money and time on something that ends up being ineffective. Learn more about effective influencer marketing campaigns here. It’s worth putting the work in up front to evaluate influencer marketing agencies, so you can pick exactly the right fit out of the high-quality agencies out there.
We have created this guide to help you in that process, so you can make the right choice and experience the amazing results that influencer marketing can create for your business, while avoiding pitfalls.
Let’s dive in.
1. Get clear on what exactly you need from them
If you know what you are looking for, the chance of finding it increases significantly. This saying holds true for influencer marketing agencies too!
Every influencer marketing agency has different specialties, budget, and project size requirements. This is exactly why you should know your marketing goals and the goals you want to achieve together with the agency.
Once you have defined your goals, you can evaluate agencies through that framework, see how well they fulfill your criteria, and rank them accordingly.
The right agency will also be able to show you exactly how they are going to help you achieve your goals and do so convincingly. Find tips from Universal how to make influencer marketing work here.
2. Get to know their team
You can learn more about a company’s team by visiting the team section on agency websites, and viewing agency staff on LinkedIn.
During the consultation, you can ask who exactly would be working on your project.
Do they have the experience? And the ‘people skills’?
Look for team members who have relevant experience in running the types of influencer marketing campaigns you will be requesting. The goal here is to find an agency whose team is both qualified and pleasant to work with – this includes the human aspect of the relationship.
3. Examine their process
Now, you want to have a deeper look at exactly how the influencer marketing agency you’re looking conducts their work. Their approach to any new project will tell you a lot about how successful they will be once they’re working for your brand.
How do influencer marketing agencies evaluate a project?
Find out how the agency treats any new customer’s project. Look for signs that you will get a strategy that’s not cookie-cutter, but uniquely tailored to your brand. A good agency is supposed to be very creative in adapting their process to you in a way that makes sense.
How are agencies kept accountable?
An important piece of information to know is if the agency has senior professionals supervise your project. It’s fine if some newer people are going to also work on your campaign – as long as they are being checked by those with more experience. At Kingfluencers, every client is supported by at least one senior professional, with over five years of experience in social media and influencer marketing, to balance the diligent efforts of our newer marketers.
When and for how long are agencies available to you each week?
Also, you want them to be available and accountable to you directly. This means you can reach them easily and there’s always space in their schedule to discuss matters with you. At Kingfluencers, we respond to client emails within the same or the next day, the latest.
Are agencies readily sharing this info with you? Will they be able to make their process work for your needs?
If an agency is being very opaque about what working with them looks like, that could be a red flag. It probably means they will – in spite of their promises – not be able to take your unique needs into account and craft a strategy that will actually get you the results.
4. Study their strategies
The best influencer marketing agencies use strategies that work.
What does that mean?
Are they planning for the long term?
Yes, a one-off influencer marketing initiative can be impactful. But the best agencies also specialize in running long-term campaigns that get your brand to the next level, and make sure it stays there sustainably. Obviously this depends on your goals and budget.
But brand strategists who have experience creating more comprehensive strategies are always at least considering the long-term impact of any campaign they’re involved in, which is definitely a plus.
Do they consider the big picture, or is your campaign going to be working in isolation?
Influencer marketing should not be a stand-alone measure. Social media touchpoints should lead to specific actions taken in the context of your campaign.
A holistic, or integrated, approach is key and vastly superior to isolated strategies.
Does the influencer marketing agency in question commit to combining different outlets and marketing strategies in order to serve you best, or is there no mention of such an approach? Read about Kingfluencers focus on holistic, omnichannel storytelling.
Are they creative, hip to trends, and versatile in their tactics?
Influencer marketing is evolving quickly. New trends are popping up all the time. Anyone playing in this field must be highly creative and adaptive. The best agencies show they can capitalize on these trends, and are always finding the right kinds of messages and campaigns that fit the times. Constant reinvention is the name of the game in influencer marketing.
You can gauge which agency possesses these qualities by reading their marketing materials and looking into their history and portfolio. For example, the best influencer marketing agencies are creating influencer partnerships that are even more interactive and collaborative than typical social media content – they are encouraging the audience to participate in new and fun ways.
Are they using the power of storytelling to full effect?
Again, you can tell by looking at how an influencer marketing agency talks about what they do. Do they grasp the vital importance of good, creative storytelling? Effective influencer marketing evokes the right emotions and creates a special connection with the audience, which is best done through telling captivating stories. In order to do that, the content produced for you must be both creative and authentic – not feeling disingenuous in the slightest. The right influencer marketing agency is doing just that, and creating a precious opportunity for your brand to be connected with an engaged audience, leading to the result that you came for.
5. Screen their technology
What is their campaign management like?
Starting a campaign for you is one thing – managing it successfully is another. Check out how the agency in question is going to handle managing your project. If they are doing it right, they will be using sophisticated technology in order to keep up with and manage your influencer campaign.
They should have the latest technologies and best practices at their fingertips. Digital marketing agencies need to be familiar with the latest software, because tools such as Upfluence, Modash or Creator IQ, for example, are useful to achieve faster results through deep insights. At Kingfluencers, we have our own developed tools with which we can simplify our work, because we do everything within the system, from influencer research and sourcing, to campaign reporting and beyond predicting ROI. Thanks to the advantage that our system is based on data truth – e.g., through creating automated briefings and analysis – both, influencers and clients, share and get insights, so every process and crucial step is happening within our system based on the included real-time data.
Are they performance driven?
This means they are paying attention to and tracking the correct metrics – and have processes and strategies in place to learn from these analytics and use their learnings to adjust and improve your initiative.
Familiarity with other third-party data sources and creative tools is also helpful. Ultimately, this helps your brand gain more popularity through better campaigns – both in terms of creativity and effectiveness.
6. Learn about their network of influencers
Technology, team, and tactics aside, what can really make or break your influencer marketing campaign is what kind of influencers you end up working with.
Here’s how you can evaluate whether they will be able to connect you with the best people for the job, or whether there is a chance they’ll leave you with a mismatch that’ll end up hurting your marketing efforts:
How large of a network do they have?
While this does not directly ensure the quality of those contacts, a decent-sized network at least means that the agency has put in the work of creating many connections and has been working in this field for a good amount of time already. If the network they are working with isn’t large, they won’t have as many choices of influencers to find exactly the right ones for you.
Are all the influencers carefully vetted? What’s their vetting process like?
It’s true, people trust influencers – but only those who have shown to actually be deserving of their trust. It’s the agency’s job to filter for influencers with integrity and who are not just out to make a quick buck while carelessly disrespecting their audience and the brands they represent.
A good influencer marketing agency will take the time to get to know each and every one of their content creators. They might accomplish that task with personal onboardings, influencer trainings, and co-creation workshops. That way they’ll make sure to connect you only with quality, committed, and authentic people to represent your brand.
Will they be able to pick the right type of influencer for the job?
Do they have access to nano-, micro- and macro-influencers and can they offer the type of channel that is right for your goals? For example, while nano- and micro-influencers have a much smaller following, they are able to create a much closer connection between your brand and their community, because they are highly trusted and their audience engagement is typically much higher.
When an influencer and their following are a great fit for your brand, you have the chance to create amazing content that leads to extraordinary results.
How do they ensure quality control and accountability for their influencers?
This requires functional working relationships with their network, as well as processes for managing the workflow. See if you can find out about their process for ensuring influencer accountability.
7. Review their portfolio & skills
The influencer marketing agency you hire should have the skills you need to achieve your goals, whether it’s generating more quality leads, increasing online sales, increasing store visits, or getting more website visitors.
Do they demonstrate a deep understanding of the relevant platforms and what good content looks like?
The only way to get results is to hire an agency that has mastered the art of creating engaging and targeted influencer marketing campaigns.
You can make sure this is the case by checking out the content they’ve produced in the past.
8. Check their social proof
The best way for you to check if the agency is reputable and gets results is to look at their history and portfolio of past work. Finished work, after all, is the best demonstration of skills – far superior to any marketing promises.
Do they have a high-caliber, diverse portfolio?
The portfolio is the ideal way for the agency to showcase their best work. This will help you get an idea of what type of work they do and what type of clients they select.
What do their testimonials say?
Over 90% of clients look at testimonials before hiring an agency. Social proof is therefore an effective tactic for agencies to convert prospects into buyers. If you can’t find any testimonials on websites, it likely means:
The company may not have any previous customers
They are not the experts they claim to be
Good testimonials indicate that future customers may have a similar experience. Plus, agencies with happy clients shouldn’t have a hard time getting testimonials.
Be aware that testimonials on online review sites are easy to fake. Look for testimonials of past clients prominently featured on the agency’s website – they can’t afford to fake those!
Social proofs like testimonials and previous client reviews can be a great way to gain insight into an influencer agency’s work ethic.
Another great way to further vet an agency and ensure good collaboration is to get an idea of the agency’s past customers. Get in touch with them and ask them about their experience working with the agency. In addition to helping you choose the right agency, these discussions could also give you insight into best practices to copy.
9. Discuss their prices
Finally, be sure to discuss prices and deliverables. This is the final piece of information that will tell you if an influencer agency can give you what you are looking for, in the right way, and at the right price.
It’s crucial to find the target groups that are most likely to be interested in your offer in order to keep the advertising costs per new customer as low as possible and thus win the most new customers for your budget.
Will they be able to align with your expectations regarding budget and deliverables?
Conclusion
Starting influencer marketing in your business can be a daunting task. If you don’t first get to really know the influencer marketing agency you’re going to work with, your efforts could end up being in vain and losses could occur.
It pays to hire the best, most experienced influencer marketing experts to help you achieve your goals. You need someone who can create exciting influencer campaigns and deliver them accurately to convert your audience into customers.
To keep up in a dynamic field like social media marketing and successfully work with third parties influencers, it’s best to work with an agency with proven expertise.
Influencer marketing is an important marketing strategy that continues to grow. It is no longer limited to a select few businesses or agencies, but has become a marketing channel accessible to all brands.
More brands recognize the power of influencer marketing and seek out influencers who can help them generate meaningful connections with their target audience.
That means more opportunities for influencers – for you – to make money!
If you’re looking to become an influencer, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll go over the steps of becoming an influencer one by one. Keep reading to begin your journey to becoming an influencer.
Table of Contents
Is becoming a social media influencer the right choice for you?
Ask these questions before you decide to become an influencer
How to get started as an influencer
How to brand yourself as an influencer
How to establish authority as an influencer
How to work as an influencer
How to grow and remain popular after you’ve become an influencer
How to get paid as an influencer
Conclusion
Is becoming a social media influencer the right choice for you?
Becoming a social media influencer sounds like a great career choice – let’s find out if it’s really the right one for you.
Are you excited about making a difference?
If you become an influencer, you have an opportunity to leave your imprint on the world. You decide which causes to support, be it sustainable brands or charitable businesses. You can use your influence to spread your positive values to the world.
Would you love to have a community of people who rally around you?
If you have no problem standing in the spotlight and taking responsibility for your loyal followers, becoming a professional influencer could be perfect for you.
Would you like the financial freedom of working for yourself?
To not be tied down by rigid work hours or office dress codes, or having to stay in one place all the time?
Becoming an influencer can allow you to turn something you are passionate about into a career, basically getting paid to make content about something you enjoy.
Sounds like a good plan! That’s the promise that becoming an influencer holds.
But…
Ask these questions before you decide to become an influencer
Of course, all these benefits do not simply appear because you’ve decided that you’re going to do this.
Understand that if you become an influencer, you are turning yourself into a business. If you are serious about earning the benefits, you have to be serious about the work, too!
So, before you start, please ask yourself the following questions:
Are you willing to do what it takes?
As an influencer, you’re going to have to do a lot of tasks:
Creating your strategy
Dressing up
Filming your content
Editing
Writing captions
Scheduling your content
Publishing
Engaging with your audience
Promoting and managing your brand
Networking and reaching out
and much more. All this will take you a lot of time!
Are you willing to make that investment?
Will you have the patience that’s required to grow your brand?
Again, it will take time to grow your followers and build up an empire – your piece of the web – as an influencer. That’s where you’ll need the patience to keep executing your strategy and keep publishing, even when your audience is not yet as big as you want it to be.
Do you have the passion and motivation to keep serving your audience?
If you want to be an influencer who is successful long-term, you need to find a way to stay motivated – you owe it to your followers.
You can do this if you have passion for the topic you’re making content about and you genuinely want to help and entertain the audience.
Ask yourself: Is that you?
What will it take for you to make enough money to be able to make this a full time gig, or at least a solid side hustle?
Be realistic and set a sensible goal – and you won’t be caught off-guard later when the numbers don’t match what you were hoping for right away.
(This is if you have several thousand engaged followers who love you, and you manage to connect with brands who feel that your content is a good fit.)
Now you can do the math and see how much work it would take to make the income that you’re aiming for. Of course, as you grow your reach and your authority, you will be able to command higher rates.
What type of influencer do you want to be? Nano, Micro, Macro, or Mega?
In influencer marketing, bigger isn’t always better.
Brands are starting to see the value of smaller influencers – they have higher engagement and the trust of their followers.
This means that even as a smaller influencer, you will be able to get brand deals that make you good money.
“The findings of four experimental studies show that micro-influencers (those who have 10,000 to 100,000 followers) are more persuasive than mega-influencers (those who have more than 1 million followers) because endorsements by micro-influencers (versus mega-influencers) bestow higher perceptions of authenticity on the endorsed brand, which ‘rubs off’ from the perceptions regarding influencer authenticity.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.2021.1980470
The different sizes of influencer you could become are:
Nano-influencer: Under 5k followers. This is where you will probably start out. Examples: Debora Sarai in the DIY and home niche. Alenis Lima in the beauty/fashion and lifestyle niche.
Micro-influencer: 5k-100k followers. Examples: Adela Smajic in the Beauty/fashion, lifestyle and travel niche. Alayah Pilgrim in the sports, health and fitness niche. Carlo Janka in the sports, outdoors and family niche.
Macro-influencer: 100k-1m followers. As your following grows, more opportunities will come in, but it will also take more time and effort to manage your brand. Examples: Kevin Lütolf in the fashion and technology niche. Zoë Pastelle in the fashion and entertainment niche. Zeki aka Zekisworld in the comedy and automotive niche.
Mega-influencer: Over 1 million followers.
These are typically actors, musicians, and other A-list celebrities.
Your content might never get you into this category (and maybe you don’t even want that), but if you do, hey, good luck! Also, you might make up to $1 million per sponsored post!
Have you answered these questions to clarify what lies ahead on your path to becoming an influencer on social media?
Then you’re ready to get started!
We’ve created this roadmap to help you on your way, and to get you to the point where you can call this your job! Maybe you’ll even end up working with us in the future. Let’s dive into your journey.
How to get started as an influencer
Find your niche
We recommend that when you start your career on social media, you pick a niche. It makes sense to narrow down quite a bit.
What does that mean?
Especially in the beginning, you want to be known for your work in a specific space. That way, your audience will associate you with this space as you post more about it.
People are more likely to follow you if they know what to expect from your content.
Focus and fine-tune your niche, and it will be much easier to grow your followers and be seen as an expert in that niche.
Now, what niche should you pick?
Passion & Knowledge
If you have an existing passion – maybe even a good level of experience and skill – you could pick that to give yourself a head start and be more motivated to create content around that niche.
Popularity and Monetizability
From a business standpoint, it makes sense to find a niche that is trending or at least growing steadily and in which brands are willing to spend money to advertise.
We have compiled ten of the most popular and profitable social media niches for you below:
1. Technology
2. Fashion
3. Health & Fitness
4. Food & Cooking
5. Business & Making Money
6. Lifestyle
7. Beauty
8. Parenting
9. Pets
10. Travel
Find the one that aligns with your interests and knowledge, is popular and monetizable, and has an audience that you could engage with long term.
Choose the right platform to start
Which platform should you become an influencer on?
We recommend you start on just one platform – preferably the one where your audience spends the most time – so that you can focus and grow your following most effectively.
Of course, you can expand your business later and join multiple other platforms!
Try to understand who your audience is first:
Which age group are you targeting with your influencing campaign?
What’s their average income level?
What’s their gender, percentage-wise?
What’s their family situation?
What are their hobbies and interests?
Which circles and communities are they in?
The answers to these will guide you towards the platform you could start out on. As an example, if you’re in the knitting niche, you could start posting on Pinterest. If you’re a gamer, start a Twitch account. Model trains, Facebook. Etc. This information changes over time, and there are many factors to consider in selecting the right platform.
Following is a quick snapshot of which platforms make the most sense for you to be on as an influencer, depending on your niche:
Facebook: Widest adoption among all demographics, but is trending older, and a wealthier audience. Good for niches that have a middle-aged audience.
Twitter: Good for more intellectual niches such as writing, business, and self-improvement.
LinkedIn: The #1 platform if you want to become an influencer in the world of business and money making.
Pinterest: Mostly female audience. Perfect for arts & crafts, among others.
Instagram: A very visual platform that is perfect for many niches, including fashion, travel, food, and pets. The audience is slightly younger.
TikTok: Has the youngest audience. But the platform is now also becoming more interesting for older generations. Best if you are focused on your specific audience, and you are able to capitalize on trends.
Prepare your profile
After you’ve picked your niche and the platform you’re going to start out on, you’ll need to create and optimize your social media profile.
Switch to a business account
If you want to be an influencer, you should upgrade to a business account because it gives you a lot more possibilities – namely for analytics and monetization. You can create a business account in the profile settings of most networks, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Create a fantastic bio
When someone visits your profile, the first thing they see is your bio. You want to make sure you’re making a great first impression!
Your biography should explain your narrative in a compelling way. It should also include all relevant information about you, such as your full name, address, phone number, and areas of expertise.
Add a profile pic and banner/cover photo
You should also include a profile photo and a cover photo, as these are crucial components of your own brand identification.
People frequently recognize a social network profile by its profile photo, so choose one carefully. Also, make sure your face is visible, and the photo is high quality.
How to brand yourself as an influencer
What is your influencer personality? You should be able to pin-point the qualities and characteristics that set you apart from others in your niche on social media. People like to follow someone who has a strong and interesting personality.
It doesn’t mean you have to invent a new personality for yourself.
Ideally, you authentically express what’s interesting and special about you. Of course, with social media, you will want to emphasize the most compelling aspects of your personality, but you should never be fake.
Simply go more into what already makes you special naturally.
Your personal brand
You also want to be thinking about creating your personal brand. This means you take your influencer personality and your angle on content and turn it into a recognizable brand.
How do you create your personal brand and make it stand out?
Convey a similar vibe with images and videos: They are created in a similar way, use the same filters etc.
Purposely use your own, consistent color scheme in your profile and your marketing materials.
Have your own way of talking and addressing your followers in your content and captions – brand tone is consistent
Have a special name for your followers
Create a logo and slogan that people recognize instantly
And most importantly, your personal brand is telling a story – one that is compelling and resonates with the audience.
Here’s what Antonella Patitucci, Actress, Presenter, Coach and Content Creator, had to say about how important it is that you tell stories as an influencer:
“The value is in telling your own story and putting emotion behind it. Give the product a face so people can relate. Share your unique story and opinion. A product alone is a picture, but with you and your story, it’s like a movie.” We couldn’t agree more. So start telling a unique story, and you will start creating a strong personal brand for yourself that people will want to follow.
How to establish authority as an influencer
You’ve picked your niche, you’ve thought about your branding… now it’s time to build your expertise! Your goal should be to become an authority on the topic you’re making content on. You want your audience to look up to you, trust what you’re saying about the topic, and follow your recommendations.
How are you going to build your authority?
Study your niche
Start by researching everything that’s out there on your niche on the internet to get a good overview of what you’re going to make content about. Subscribe to relevant podcasts. Read any available books and print publications around the topic.
Establish your web presence
In addition to your social media profile, consider setting up your own website as well. This will give you another chance to advertise your personal brand and show off your portfolio. It’s a signal that you are a professional and will give you even more authority as an influencer.
Start networking in your industry
Go to conferences. Reach out to other influencers in your niche. Communicate, find peers and mentors, and collaborate with others. Not only will this make you an insider with even more knowledge about your niche, it will also increase your status
How to work when you’re an influencer
Now, how do you go about your daily work as an influencer? How do you know what to post, when to post it, and how often to post?
To keep up with creating content and to make sure that you have an awesome social media profile that keeps growing, we recommend that you first create a content strategy.
Your content strategy
First, establish a posting schedule. Decide how often you’re going to post in order to keep your followers engaged – while not burning yourself out. Keep in mind how much time creating just one social media post can take!
Then, decide on the types of content you’re going to be posting regularly. This can, and maybe should, be different types of posts on different days. Depending on the platform, you have the choice between:
Videos (short-form, long-form, stories)
Pictures
Audio
Infographics
Text
Finally, the content topic: What topics are you going to cover? What angle are you going to take with your content? Note all these things down in your strategy document. Now you know exactly what to post each week.
Study your analytics
Executing on the publishing strategy you just created is a great start – but it’s not everything. You should also learn from each post you make. Do this by studying your analytics. With a business account, you will have access to those statistics.
Each week, look at how your posts have performed.
How many people saw your post?
How much did they engage with it?
How many likes did it get?
If it was a sponsored post, did it resonate with people?
What could you do to make even better content next time?
How to grow and remain popular after you’ve become an influencer
Apart from your short-term strategy, be prepared to stay on top of the game in the long term.
How do you do that?
Nurture your community. Do this by running special campaigns, like challenges, surveys, and giveaways; fun initiatives that keep your audience on their toes and excited about hearing from you.
Know your audience intimately. Keep studying your followers. What are their goals? Their deepest desires? What makes them tick? Know all this… then try to satisfy those desires with your content!
Stay ahead of trends. If you always keep your personal brand relevant to the times, you won’t have to worry about people becoming bored with your content and unfollowing. On the contrary, you will keep them engaged with fresh stuff and your following will only keep growing!
Always engage & be present. You should treat your followers like your tribe, maybe even like a second family. This means you’ll always be there to reply to their comments, answer their questions and offer support.
“It’s easy to get blinded by vanity metrics such as big numbers of views and followers. It’s not about the number of followers you have. What matters is the quality of the connection you make with your audience.” – Marvin Sangines, Personal Branding Advisor at Kingfluencers
How to get paid as an influencer
We saved the most exciting part for last:
How you’re going to get paid and hopefully at some point make a full-time income as a social media influencer!
In most cases, this will mean that you’re going to be working with brands and promoting their products in your content.
How are you going to find those brands?
The first option is to make a list of brands you would like to work with. Then research their marketing department and email them about working together.
The other option is to apply to an influencer marketing agency, who usually has a large network of brands they work with. They’ll take on the work of contacting the brands that are the right fit for you. This should be at no cost to you, because the agency will get paid by them and not you. It’s a good option if you want to spare yourself the extra stress of having to find and pitch brands, on top of all the other tasks you have to do as an influencer.
How many followers do you need to start getting paid?
This differs, depending on your niche and other factors. We usually advise you to build your brand to at least 2500 followers and then apply for your first brand deals.
Let’s do it!
Is being an influencer worth it? We say absolutely yes – now that you know what goes into becoming one and how to do it, you can decide if it’s for you. Keep in mind that getting results is a process that takes time and effort. As a result, you shouldn’t expect to become a social media influencer overnight. However, if you continue to follow these guidelines, you will be able to become an influencer and earn money doing it.
We can only estimate how many influencers there are today – it’s probably somewhere between 3.2 and 37.8 MILLION.
And it’s safe to say that only a tiny fraction of them will be exactly right for your brand and your campaign.
Then how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? How do you find those influencers who can help propel your business forward?
It’s important to answer this question. While we firmly believe in the power of this booming branch of marketing – and the data proves it – we do acknowledge that a lot can go wrong in influencer marketing as well.
So, we created this guide to help you avoid common pitfalls and hire exactly the right influencers for the job. We want you to create awareness for your brand, grow your business, and create great experiences for your fans with influencer marketing – reliably and safely.
You do this by choosing the best influencers to represent you.
Here’s how to do it, step-by-step.
To Find the Right Influencers, Do These 3 Important Steps First
If you want to find the best influencer for your campaign, you have to build your foundation properly first. This will help you clarify what kind of influencer (or influencers) you are actually looking for.
Not all campaigns must have the same goal. Each campaign can aim to achieve different metrics, and each can feed into different parts of your brand’s funnel.
The main goals that businesses usually have for their influencer marketing efforts are:
Improve the general visibility of your brand and create awareness
Gain social media followers and boost engagement
Generate leads for your business
Increase traffic to your company website or/and build backlinks
Conversions, such as email sign-ups
Improve your brand’s reputation
Generate revenue and social selling
Determining your main goals is an important prerequisite to developing a strategy for your campaign. It will then be much easier for you to pick the influencers who best fit into that strategy.
2. Determine your target platforms & campaign formats
Establishing goals in step one will help you determine which platforms make the most sense for you to have influencers make content for. This step will help you find those influencers who are most aligned with your planned campaign – because they’re naturals at the platform you’ll be using.
Here’s a quick breakdown of which type of audience you will find on each of the social media platforms:
TikTok: Particularly popular with Gen Z (other age groups are definitely on the rise though)
Instagram: A high percentage of Millenials are on IG
Facebook: Great if you want to target the older, wealthier Gen X population
The right influencer for your campaign will already be successful on the platform you’re targeting. If your brand appeals to a wider, more diverse audience, it might make sense to seek influencers who are active on multiple platforms – or hire one for each.
Also consider how you’d like to collaborate with and incentivize your chosen influencers. There are many ways of working with an influencer. Let’s look at a few different ones:
The influencer becomes an affiliate marketer for your brand, often combined with giving out discount codes to their followers
They host giveaways of your products for their audience
They present products that you’ve given them for free
They make their usual posts advertised as “sponsored by” your brand
They take over your company’s account for a day
They enter into a long-term contract with you and become ambassadors for your brand
The right kind of influencer will be able to accommodate you in the exact formats you choose.
3. Establish your messages & themes
Next, get clear on what kinds of messages you want to send in your influencer campaign and what themes they will fall under.
We divide these into four different content pillars which will make your messaging diverse and impactful.
The Brand Pillar
Your brand is the focus. This pillar has content that revolves around your brand, whether the posts are high level, informative, funny, or inspirational.
The Product Pillar
This type of content features a specific product – or line of products – such as a fashion brand’s new spring line. This could be done in an interactive Q&A or tutorial, for example.
The Experience Pillar
This is where you highlight people experiencing your brand, such as influencers shopping in the store or cooking with your cookware.
The Moment Pillar
Celebrating special dates, from birthdays to holidays and anniversaries. You could feature a virtual and/or physical Easter egg hunt, or show influencers receiving customized birthday packages.
You need someone who can make these messages and themes come to life in the way that you want – and once you’re crystal clear on them, you’re much more likely to pick the right influencer for the job!
Now that you know your strategy for your campaign that the influencer must be able to carry out…
Let’s dive into relevancy: How much does the influencer align with the niche and the topics surrounding your brand?
How to Pick the Most Relevant Influencers for Your Campaign
To do this, it’s helpful if you’ve already created your ideal influencer persona: The perfect person who would be the best fit for your audience and your campaign.
They:
Are of the right age to fit your target audience
Possess the correct kind and amount of knowledge around your brand’s niche
Are the right size for your budget and for maximum impact
Have the right personality and level of charisma for what you want to communicate
Dress and behave in ways that fit your brand
Make content that’s already in line with your brand values
In short, they should represent your brand identity very well – as if they were a natural part of it!
How to Guarantee That You’ll Find the Best Influencers
As vital as the issue of how relevant the influencer is to your brand, is the question: Do they have authority? Both online and in your company’s niche.
Pick an authority in their field and your campaign will have a great impact. But if you fail to vet their authority first, you can run into all sorts of potential problems.
How do you pick the most authoritative influencers?
By taking the following steps, you can rest assured you’ve made a good choice working with this person and your campaign will be successful.
They have a quality audience
A quality audience is committed to the creator – they engage readily with each of their posts, and their content is a part of their life that they take quite seriously! Also, a quality audience is not composed of people who are just there for entertainment and would never support the influencer financially … but they’re actually in a position to buy the products that he or she might recommend, and would do so happily.
Social media manager Jason Francis, of Social Media Samurai, says that “Quality trumps all. I know people with 30,000 followers struggling to raise $500 in a GoFundMe campaign, while people with 2,000 to 3,000 followers can move and influence them to the tune of $25,000.”
They make quality content
In today’s day and age on social media, it’s not enough to only post selfies with some meaningless text. A “sponsored post” shouldn’t consist of just a random shout-out to your brand or the mindless placement of your product.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite – the best influencers are consistently creating content that’s captivating, creative, and authentic.
What does this mean?
It means they care enough about their audience to craft pieces of media and messages that really resonate. The content hits on their followers’ dreams and desires, addresses things they’ve recently had on their minds often, it can even shock, fascinate, and pull them out of boredom or sadness.
Making creative content means finding new connections, inventing new ways to get a message across, combining different forms of media, and injecting novelty by collaborating with different people in their niche.
Above all, they have to stay authentic while doing it. Their loyal followers want to feel like they’re “one of them” – that they’re a close, trusted friend. A good influencer will achieve this by speaking in a common tone of voice, keeping their content relatable, caring about and engaging with the audience, and generally staying humble in spite of their success, fame, and status.
How do you vet these things?
First of all, you can obviously check out their social media profiles and study the posts they’ve been publishing so far.
Secondly, see if they have a media kit available that shows off their best work and gives a good impression of both the “vibe” and the quality of their content.
Their influence is real
Fake followers are a real problem on social media. What good is it if the influencer you’re working with has 100k followers, but most of them have been bought from some shady service? Not much good at all, apart from having a nice big number in their profile.
Yes, social media outlets have been cracking down on these things, but fake followers are still common on all platforms.
How do you spot fake followers?
1. Manually go through their list of followers
Potential red flags you should look for are profiles with weird or unrealistic-sounding names, many profiles that are not followed by anyone, and profiles with no user image or something that looks like a stock photo.
Additionally, if the majority of their followers appear to be from non-English-speaking countries, although their content is English, that might be a sign that the followers are not real.
2. Check the engagement on their posts
A real engagement rate for social media is between 2-3.5%. So if you see a profile with an audience of 100k, but their engagement is consistently low, their followers may have been bought. They should realistically be getting thousands of likes per post and hundreds of comments.
3. Use a tool to check for fake followers
In addition to doing the “common sense check” we outlined above, you can use one of many influencer credibility tools such as grin.co, inbeat.co, and modash.io to let a fraud-finding algorithm confirm what you’ve observed by looking through their profiles yourself.
Their reputation and background are flawless
You want to carefully vet the influencer’s background. Make sure they’ve had no reputation-destroying scandals, shady business connections, or even a criminal history.
A simple way to do this is to search for “influencer name + scandal,” “name + controversy,” or “name + convicted” on Google.
Could they be damaging to your brand?
Do they have business dealings that might interfere with your campaign or potentially damage your brand’s reputation?
Obviously, these things are unacceptable and any sign of these issues will quickly make you rule out ever working with that particular influencer.
Ideally you’ll want to find someone whose ethics and values are impeccable – in line with your brand.
Where to Find the Right Influencers – Platforms & Tools
Look for influencers in-house and among your fans
Most likely, many of your employees are already publicly advocating for your brand. You should look to channel and grow that enthusiasm! After all, who better to showcase what your brand stands for and be the credible faces of it than the people who built it?
Also, your leadership team is part of the face of your brand. Their role as social influencers is becoming increasingly important. One way to help senior executives successfully pick up this role is through personal branding.
Finally, your consumers can become a form of influencers as well. User-generated content (UGC) from brand fans and advocates can be very valuable and boost community engagement.
Each of these groups can be powerful brand advocates, but when combined effectively, the result is synergistic, delivering a massive impact.
Manually search on web platforms
Who’s already interacting with your brand?
Some of your top followers might have sizable, related audiences themselves. If they’re already liking, commenting on, and sharing your brand’s posts, they might be a perfect fit for a collaboration. If you see your brand mentioned without it being sponsored content, that’s a great initial sign!
Think about your industry’s icons
It could be a good idea to check out the most well-known influential people in your niche – yes, they’re more expensive to work with than others, but they also have the biggest reach and authority.
Set up a Google Alert
It’s possible to create an alert in Google so that anytime your brand, a topic related to your niche, or the industry in general is mentioned, you get notified. This is a valuable option for finding those people who are immersed in your field, are always talking about it, and are ‘hip’ to the latest trends. These might be influencers you’d want to work with.
Hashtags
By searching hashtags on different social media platforms, especially Instagram, you can find people in your niche and those who are already working as influencers.
Do this by searching trending hashtags, hashtags about aspects of your field, and hashtags like #sponsored or #ad that tell you someone is working with brands.
Speakers at events
Usually, the most influential and authoritative people in your industry are paid to speak at industry events. Become familiar with the speakers on the list at conventions and other events and see who you could imagine working with for an influencer marketing campaign.
Look for blogs and niche authority sites
Search for websites and blogs that are written by influencers in your niche. Do this by typing in keywords related to your brand into Google and adding the word “blog.” There are also tools that automate this task, as we’ll address later.
Followers of other brands in your space
By doing a bit of competitive analysis, you can also find good influencers for your brand. Check out who is most engaged on other brand’s profiles and who has a good audience themselves. These influencers show they are invested in and proactive about marketing – which will be great if they’re working with you!
Find influencers with a similar audience as you
If you know your target audience, you know what other topics they’re interested in and which influencers in those niches they follow. For example, if your company sells popcorn, your audience might be interested in other related things, like watching movies. It might make sense to partner up with influencers in the movie space, so you can reach your audience in another sphere.
Set up a contact page for prospective influencers on your company’s website
If any influencers are browsing your website, they will see that you’re open to working with them and contact you. You just need to create the page on your site and provide a contact form – and they’ll do the outreach themselves!
Browse LinkedIn
Some influencers also have active LinkedIn profiles. To find them, look for the job description of “content creator.”
Search forums in your niche
In some niches, there are good online forums where the latest in your industry is being discussed. Look for those people who are constantly discussing and providing value, and who seem to have authority and influence within the community. Reach out to those people to become part of your influencer marketing campaign.
If you’ve gone the manual route and are not yet satisfied with your results – or if you’d rather not do all that work yourself – there are two other ways to find the right influencers for your campaign:
You can use influencer-finding tools or hire an influencer marketing agency.
Influencity is an “Influencer Relationship Management” tool. It allows you to find, analyze, and organize influencers, as well as manage campaigns and forecast and measure the results of those campaigns.
Post For Rent call themselves the “one-stop-shop for influencer marketing.” Their services include influencer search, an influencer marketplace, the NEXT business manager, and managed service.
With Hype Auditor, you get influencer analytics, influencer discovery, campaign management, media plans, trends and rankings, and analysis of competitors and the market landscape on social media.
Created for finding influencers specifically on Twitter, Followerwonk lets you connect with those authoritative power users on the platform. It can not only search Twitter bios globally, but also analyze and compare accounts to find the right influencers.
Respona lets you find bloggers who are active in your niche. They will monitor for brand and competitor mentions and automate your influencer outreach.
Hire an influencer marketing agency
If this whole process of finding influencers, vetting them, and reaching out is something you’d rather not do yourself right now – influencer marketing agencies do all of it for you.
A good influencer marketing agency will have:
A built-up network and database of relevant and trustworthy influencers
A streamlined process for collaborating with brands and influencers
A creative eye for which campaigns will have the most impact
Proven experience with effective storytelling
Seamless campaign management
The expertise and tools to properly analyze campaign metrics
An impressive portfolio and positive testimonials from past clients
An influencer marketing strategy tailored to your demands and your budget
Obviously, working with an agency will cost more than doing the work yourself. On the other hand, you are free to focus on other tasks in your business and can trust that their proven process will give you a good return on your investment in your influencer marketing campaign.
Conclusion
There you have it: Your guide to finding the right influencers for your campaign this year. If you follow the steps outlined above, we are confident that you will be able to use the proven power of influencer marketing to bring measurable growth to your business.
The definition of the modern influencer on social media
What qualifies someone as an influencer?
What is an example of a social media influencer?
The power of social media influencers – defined
What exactly does a social media influencer do?
Is being a social media influencer defined as a job?
Do influencers make a lot of money?
How influencers wield their influence: A definition
Defining the different categories of influencers
Influencers as defined by social media platform
Defining the most popular fields influencers work in
Conclusion
The term “influencer” is everywhere now, and it seems like every kid (even many adults!) wants to “work as an influencer” today.
But, is there any substance behind that term?
Or is “influencer” just another buzzword from the young generation?
Let’s get rid of the ambiguity surrounding that word.
We’ll take a deep dive into the definition, what an influencer is, what they do, and how it all works.
Diving in…
Who is an influencer? Broadly speaking, you’re considered an influencer if you have authority on a given topic. People listen to you and they’ll even emulate you because they respect and look up to you.
The definition of “influential”
What you do when you influence someone is “to cause someone to adopt or change a behavior, belief, or opinion.”
When you’re an influential person, you can have this effect on a considerable number of people. You could call them your followers.
This influence can be used for many purposes. An influencer can steer his or her followers to take certain actions, start thinking in a certain way, or start taking out their wallets.
You can use influence for good or bad. While many influential people are ethical and responsible, some are not, and they can lead their followers to make bad decisions.
Who we could define as the first paid influencer
While influencer marketing has been booming in recent years – its market size shot up from CHF1.7 Billion in 2016 to CHF13.8 Billion in 2021, the concept has been around for a very long time. The first recorded paid celebrity endorsement, what we could call the first case of influencer marketing in modern times, was Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, who got hired to publicly endorse the Turkish cigarette brand Murad, in the year 1905.
The definition of the modern influencer on social media
The nature of media and celebrity has since transformed – but influencer marketing is going stronger than ever.
Nowadays, it’s no longer just celebrities who are acting as influencers endorsing products to their fans. Today influencers come in all shapes and sizes (as we’ll talk about later). Anyone with a sizable audience on social media who is trusted for their expertise, or even just liked for entertainment value, holds the power to change minds and should be considered an influencer.
They can steer people’s opinions and buying decisions – because they are liked, and/or have authority in their niche.
Brands love influencers, because their endorsements are a great way to generate awareness and build trust with an audience they might not otherwise be able to reach as easily and convincingly.
This has opened up great opportunities for those willing to put in the work to become social media influencers. Today, many have the goal of working in this unique type of “job.”
What qualifies someone as an influencer?
Anyone with at least a few hundred followers on social media, whose posts get good engagement from their audience, can be considered an influencer. Also, their content should be focused on a specific topic which they build authority around.
This way, their audience knows to trust their opinion on this specific topic.
What is an example of a social media influencer?
Every niche has influencers. For example, Taulant aka T-Ronimo on TikTok stands out with over 168k followers. Zeki also focuses on comedy with his Instagram account Swissmeme. On it, he shares typical Swiss situations as memes, causing many laughs among his Swiss community. But other areas are also represented by great Swiss influencers, such as Mimoza in the fashion/beauty category or Martina Bisaz in travel. If you want to get to know more exciting Swiss influencers, you can find an exciting article here.
ZekiMartina BisazMimoza
The power of social media influencers – defined
Influencers can do for a brand what a regular ad can’t do as easily. They can give an authentic endorsement that their audience will actually trust and follow.
“We want to do business with people or brands that we like and have forged a bond with over the years.” – Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
This is why more and more brands are realizing the power of influencer marketing.
Alex Bolen, the chief executive of Oscar De La Renta, said: “It would not be an exaggeration to say that our handbag business has taken off through our engagement with the influencer community. Our production has doubled.”
Influencers get people to act – namely, to pull out their wallets in good faith. And that makes them very powerful. Even if they only have a modest-sized following.
What exactly does a social media influencer do?
It might look easy from the outside. Just take selfies with some products and rake in the money! Right?
But there’s a lot that has to happen behind the scenes when you’re an influencer:
They create and manage their personal brand and their accounts
They craft their strategy and plan content
They prepare for shooting video and images – clothes, make-up, lighting, choosing the right locations and angles
They’re constantly engaging with their audience
They deal with existing brand partners and acquire new ones
In short: They run a legitimate, full-time business, often with multiple employees
Is being a social media influencer defined as a job?
If we’re being precise, influencers are not employees, but rather entrepreneurs. They are their own small, or in some cases, mid-sized, business. They themselves are responsible for creating everything surrounding their brand, managing it, and growing it.
Even if they’re working with an agency or in a long-term contract with a brand, they have more responsibilities than many traditional employees.
In this case, they are acting as a business that is contracting with another.
Do influencers make a lot of money?
In many cases, yes. Typically, different-sized influencers make between CHF 200 and CHF 100,000 per post. A-list celebrities can even make up to CHF1 Million for one social media post!
How much exactly they make depends on the niche, audience size, the influencer’s likeability and ability to sell, content quality and frequency, and what kinds of contracts they manage to get from brands.
Four ways influencers can make money
1. Doing affiliate marketing
The influencer endorses a product in their content, and they receive a percentage of any resulting sales.
This type of commission-based marketing is also performance-based.
The more sales the influencer drives, the more they earn for themselves. This is often done through giving out promo codes to their followers that they can enter to get a discount with a brand. The sale is then tied to the influencer’s affiliate account.
Another way to do this is by providing a special link for the audience, but this works better on some social media platforms than others.
2. Getting money for each post
Content that is published as a collaboration between brands and influencers must be declared as a sponsored post for the transparency. The brand tells influencers which products/services they should talk about and how they should present their product. To ensure that the content is received by the target group, it is important that the influencer is given enough freedom in the creative design so that they can ensure that the posts fit into their feed and come across as authentic. The influencer is paid for the published content, which has been created in collaboration with a brand. How much an influencer earns depends on various factors, e.g. reach, Swiss Reach, content format, etc.
3. Entering into long-term contracts with brands
These relationships can last a year or more.
The influencer agrees on a certain number of campaigns, pieces of content, mentions etc. and receives payments in return for the duration of the contract.
This can be a nice stable income, which in many cases is quite welcome for the influencer who has to always be hustling for next week’s deal.
4. Receiving free products
One of the perks of the social media influencer lifestyle:
You often get free products to try out and possibly recommend to your followers. In most cases, these products will be yours to keep.
How influencers wield their influence: A definition
Here’s how an influencer’s influence actually plays out in the real world:
Influencers are connectors
They are like nodes in a network that bring together their followers, fellow influencers, and brands.
Because they are experts and leaders in their industry, their power to connect others is immense.
This comes with a lot of responsibility on the part of the influencer, by the way. If they start burning the people who trust them by repeatedly giving bad recommendations, their status as an influencer could become permanently damaged.
Influencers are informers
It’s what the internet has been all about since the beginning – efficiently spreading relevant information.
Today, social media influencers play an important role in spreading information: They keep their fans up to date with new items, developments, and even breaking news. Usually the information being spread by individual influencers is organic and more trustworthy than corporate sources.
According to a recent survey, influencers are the most trusted source of information and the most influential in the decision-making process, even more so than trade exhibitions or word-of-mouth recommendations.
Moreover, they curate information from different sources to make it more digestible for their audience.
And so, these influencers play a key role in spreading information and relevant messages!
Influencers shape opinions
While engaging and informing are vital aspects of an influencer’s job, ultimately wielding power is about influencing people’s opinions. And influencers are great at it. They’re charismatic, authoritative, and persuasive.
Their influence on the audience’s opinions can be immense, particularly if they stay timely, knowledgeable and relevant, make good content, and are careful to not misuse their followers’ trust.
Defining the different categories of influencers
Nano-influencer: Under 5000 followers
You can be a nano-influencer with some hundred social media followers, without much celebrity status.
These influencers are still a welcome business partner for certain brands, because they don’t command high payouts, or are happy just to receive free products in return for endorsements. This means they can hire many nano-influencers for the price of one macro-influencer.
More importantly, their audience, often made up of mostly their close friends and family, are extremely engaged and trust their opinion greatly. When they recommend something, it holds a lot of weight!
Micro-influencer: 5k-100k followers
We know that bigger isn’t better with influencer marketing, and working with a micro-influencer is a sweet spot between authenticity and affordability on one side and popularity and reach on the other.
Also, these small types of influencers are usually more available. While most of them do get a fair number of offers, they are usually not overwhelmed with brand deals flooding their inboxes.
Micro-influencers are the definition of niche authorities. They are experts in their topic of choice and educate their modest following on everything surrounding it. Again, engagement is very high with these micro-influencers, because their audience feels more like a family than a huge disjointed crowd, as big celebrity accounts often do.
Macro-influencer: 100k-1m followers
This is where we get into the territory of massive reach. If a macro-influencer recommends your product, you can be sure that it’ll hit hundreds of thousands of eyeballs. Accordingly, macro-influencers have higher prices, less availability, and higher standards than smaller accounts.
But, crafting the right campaign with a macro-influencer can drive serious awareness and sales, so – done right – it can be an amazing vehicle for business growth.
Mega-influencer: Over 1 million followers
These are actors, musicians, and other A-list celebrities.
Celebrities might have a huge audience, but often have less influence than smaller influencers: They appear less authentic and often don’t have as much authority and expertise in niche topics.
They are also picky, often difficult to work with, and very expensive. Many brands therefore prefer to work with multiple smaller influencers instead of one mega-influencer.
Influencers as defined by social media platform
Bloggers
The original online experts. Bloggers go deep on their chosen niche topic, and people rely on them for research and product reviews. Some blogs grow so authoritative that they turn into publishing companies rather than simple websites.
Yet, in the beginning, was the single influencer – the one you go to find out the latest and best information around the topic they’re an expert in.
YouTubers
YouTubers use the visual and auditory channel to do a similar thing to bloggers: Educate and inform their audience. But, YouTube videos also usually have more entertainment value than blogs – and influencers use that power to build huge, loyal followings. YouTube videos are usually longer than videos on TikTok and Instagram.
Brand sponsorship can take different forms: Brands can simply get a shoutout at the start and end of the video. In some cases, the influencer will make an entire video testing a product or incorporating a product into the story of the video.
There are many opportunities for brands to appear – and they love it!
Podcasters
With podcasts being the longest form of online content, they draw a very interested and loyal audience. Hence, sponsoring a show can be very valuable for brands.
Instagrammers
The advent of Instagram’s platform for sharing images and short-form videos is when influencer marketing really blew up as a business.
Viral Instagram Reels are flashy, fancy, and engaging. A strategic product placement or endorsement by the influencer can do wonders for a brand’s marketing efforts.
Sponsored Instagram posts are also a great way for influencers to get paid – often handsomely.
So today most young people aspire to become influencers themselves because they see the cash and status it can bring.
TikTokers
This is the hot young platform, and home to a lot of up-and-coming social media influencers. While TikTok is a more fast-paced platform, people still grow to love and associate with their favorite creators. This opens the door to brand endorsements and influencer sponsorships, similar to other platforms.
Defining the most popular fields influencers work in
Here are some of the niches that influencers choose – most of these are trending, have a large audience, and can be very profitable to create content around.
1. The Business and Money-Making niche
Many people want to be an influencer in this niche, and their quality and ethics are on a spectrum. You can make a lot of money by teaching others about money. There are endless resources and tools to recommend that you can earn substantial commissions for.
2. The Beauty niche
One of the most popular niches for young, often female content creators to be an influencer in. But also becoming more and more important for male creators.
3. The Fitness and Health niche
This niche is always going strong. It’s also competitive. Many different people have the goal of being health and fitness influencers. Fitness is also a very visual topic, so is well suited to social media.
4.The Cooking and Food niche
People love to look at recipes and cooking videos online – and influencers will provide! Some of these food and cooking accounts grow to millions of followers.
5. The Tech niche
There are always new and expensive products to review. This niche is quite competitive, but can offer great payouts to influencers.
6. The Travel niche
Travel seems to be an evergreen niche that is coming back in 2022 and beyond. Influencers can partner with tour companies, airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies to turn documenting their travels into a money-making activity.
7. The Fashion niche
Fashion modeling nowadays happens more on social media than it does at fashion shows or in print magazines. Consequently, there is good money to be made for influencers representing luxury clothing brands or as affiliates selling accessories, for example.
8. The Parenting niche
This niche is growing as more people get their information from trusted online influencers than from books or other traditional sources, even on topics such as parenting.
9. The Lifestyle niche
A broad, and popular niche. Creators can pick from a number of topics. Although it takes something special to stand out in this niche. An influencer has to be charismatic, successful, creative, or a combination of those in order to make it in this niche.
10. The Pet niche
It seems like cute kitten pictures and videos have always been the most popular thing on the internet. It now goes so much further. Pets have their own Instagram accounts, dog training gurus are everywhere. The growing pet niche is still a good niche to get into.
Conclusion
We hope this helped clear up the question of what an influencer really is! If you’re thinking about becoming an influencer yourself – or you’re a business curious about if using influencer marketing might be a good idea for your business – feel free to check out our other articles on these topics or join the email list to receive the latest news and trends around influencers and influencer marketing.
It’s no secret that the pandemic and lockdowns have had far-reaching, long-term, devastating consequences worldwide. From damaged mental health, delayed cancer treatments, and weight gain, to economic devastation and loss of education. As the world moves toward recovery, influencers and influencer marketing can play a variety of helpful roles.
Influencers as Role Models
Influencers are important community voices in society, and they function as role models whether they want to or not. In particular, influencers are often voices of the young community and an effective means for connecting with young people.
Influencers’ behavior reflects their community. Throughout the pandemic, they’ve been able to set a positive example by being careful to obey the rules and restrictions and taking care of their own health.
Modeling Healthy and Active Lives
Many influencers are focused on healthy living, and exemplifying such behavior is particularly important during and after the pandemic. Exercise, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep all help strengthen people’s immune systems to fight off a variety of infections when needed.
The term “active lifestyle” typically refers to fitness, but influencers can also support post-pandemic recovery by leading active social lives. As communities see them engaging in travel, dining, social happenings, and more, influencers can provide inspiration and reassurance of the safety of such activities – taking into account the official safety guidelines to do so responsibly, of course.
As people ease back into active social lives and attend increasingly large gatherings, influencers can serve as trail blazers and help ‘new’ normality seem less scary and intimidating. By exhibiting these behaviors, influencers can help socializing to become more relatable and a good path for people to follow.
Supporting Economic Growth
The economic devastation of lockdowns hit some industries much harder than others. The global economy could lose over $4 trillion due to COVID-19’s impact on tourism alone. Travel has always been a popular theme on many social media platforms. Influencers can set a positive example by actively traveling and enjoying hotels, restaurants, and tourist destinations while still respecting the countries’ guidelines and regulations for the pandemic.
Additionally, while many jobs were eliminated by lockdowns, labor shortages exist in some regions. Influencers could also serve to inform young people of openings in various jobs they might not have considered, further driving recruitment and economic recovery.
People enjoy using social media to stay in touch with activities in their local community. By bringing awareness to local businesses, influencers can direct their support to the businesses most in need that they have personal connections with. For example, the Family of 5 (F05) Travel Blogoffered support to the many small businesses impacted by the pandemic.
Encouraging Vaccination While Private Issues Become Increasingly Public
These numbers change rapidly, but currently 52.51% of the population of Switzerland is fully vaccinated. In the US the percentage stands at 53.55%. While more people continue to get vaccinated, the rates in the US and Europe have slowed, and public health organizations are working to encourage continued uptake.
While some influencers are hesitant to engage on an issue that has become political, plenty have made the choice to publicly share their support for vaccination. Health has often been a private matter, but now we must recognize the change as many choose to make certain facets of their health status public. In particular, influencers can serve as effective touch points with young
Influencer Marketing is The Right Tool
Influencer marketing is the right tool because young people take it seriously and see it often more than other media and ads. Many people are more trusting of influencers than traditional marketing. For example, 84% of millennials don’t trust traditional advertising. The Swiss government hired a marketing agency to help educate the public about the pandemic. The agency first invested in traditional ads and, fortunately, they’ve recently started to work with influencers as well.
We’ve seen a variety of effective campaigns with influencers, such as Aditotoro’s TikTok interview with Swiss politician Alain Berset, which was shared on TikTok and YouTube. Berset answered questions and clarified the importance of the existing lockdowns and restrictions.
The Role of Comedians and Podcasts
When people need information about infectious disease, they don’t usually turn to comedians. However, comedians have played an interesting, helpful role in the pandemic. Zeki made many jokes about both COVID-19 and Swiss politician Alain Berset, and he did so in a good-natured, inoffensive way. Humor is a constructive way of coping with a variety of challenges. Zweiammorge, a comedy and meme channel, also brought much-needed brevity to social media.
In the first wave of the pandemic, podcasts served as one of the main sources of information and have continued to be a useful social media tool for scientists. For example, Stefan Besser spoke with politicians and government epidemiologists. Influencers serve as community voices and, by hosting interviews with experts, provide important info to their audiences.
Influencers Helping with Society’s Challenges
While influencers generally put out messages that others may follow, they can also serve as an outlet for followers to express their views. Influencers can help communities work through difficult issues and provide a voice to younger people. Many Swiss influencers have interviewed and surveyed people on the street, generating interesting insights. For example, TikToker Joung Gustav met with people at Stadelhofen during the lockdown and made videos with them, revealing a closer look at their points of view. Such posts can provide an unfiltered platform for a broader group of people and expand beyond the voices featured on news media.
Anja Lapčević, Kingfluencers’ Chief Influence Officer and Co-CEO, recognizes that people active on social media have a degree of responsibility. Her vision to encourage conscious behavior in influencer marketing prompted her to co-found Conscious Influence Hub (CIH), a non-profit NGO.
Many Influencers can Serve as a Source of Inspiration
Many of the top influencers are big superstars, but those with a smaller following can still serve as sources of inspiration, healing, and support. Often such micro-influencers have closer connections to their communities, leading to a greater impact. Unlike big stars, they are normal people living lives we can relate to, with the power to inspire by showing that we can all achieve great things. Influencers encourage people to not be shy in revealing their own creativity and imagination, whether in a funny way or serious way. We all deserve a platform and the opportunity to share our ideas with the world.
If you’d like to team up with influencers to support post-pandemic recovery, contact Kingfluencers for help making a perfect influencer match and structuring campaigns to meet your goals.
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Simply add your email address below to get all insights into our newest consumer study.
