How much can you be paid as an influencer?

The influencer marketing industry is set to grow to around $13.8 billion in 2021.

It is one of the fastest-growing marketing channels, and some marketers find it tough to keep pace with the constantly changing playing field. With so many platforms available, marketers need to understand where to focus their efforts, the type of ROI to expect, and how much time to devote to influencer marketing.

For influencers, it is essential to gauge how much they can charge for their services and what metrics impact how much a brand is willing to invest.Almost 48% of the world population is active on social media, whether Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitch. Those users are not just following friends, but over half use social media to keep up-to-date with their favourite brands and make purchase decisions.

Influencers play a huge role in the process, and brands can collaborate with them to drive a stream of customers to their products and services.

This article looks at the different types of influencers, what they can expect to be paid, and how brands can find and price influencer partners.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a social media strategy whereby brands work with people that have a large and engaged social following. Although an influencer is often associated as a celebrity or blogger, they can be anyone who commands trust within your industry or niche.

Typically, five types of influencers are segmented based on their volume of followers.

• Nano-influencers have less than 1,000 followers and are brand advocates sharing both online and offline.

• Micro-influencers have over 1,000 followers and are highly relevant and trusted within a focused network

• Professional influencers have over 20,000 followers and tend to be business leaders, journalists, or subject matter experts.

• Macro-influencers have over 100,000 followers and are trusted stars with and massive reach and regularly publish content.

• Celebrities have over 1,000,000 followers and are in the public eye with access to vast audiences

Factors that impact influencer rates

The influencer segment is one factor that impacts rates, but there are several other parameters for both marketers and influencers to consider.

First, you will want to consider the type of social media platform. Each channel has a different key demographic and purpose.

Although some influencers may decide to offer consistent pricing regardless of the platform, rates will likely vary depending on the audience type and production value required.

For example, creating YouTube videos requires far more production time than a Tweet, and marketers should expect to pay more. We will look at the rates for each platform in more detail later in this article.

While some influencers might think they need to hold celebrity status to be successful, 2019 figures show that brands used influencers with less than 100,000 followers ten times more often than those with over 100,000 followers. A celebrity or macro influencer will get your brand out there. Still, in terms of ROI, nano and micro-influencers are delivering better returns due to their targeted followers within a niche.

The industry or specialization can also impact influencer rates. For example, if you are in the financial services industry, using Kim Kardashian to promote your brand is unlikely to gain audience trust as much as a niche micro-influencer. Some of the most popular niches like beauty and wellbeing will have thousands of influencers available, and prices will be lower for them to keep competitive. However, if you operate in a niche industry, subject matter experts can charge more as they offer unparalleled expertise.

Seasonality will also affect influencer rates. Influencers will rightly have higher rates during holiday or sale seasons, for example, where brands and battling to be seen by audiences. Brands wanting a Christmas campaign should plan with influencers months ahead to get a reasonable rate.

Exclusivity is a further factor that can benefit marketers and influencers but will come at a higher rate.If someone within a niche is creating exceptionally high engagement, chances are they will be in high demand. Brands may want to consider asking influencers to work exclusively with them and not for the competition. An offer for exclusivity is excellent for an influencer as they can virtually charge whatever they want. Marketers should expect that higher rate as they are asking influencers to sacrifice other potential income.

What do influencers earn per post?

The May 2019 Klear Influencer Marketing Rate Card is based on 2,500 worldwide influencers with over 500 followers across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The segments are slightly different to the five categories we discussed above, but the chart below gives an idea of the typical influencer rates depending on followers.

The disparity between micro and power influencers shows you why brands are investing more of their budget in niche advocates. The graphic below offers an example of estimating the earned media value based on influencer cost and engagement rate for a micro-influencer vs a celebrity.

The 2020 Influencer Marketing Outlook Report shows the top platforms for influencer marketing are Instagram (82%), YouTube (41%), TikTok (23%), Twitter (23%), and Facebook (5%).

The rates by segment and platform can vary but on average, are something like below.

Note: figures shown above are per post/video

Given 70% of teenagers trust influencers over celebrities, with the high celebrity rates, you can see why marketers are looking towards lower-level niche advocates. The range of rates you see will depend on factors we discussed earlier in the article.

Finding an influencer

There are lots of influencer marketing platforms as well as agencies that work to connect influencers with the brands that want to hire them.

For brands, it is essential to set out some clear goals as to what you want from an influencer marketing strategy. Search Engine Journal suggests four strategies to help find the best Instagram influencers for your brand.

Influencers should have their own rate cards for brands to check out their charges across different platforms and types of posts. Brands can then measure their return on investment for each campaign and decide whether it is a sustainable partnership.

There are various types of influencer marketing campaigns that will suit some over others.

For example, if a brand sells toys, Ryan Toys Review is a favourite amongst the younger generation.

Ryan spends time unboxing and playing with toys from his brand affiliates and has 30.6 million subscribers on YouTube. Although it will cost a lot, brands can expect an excellent return from a worldwide audience reach.

Noelle Graham is a nano-influencer focusing on chemical-free and cruelty-free products. Brands within a niche market Sponsored content and posts from her are likely to generate engagement in a more targeted market.

Summary

Influencer marketing is all about finding the right balance between a brand and the influencer.

Naturally, all brands have budgets, but if an influencer can reach audiences that provide immense value to your brand, their services are worth a premium amount. Influencers that can demonstrate they genuinely advocate the brand message have substantial earning potential.