Influencer marketing is the top strategy used by brands today.  It’s impact on users is very attractive for companies and it brings results in terms of engagement and consumer loyalty.   And, of course, when it comes time to make a buying decision, 83% of consumers prefer to listen to the opinions of friends or someone they know, rather than advertising.

The effectiveness of influencer marketing has evolved along with the positive results they bring.  To the point where there are now three different kinds of “influencers” within the concept of influencer marketing.    Each group is focused on a different strategy.

Celebrities

A celebrity is someone who is already famous and who influences others because of their popularity.  Everybody, or almost everybody, follows the profile of at least one or more celebrities who at one time or another has inspired us.  Either with a hair style, a certain look, or even a recipe.  This was how the impact of people on social media first began to be noticed.

Influencers

An influencer, or thought leader, has a lot of power on social media, just as their name implies.  They influence the decisions of their followers, brands love them, and consumers trust them.  They are people who are experts in one or several categories, who bring tremendous potential to social media because of their credibility and their faithful community of followers.  They can cause the opinions of their followers to change when they speak on a certain topic and they cause reactions.

Micro-influencers

The newest generation who are popular on social media and blogs has now arrived.   They share their passions on their profiles and have become relevant, creating a community with the same interests as they have.  They don’t need to have a large number of followers.  In fact, they usually have fewer than 5,000.  But their followers are loyal, they tend to share the same preferences and, as a result, there’s real interest in what a micro-influencer has to say.  These micro-influencers are very attractive to brands when the brand needs to segment the audiences in their campaigns, because these are profiles with specific interests.  

All three of these groups share one thing in common:  Trust.  It’s one of the most important values which they bring to brands, and it’s a necessary and vital component for any brand that wants to earn the trust of their consumers.  And trust is the one factor that all of these influencers can bring to a brand.