Social media rules the roost in today’s world and marketers vying for customer attention will be extremely successful in their endeavors if they move their marketing efforts online. One of the best ways to do this is to enlist the help of influencers who will promote the products/services of the company for a fee.
Investment in influencer marketing is absolutely essential if brands wish to stay visible and relevant to their target customers. But apart from increasing sales, influencer marketing can bring in other benefits for the company:
- Better marketing content
- Larger market coverage
- Industry expertise
- Qualified network of leads
- Extensive social media visibility
- Faster results
- Greater ROI
These advantages make influencer marketing worth the investment. But how much does influencer marketing actually cost and how much should you budget for it as part of your marketing plan?
Cost of influencer marketing
Influencer charges depend on multiple factors:
- Experience of the influencer
- Platform to be worked on
- Size of followership
- Complexity of the project
- Number of posts to be created
- Direct partnership vs. agency collaboration
Macro influencers (the likes of Kendall Jenner, Rachael Jones, and Alexa Chung) charge extremely hefty fees going into the tens of thousands to write blogs or create other social media posts for brands. Micro influencers on the other hand (think Allison Graham, Chelsea Martin, and Em Roberts) charge $500 and upwards for every 24-hour campaign, depending on the scale of the project. These days, you have specialized influencer marketing companies like ifluenz which can help you find influencers who fit your style and budget.
Tips to plan for your influencer marketing budget
- Decide which platform works best for your campaign
Instagram is the most preferred social media platform for brands, followed by snapchat and YouTube. This makes them more expensive compared to other platforms. As a rule of thumb, most Instagram influencers charge approximately $1000 for every 100,000 followers.
But Instagram may not always be the right choice for you. So its important that you evaluate which platform works best for you and your audience before you spend valuable finances on your campaign.
- Identify the worth of the influencer you plan to choose
Macro influencers are always more expensive than micro influencers, and influencers who have a very dedicated and niche set of followers also charge higher rates considering how they can encourage their followers to try absolutely anything.
Before you make a choice of influencers, consider their worth on social media and their worth to your brand. If you believe they really will make a big dent to your campaign and will benefit you greatly, then it is worth setting aside a larger budget.
Influencer marketing companies can guide you in understanding the worth of your chosen influencers.
- Come to an agreement about the pricing and campaign terms
Once you’ve chosen your influencer, it is time to come to terms about the campaign rates, number of posts, frequency of posting and duration of the project. For first time users of influencer marketing services, the pay-per-post scheme works the best. It’s safe, and it’ll help you keep a minimum budget for your campaign until you decide if the influencer is worth additional investment or not.
But once you have worked with an influencer and are happy with their work, it is better to rope them in for a long-term, time-bound, completely exclusive assignment.
- Allocate and track a test investment
Finally, once all the specifics are in place, release a test amount from your budget and get started on your very first influencer marketing campaign. Monitor how well this campaign works with your existing campaigns. Once you’re satisfied with the results, slowly increase your spending and enlarge your budget.
You should also make it a habit of tracking your spending to understand how your ROI is faring against your expenses.