According to the Digital Marketing Institute, the advent of Instagram has created a space for consumers and marketing professionals to look at the cope of social media differently.  The application has grown into a social media staple across the world, it has boosted by its subsequent affiliation with Facebook. A platform where people have become overnight celebrities by continuously churning content which engages the masses.

Over time, these influencers have created businesses which has is a league of their own and were termed "social media influencers" or just " influencers." Each influencer serves as an inspiration for businesses and brands on how to become reputable through Instagram, becoming an example of self-sustenance.

Who is a social media influencer after all?

One who has established credibility in a specific industry and has access to a huge audience and can persuade others to act based on their recommendations. An influencer possesses tools to attract viewers consistently and can motivate others to expand their social reach.

An influencer may be anyone from a blogger to a celebrity to an online entrepreneur. They must simply capitalize on a niche to attain widespread credibility. Since content is constantly churned and easily digested as images or short videos, it encourages more peer-to-peer sharing, which helps brands improve their target audience reach. The audience is not limited to their actual followers; they can connect with the followers of their followers who share their content. As a result, they engage in many sponsored posts, allowing them to be paid for what they share on Instagram.

Brand Managers are always on the look-out to amp their social media game, each product or service is looking out for influencers who could match their segment and help market the products and services differently, through videos, challenges, reviews, and pictures.

 Most of these influencer bases are widely divided into broad segments by marketers.

Actors and actresses

Celebrities can come across as the traditional top-tier influencers. They have been often deemed as the face of brands or considered brand ambassadors and are highly sought after by companies. They have smartly diversified their target audience from traditional to digital space to stay relevant.

They are regularly approached by fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands as these resonate well with their admiring fans, and their reach is astronomical and regularly translates into conversions. Brands also use actors and actresses in their marketing strategy to align their brand with a household name and attract media attention.

Sports stars and athletes

In India and most of South Asia, cricket is considered to be a religion amongst the young and the old, sports stars, have a large influential fan base, which is very vital for marketers to tap into. Sports stars are generally a good fit for food and drink brands, as well as health, wellness, and lifestyle brands and those in the fitness space. When aligning your brand with a sports star, ensure their reputation and personality match your brand, and also that they are not working with and/or promoting a competitor in their line of work.

Musicians

Musicians are another traditional top-tier influencer with great reach and engagement with their fans. Artists and performers are great to engage across several industries, and we often see brands in the technology space (headphones, phones, computers, etc) working with influencers in the music industry. Engagements with these traditional influencers are very formal, and often big budgets and contracts are involved

Reality TV stars

Unlike other celebrities, reality TV stars tend to be extremely time-sensitive and are somewhat “hot property” for some time. Contestants on dating, cooking and home renovation shows transform from everyday people to TV stars almost overnight as they are thrust into the spotlight and suddenly find themselves dealing with screaming fans, paparazzi and influencer engagements. Some enjoy the spotlight while others curse it, so be aware that not all reality TV stars want to remain in the public eye, nor are they all the right fit to publicly represent your brand.

Consumers relate to reality TV stars and find them personable, because once upon a time they were just like everyone else, so there is big potential to align your brand with an up-and-coming voice in your industry.

Bloggers and vloggers

Bloggers and vloggers (video bloggers) are the next generations of influential people, they are the 21st-century influencers and they are building their empire one blog post (or Youtube video) at a time. What sets them apart from celebrities is that they have a dedicated platform where they regularly create high-quality content for their audience and then share that content across their other platforms to grow their community, build trust and establish authority in their niche, whether that is fashion, food, beauty, technology, sport, travel or gaming. Bloggers and vloggers have power over digital influencers and are the perfect addition to your content, social media and influencer marketing strategy.

Bloggers and Vloggers in India have diversified to the next level. They are paid way more heed than celebrities and have a huge fan base across the globe.

Social media stars

Unlike bloggers and vloggers, social media stars aren’t popular for creating in-depth content or producing informative articles or videos, nor are they trusted as an authority on a topic. However, that doesn’t mean that social media stars don’t have anything to offer in your influencer marketing strategy. It’s quite the opposite and they do have a lot of influence over their audience and consumer behavior - they can make anything go from drab to fab in the blink of an eye. Social media influencers are generally well-known and loved for sharing fun images of their everyday life, from the products they are using and the clothes they are wearing to the food they are eating, the adventures they are planning, the people they are hanging out with and the “things” they are loving. Collaborating with social media influencers is generally best if your brand is in the fashion, beauty, food or travel industry.

Photographers

Photographers are increasingly becoming a new breed of influencers as content that values quality over quantity is demanded from both brands and markets and consumers and social media users. As a shift to focus on high-quality content proliferates, photographers have become influencers in their own right, and are regularly engaged by brands to capture and share imagery, particularly in the fashion, travel and adventure space. International camera brands (GoPro, Canon, Nikon, etc) also regularly work with photographers to share information about their products. Their imagery is engaging, professional and inspiring, which has seen them amass hundreds and thousands of followers who love to follow their work.

Models

People love to follow models on Instagram and take a glimpse into their seemingly glamorous lives (and also feel inspired by their workout and diet routines!). Models are generally the best fit for fashion brands and collaborations can take on several forms and range from long-term partnerships like being a brand ambassador or regular model for the brand, to short-term engagements to drive brand awareness and exposure.

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs and business people are considered to be influencers, especially when they have a loyal following of devoted fans. They range in industry and specialty, but they are inspiring and people hang on their every word, which ultimately makes them an influencer in their own right. Think of people like fitness queen Kayla Itsines, #girlboss author and Nasty Girl founder Sophia Amoruso and serial entrepreneur Lisa Messenger from Collective Hub, just to name a few. Only work with an entrepreneurial influencer if they align with your brand and don’t have any conflicts of interest.

Influencers are people who influence a group of people, so think outside of the box when it comes to finding influencers who are the perfect fit for your audience and brand message. If they align with your target market and have a voice in the space you want to be in, get involved and discover a way you can collaborate.