Facebook Influencer marketing has proven to be a valuable brand strategy. Businesses that have already taken advantage of utilizing social media influencers to promote what they’re selling are continuing to include influencers in their marketing plans. Businesses that haven’t yet utilized influencer services are now looking into their influencer marketing options as this top marketing strategy is one that’s here to stay.
From new startups to big brand names, like Motorola, Pepsi, and Adidas, businesses are deciding to connect with one or more social media marketing influencers in 2021. Over the next five years, predictions are that the majority of businesses will connect with at least one professional influencer to promote their brand.
Influencers are professional promoters. They create distinct types of quality content to inspire, inform, educate, and entertain their followers. They understand the importance of influencing other people’s buying decisions and use best practices to do so. They’re pros at starting social conversations that drive engagement and start new trends.
Influencers specialize in their chosen niche and have created an online presence that lets others know who they are and why they’re an expert in their niche. They partner up with relevant brands with the goal of promoting this brand to their audience. These social media promotional personalities make ideal brand ambassadors.
One of the ways influencers are categorized is by how many followers they’ve built up. Nano-influencers have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, micro-influencers between 10,000 and 100,000 followers, macro-influencers between 100,000 and 1,000,000 followers, and mega-influencers have more than 1,000,000 followers.
Another way is by niche. Influencer marketing niches are many, making it so potential brands must choose a niche that best fits in with their brand. Popular niches include travel, fashion, beauty, luxury, business, animals, health and fitness, gaming, and animals.
For a business to experience successful marketing after choosing to add this groundbreaking promotional venture to its marketing plan, it must understand all of its influencer marketing options before making a final choice. One of the most important decisions to make is deciding which of the leading social media platforms best represent a brand’s voice.
The top four social media platforms businesses are using to connect with an influencer in 2021 include Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. These leading marketing channels are successfully helping businesses build brand awareness and reach their ideal audience via influencers. Every brand’s goal is to generate leads and drive sales and these platforms are so far proving to offer the most marketing benefits.
Businesses must decide which platform best represents their brand. Each social media platform offers its own unique advantages and disadvantages. For example, brands may want to use the Instagram platform because it’s an image-based marketing channel and their marketing plan includes using lots of images to promote their product and/or services.
Twitter offers a completely different type of marketing platform. Brand promotion on Twitter is more about giving its audience real-time information. Twitter users want the latest news when following their chosen influencers. While Twitter doesn’t have the high number of users of other platforms, it does have a more engaged audience.
YouTube is famous for bringing online videos into the mainstream. YouTube’s platform gives influencers the power to promote what they’re selling in a way that truly engages audience members. More often than not, influencer marketing conversion rates are higher on YouTube when compared to traditional ad conversion rates.
Influencers who choose Facebook as a promotional platform do so for the reason that the high majority of consumers trust what Facebook influencers have to say. Accordingly, Facebook is a leading platform when it comes to promoting brand awareness, attracting new audiences, and increasing sales. The social media giant offers influencers the opportunity to reach out to very large audiences.
With 2.85 billion active monthly users, Facebook is the leading social networking site. A shortlist of brands that have so far experienced tremendous success marketing on Facebook include Samsung, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Nike, Red Bull, and McDonald’s. Facebook videos receive higher engagement rates compared to Facebook posts.
The platform presents a variety of beneficial features to support its marketing influencers. Popular features include branded content tags, Facebook groups for pages, boost features that increase audience reach, and Facebook Live. Facebook also offers metrics so brands can track their progress, i.e. impressions, engagement, likes, follows.
Facebook’s announcement of investing billions into marketing influencers who utilize their platform through 2022 is expected to bring in even more influencer talent. To prepare, it began ramping up its creator resources to give influencers more written, video, and image creation options. Facebook wants its fair share of both social media influencers and celebrity influencers.
Facebook continues to be the most popular social media channel. Brands looking to engage with very large audiences are more likely to use this platform to promote what they’re selling. About half of Facebook’s users log in every single day making it easy for influencers to engage their Facebook audience.
Facebook’s top influencers often include prominent sports stars and Hollywood celebrities. Already famous people have a strong online presence due to their fan base, making them some of the more influential people on social media. Their previous exposure is an advantage for brands looking to create long-lasting brand partnerships.
Top Facebook influencers have built up their reputation over time. They utilize a variety of Facebook tools to provide their audience with information. They use Facebook Live and Facebook Stories often as an authentic way to connect with their audience. They also host contests and competitions to keep their audiences engaged.
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 126.5 million Followers, 122.6 million Likes.
- Mark Zuckerberg – 120 million Followers
- Lionel Messi (Leo Messi) – 93.8 million Followers, 90.1 million Likes
- Eminem – 83 million Followers, 86 million Likes
- Rihanna – 85.7 million Followers, 79.1 million Likes
- Will Smith – 94.7 million Followers, 77.2 million Likes
- Justin Bieber – 80.9 million Followers, 76.4 million Likes
- Taylor Swift – 73.3 million Followers, 71.1 million Likes
- Katy Perry – 62.7 million Followers, 65.7 million Likes
- Adele – 58 million Followers, 62 million Likes
- Jackie Chan – 60 million Followers, 61.1 million Likes
- Beyonce – 67.6 million Followers, 60.6 million Likes
- Selena Gomez – 59 million Followers, 60 million Likes
- Neymar – 59 million Followers, 60 million Likes
- Linkin Park – 56 million Followers, 59 million Likes
- Lady Gaga – 55 million Followers, 58 million Likes
- Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock – 57 million Followers, 57 million Likes
- Bruno Mars – 52 million Followers, 56 million Likes
- Pitbull – 50 million Followers, 54 million Likes
- John Cena – 46.4 million Followers, 43.6 million Likes
- Nicki Minaj – 40.7 million Followers, 41 million Likes
- Kylie Jenner – 33 million Followers, 34 million Likes
- Perez Hilton – 1.8 million Followers, 1.9 million Likes
- iJustine – 1.7 million Followers, 1.1 million Likes
Brands understand the importance of connecting with a famous personality. Celebrities are instantly recognizable. In turn, any product or service a celebrity chooses to promote will immediately grab the attention of consumers. Celebrities are considered high-impact marketing tools as they not only boost brand awareness, they add credibility.
This accounts for the significant increase in sales brand’s experience when connecting with a celebrity influencer. Brands must make a relevant celebrity choice to expect a high return.
Successful influencers know how to connect with their audience. They understand what it takes to get the trust of their followers. They’re always professional and have no problem being 100% transparent.
Once a brand finds an influencer they’re interested in connecting with they must contact them to start the interview process. Professional influencers make it simple for interested brands to contact them to discuss detailed influencer services. Many even offer media kits, which include a short bio, examples of past brand connections, social statistics, and performance metrics.
Brands must perform research to make the best influencer choice. Following best practices helps ensure the right connections are made. To find its promotional match, brands first must create a list stating all marketing goals, choose the type of influencer campaign they want to run, perform hashtag searches related to their niche, and utilize social listening to understand what their audience is saying, thinking, feeling.
Research is also necessary to avoid connecting with a fake influencer. Red flags include not having a verified account, experiencing a dramatic increase in followers in a short amount of time, and having a very low engagement rate
Social media marketing influencers are transforming the world of marketing. Social media audiences are positively responding to promotional brand ads and messages provided by influencers they follow. Consumers view Facebook as a trustworthy platform, making it a top utilized social media channel for influencer marketing in 2021.
Brands can choose to connect with one of the above top Facebook influencers of the year, or they can wait to see which influencers make Facebook’s top influencer list for 2022.
