Why Influencers are Still Valid in the Online World Today
We all know someone who is or knows an influencer. Whether you love them or hate them, in the ever-changing world of algorithms and tech updates, they are now part and parcel of any Company’s Campaign, budget and marketing strategy online, and despite some labelling influencers useless, nothing could be further from the truth heading into 2022!
Surprisingly though, the concept isn’t new – the first ever ‘influencer’ was in 1905, when Murad Cigarettes decided to feature a prominent film star and comedian Roscoe Arbuckle in their adverts which made him one of the first celebrities on record to ever endorse a product. It was so successful for the brand that others followed suite and endorsement by other celebrities, athletes and other well-known people in their fields followed the trend.
Fast forward to today - while cigarettes can no longer be endorsed, the fashion, beauty and travel industries now utilise influencers on a daily basis to reach their target markets, sell, entertain, and grow awareness.
Influencers in 2021 like Leonie Hanne, Negin Mirsalehi and Aimee Song in fashion, Michelle Phan and the likes of Jeffree Star in beauty and makeup and Murad Osmann in the travel industry all with followings in the multi-millions, are able to charge high prices to post and are often rewarded with luxury items and opportunities to enjoy and present to their audiences. Brands who can afford these prices-per-post can see massive uptakes in sales after each post or story to social media outlets which is why, many continue to do so.
For the smaller to medium-sized businesses, there’s more of a battle. The internet is also saturated with smaller-scale influencers to sift through in the same fields, which can be harder in a world where followers, likes and views can be purchased, so it can be hard to find the real influencers amongst them.
A few tips when sourcing an influencer for your business:
Ask for insights. No matter the platform, influencers with Business or Creator profiles can send their insights which will show their prime audience by location, age and other demographics. Knowing where their posts will be seen is important to know your content will go to your target market.
Run an audit. Free Companies like https://hypeauditor.com can run Instagram audits which will show approximate active audiences and a paid account will drill down on deeper details.
Monitor their account first – how many followers do they have? Are their posts getting the right amount of engagement for their follower base? The most common tell of an influencer who has purchased their following or not engaging their audience effectively is a high follow count will little to no interaction on their posts.
Either way, with a little due diligence, and insight, influencers are without a doubt still and projected to remain a powerful tool for businesses online in 2022 and beyond, and feimso, will be the place to find your key influencers quickly, and efficiently.
So what if you're a budding influencer? Right now one of the biggest issues for influencers on platforms today is visibility - algorithms mean that even with the right content and posting, that your account isn't seen by businesses who would use you to promote their products and hashtags are overused and more ineffective as time goes by. Let's face it, current platforms aren't geared toward influencers converting business. Now imagine a world where these problems disappear - All you need is to open a feimso account.
We're building feimso to be a hub for fashion influencers to shine and have a pedestal of focus in their own industry, away from the fitness, food and noise of everything else. Fashion is after all, a huge empire of it's own so it shouldn't have to compete. Your account will connect you to other influencers locally or globally to collaborate with, learn from, or coach. feimso Influencers can set and change their own rates as their followings grow and set their own terms, events or meet and greets. You'll be seen by and have access to small, medium and large fashion businesses who can actively search influencers by their location and their account, reach out and book - it's that easy and in realtime!
With feimso, businesses can actively search influencers in areas, removing the blind spots in current platforms and giving both businesses and influencers the presence to be perfectly matched rather than missed by chance!
feimso isn't just about clothing, it's about connecting every part of the fashion industry in one place, for the first time ever! For more information, subscribe to our newsletter as we race toward launch and can reveal more!
Written by Erin Sokolowsky 27 November 2021
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