Exceptional growth in the world of social media influencers has resulted in a lot of questions for many marketers. While such influencers can provide a tempting route to reach untapped, lucrative audiences, the monetary value of their influence can be hard to figure out. How much should you pay influencers for sponsored posts? Or how do you spot a fake influencer? Fortunately, branding agency Hampshire can help with the latter. And to find out how much a partnership with an influencer will cost then a new survey, conducted on UK bloggers by software specialist Vuelio, gives us a glimpse into the expanding world of influencer marketing pricing.
The Survey Headlines
The aforementioned survey was conducted online and was sent to 7,500 bloggers. The number of usable responses returned was 787, and 78% of respondents said that they receive payments for up to 50% of the work on their blogs. Bloggers specialising in fashion & beauty, gardening, nature and parenting sectors were most likely to receive payments for more than 50% of the work on their blogs.
The most important question, however, is how much are those bloggers charging brands? It appears that the majority charge under £250 for sponsored posts or collabs. In the survey, 27% revealed that they request between £1 and £100 for each post, and 30% revealed that they request £101 to £250 for posts. Moving on to collabs, and survey findings showed 23% of bloggers command £1 to £100 while 29% command £101-£250. Of those that responded, just 8% revealed that they charge £0 for blog posts.
In terms of more substantial payments for sponsored posts and paid-for collaborations, the survey revealed that a mixture of niche blogs and highly competitive sector blogs command the highest sums. Of those quizzed, 2% charge more than £1000 per blog post and 4% charge £1000+ for collabs.
Blogs in the following niches were most likely to command the highest payments: travel, weddings, fashion & beauty, politics, media & marketing, business, and combination. Combination, niche blogs are blogs that specialise in mixed fields, such as health, fitness, and beauty, or food and travel.
Finding Genuine Influencers
Everything’s clear so far. However, it’s even harder to determine which market influencers are able to offer your brand the most bang for the buck. To begin with, the influencer market is becoming saturated, making it harder and harder to get your brand messaging read.
Note that a following of several thousand does not necessarily equate to large, influential power. Followers are becoming more clued up on selling strategies. You need to form a believable partnership with an influencer for it to be worthwhile.
You need to remember that it’s easy to buy fake followers and ‘likes’ and say you’re a market influencer even though your genuine reach is minimal – and many people do this.
Avoiding Fake Influencers
Thorough research is obviously your best weapon against fake influencers. Ensure you request detailed audience demographic stats and breakdowns from all prospective influencers. Audience demographics can be broken down by age, gender, political tendencies, household income, location, and more. Obviously, the metrics that are most important to your brand will vary depending on the nature of your business.
Make sure that any potential influencer partner can provide you with a clear breakdown of the metrics they use to measure success. Always be prepared to take your money elsewhere if an influencer tries to avoid sharing key metrics.
Make use of The Social Chain Group’s LikeWise tool which utilises AI technology to spot influencer fraud. During a particularly eventful trial, a fraudulent influencer charging $1000 (nearly £800) for posts in spite of having a 96% fake engagement rate was uncovered.
On a final note, recognise that the key to success in the influencer marketing world is to cultivate strong, long-term relationships with influencers in your brand’s niche. The right influencer partnership will be a mutually beneficial relationship.