Influencer marketing, especially on social media platforms, is one of the most successful ways to reach your target audience.
However, influencer expenses vary widely depending on your company’s objectives, industry, target platforms, posting frequency, and plenty of other factors.
Let’s think of the one and only, Kim Kardashian.
You’ll see that she constantly posts about her brand deals and brand promos on both Instagram stories, Instagram feed and most recently TikTok.
Now, depending on where she will promote the product and how, her price tag will vary.
Let’s take a second to imagine that you are an influencer and ask yourself WWKKD? (For those of you who are not caught up yet, it stands for “What would Kim Kardashian do?”)
You will find yourself asking questions like:
“How much should I charge the brand?”
“Will I have to create a video or is it a static image?”
“Do I need to hire a professional photographer?”
“Is this an Instagram post? An Instagram story? OR both”
“Am I being asked to be a brand ambassador? If so, what does this include and entail?”
“What kind of content do they want?” and even things like “Will I be featured in the content, or will it only be product shots?”
So I am here to let you know how much influencers ACTUALLY cost.
And I am going to tell it to your straight. No beating around the influencer bush.
And secrets into what the best way to discover the ideal influencer for your brand without going broke and staying within your marketing budget.
All whilst ensuring you have a good influencer marketing ROI.
Stay tuned, folks, it’s going to be a good one.
Table of Contents
Factors that impact the costs
There are a variety of elements that influence how much an influencer costs for their services.
Finding an influencer who charges a fixed amount is very uncommon.
Influencer marketing is a legitimate marketing channel, so influencers establish their pricing based on the amount of money that brands are willing to spend.
While this list may not include everything that goes into establishing how much an influencer would charge, you can bet on the following to having an impact:
- The reach and engagement of influencers
- The medium aka the social media channel
- How many posts are required of them as well as the type of sponsored post
- How much work will the influencer have to put in?
- What kind and how many influencer partnerships will you have
- Fees charged by the agency (if the influencer is with an influencer marketing agency)
Let’s take a deeper look at these and other parameters so you know exactly what you’re paying for.
Influencer Reach
The influencer’s reach refers to how many individuals they can reach through their platform.
This is mostly determined by the influencer’s number of followers, as well as the number of people they have the potential to reach.
More often than not, the higher an influencer’s followers are the higher rates.
Let me break down influencer tier according to the number of followers below:
– Nano influencer: 1K to 10K followers
– Micro influencer: 10K to 0K followers
– Mid tier influencers : 50K to 500K followers
– Macro influencer: 500K to 1 million followers
– Mega influencer: 1 million followers
Influencer’s engagement rate
The engagement rate is a formula that compares the amount of interaction social content receives to the number of people that see it.
This is where we look at an engaged audience, not passive ones (reach/impressions).
Reactions, likes, comments, shares, saves, direct messages, mentions, click-throughs, and more are all examples of this (depending on the social network).
Influencer rates differ depending on how much engagement an influencer receives on organic vs. paid content.
You might believe that influencers with more followers will have higher interaction rates, but this isn’t always the case.
carefully, examine how much an influencer’s audience connects with and engages with their material.
The more engaged their audience is, the more effective your message will be.
There are different ways to calculate engagement rate.
First, when calculating the performance on less than 3 posts, we advise to use a formula called ‘engagement rate by reach’.
This is where we look at the influencers reach.
This formula is the most common way to calculate engagement with content.
This measures the percentage of people who chose to interact with your content after seeing it.
Because not all of your followers will view all of your content, reach is a more accurate assessment than follower count.
Non-followers may have seen your postings as a result of shares, hashtags, and other methods.
Secondly, to measure an influencer’s overall account, we use another formula called ‘engagment rate by followers’.
Engagment rate by followers = Total engagements in a day / Total followers x 100
This formula can be used to determine how frequently your followers interact with your account on a daily basis, rather than how they react to a given post.
As a result, it considers engagements on both new and old posts.
Influencer Niche audience
Obviously, you’ll want to discover an influencer that is knowledgeable about your sector.
Would you believe a fitness influencer who started talking about financial services out of nowhere?
That’s like taking financial advice from Joe Wicks.
Bad idea.
Popular niches like beauty influencers will have more influencers accessible.
Pricing will typically be lower than niches with fewer influencers available.
Influencer’s content
And surprise, surprise.
The type of content you ask an influencer to create will also affect the price.
This is due to the fact that influencers will have to invest time, energy, and resources into creating content, and different forms of content necessitate different things.
This includes things like how much content the influencer will need to develop and whether you or them will be supplying the tools.
The more time and work it takes to develop the material you want, the more it will cost.
Which social media platform is used
Some influencers may charge the same rate for the same type of post regardless of the channel, but it’s much more probable that the rates would differ.
After all, each social media site caters to a particular type of audience, and creator resources vary as well.
At the moment, we are seeing Tiktok influencers’ rates increase significantly…. but we’ll keep an eye on this space.
Exclusivity
Influencers earn money by advocating a variety of businesses.
It’s possible that you’ll pick an influencer that your competition would like to use as well.
In this case, you may wish to request that the influencer sign a non-compete agreement or an exclusivity provision as part of their influencer contract.
This prohibits them from supporting a competitor for a set amount of time.
You should, however, be prepared to pay.
Also, because you’re essentially asking them to forego other sources of income, quite a bit.
How do we find influencers that you can afford?
Finding the ideal influencer for your brand requires a delicate balance between your budget and their influencer prices.
For example micro influencers and nano influencerswill have lower rates than macro influencers.
As a result, it’s critical to consider your budget per post before beginning your search for influencers.
It’ll be far more difficult to figure out if the influencer you like can fit into your budget for as long as you need them if you don’t know how much you can spend.
When putting together your budget, think about your influencer marketing goals and whether you’ll be using influencer marketing tools or hiring an influencer marketing agency.
The amount of money you should set aside for influencer marketing is primarily determined by the objectives you want to attain and the strategies you’ll employ to get there.
Improving brand exposure, enhancing social interaction, and increasing sales are all frequent objectives.
You’ll be better able to locate influencers who can match your demands within your budget once you’ve set goals and devised a strategy.
There are also influencer marketing specialists (like us) that connect influencers with brands looking to hire them, but our services don’t end there.
At Monumental, we will assist clients in developing an influencer marketing strategy; researching and acquiring influencers; putting it into action, and managing their influencer marketing campaigns.
We have your back from start to finish.
Because we work so closely with influencers, we have a thorough understanding of influencer fees and can assist clients in finding the most perfect influencer for their brand, while staying within their budget.
Types of partnerships that we have with our influencers
So what will my influencer marketing expenditures per post will buy me?
Now, we’ll go over the different forms of influencer collaborations.
Keep in mind that each influencer is unique, uses different platforms, and engages with their audience in different ways, so ask your target influencer whether the influencer partnership you’re looking for is something they offer.
Sponsored posts
Whether or not your brand has a lot of content ready to distribute, sponsored content is an influencer alliance you can take advantage of.
You have two options: generate material for influencers to share or engage them in creating and posting content for your brand.
They would then be paid per post or per piece of content.
Remember that if the influencer also has to develop the material, it will cost you extra.
An example of this can be for the vape brand RELX:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZzqDmaI8rM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Brand ambassador
You could even be able to persuade your chosen influencer to agree to lower charges in exchange for a longer contract.
You can do this by making some high performing influencers a brand ambassador.
However, if you’re searching for a brand ambassador, you’ll almost certainly be seeking for a long-term relationship.
Influencers that have formed these agreements have most likely been using your items for some time and are already enthusiastic about your brand.
Influencers will share videos, posts, photographs, and more about your company and products for an extended period of time as brand ambassadors.
They tend to become the “face” of your brand over time.
An example of a brand ambassador would be JBlackpink’s Jennie being the face of Chanel:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CY8I8f8JzSX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Giveaways
Another common influencer marketing strategy is giveaways.
They’re usually very short-term, generate a lot of interest, and benefit both the brand and the influencer.
When a brand gives an influencer something of value, the influencer might then give it away to their followers in the form of a giveaway or contest.
Increased brand recognition and leads are usually the end consequence.
Personally, a con with this one is that it might look spammy or inauthentic.
Influencer pricing: How much do they earn per post?
For Tiktok Posts
The top-tier TikTokers can earn $50k–150k for a successful brand partnership.
Now I am talking about the D’amelios and Addison Raes of Tiktokers out there.
If you’re well-known enough, brands will notice you and approach you, offering you opportunities to participate in influencer marketing campaigns.
A Heart is TikTok’s equivalent of a Like.
If you obtain a lot of loves on each post and regular comments from your followers on your videos, it’s likely that brands will start to look into your actions.
Brands who sell a product that will appeal to your followers are most likely to approach you.
So, if you’re popular among the average TikToker (girls aged 13 to 18), expect firms who offer things to adolescent girls to pay notice.
To be effective with TikTok influencer marketing, the brand and the influencer must speak in the same tone.
For example, the influencer must be a natural fit with the type of individuals who are likely to buy the brand’s products.
Any brand that tries to persuade an influencer to change their tone should be avoided.
Your viewers watch your films because they enjoy what you have to say or perform.
They aren’t there to listen to a brand’s message.
You will automatically talk about the businesses if you employ influencer marketing effectively (or use their product naturally in a video).
Your viewers will be disappointed and doubt your authenticity if the product sticks out or jars.
A bad influencer marketing partnership is the absolute last thing you want.
Instagram Influencer pricing
Starting to make money on Instagram isn’t as simple as it seems.
Instagram influencer marketing, unlike YouTube, does not currently have a payment structure akin to YouTube’s Partner Program.
Instagram Influencers typically rely on sponsored content to make a living.
Sponsored content takes numerous forms, from publishing a picture to the main feed with #ad to sharing swipe-up links in a series of Stories.
Some influencers use algorithms to arrive at these figures, such as charging firms $100 for every 10,000 followers. However, not everyone agrees on the same formula.
So, how much Instagram influencers charge changes case by case.
Each transaction must consider an influencer’s following, engagement metrics, and niche, as well as additional considerations such as exclusivity, usage rights, and timing.
Instagram has introduced a slew of new monetization opportunities for creators, including its own affiliate marketing tools.
Ad revenue sharing for commercials aired on Reels and an incentive scheme called “Bonuses” that compensates producers for using features like Live or Reels are among the platform’s money-making capabilities.
For Youtube Videos
Influencers on YouTube generate money in a variety of ways.
Making money on video per view is one of the most conventional methods.
How do YouTubers get paid per watch on their videos?
This is accomplished through the use of Google Ads. The typical compensation per view ranges from £0.001 to £0.003.
When it comes to YouTube influencer revenue, ad views account for only a small portion of the total.
There are a few additional options that go hand in hand with learning how to generate money on YouTube as an influencer and are well worth looking into.
Especially if you want to expand your sphere of influence.
Things like doing sponsored posts and product features within Youtube videos themselves are factors in how much they earn per post/product feature in a native video.
The length of the feature also plays a role in how much they earn.
How to make sure you are getting a fair influencer rate
To ensure you are getting a fair rate whilst negotiating with influencers, we have to look at a few things.
Firstly, you’ll need to decide whether or not to hire an influencer first.
As we all know by now, influencer marketing costs vary dramatically.
We recommend that you ask each influencer you contact for an influence rate card.
Influencers will give you their rate cards which includes metrics like audience location, age, engagement rates, and pricing per type of post.
The rates that each influencer charges will be displayed on these cards. You’ll be able to keep an eye out for patterns in influencer rates using these cards.
Next, measuring the return on investment (ROI) of your influencer marketing campaign is one of the greatest ways to figure out if you’re paying the proper amount for an influencer.
The ROI is the percentage or dollar amount that your brand receives from your investment.
For example, if you invest £2K in influencer marketing and receive £5K in sales – you’ve made a solid investment.
You may conclude that another marketing channel provides a better return if you invest $1,000 and receive less in return.
It’s all about testing and trialing here!
Is it worth the cost?
In a nutshell, my response is a resounding YES.
Skeptics who are uninformed of market trends and growth estimates in the social media advertising area frequently question me if influencer marketing is worth it in 2022.
According to a recent industry study, social media influencers will continue to be a crucial trust-building strategy for establishing brand identity.
Expect to see an increase in influencer marketing in the coming decade, with a larger share of marketing strategy resources going to this powerful outreach tactic.
With the introduction of social media, advertisers now have new avenues to express their brand stories in a genuine and distinct voice.
As the influencer marketing industry matures, I’ve come to the conclusion that influencer marketing is totally worthwhile, especially in 2022.
Users on social media platforms are natural skeptics.
When you’re aware that a product or service is being sold, it’s natural to become suspicious of the company and the ad itself.
When a product recommendation comes from a friend, family member, or celebrity we admire, we are more likely to trust it.
This is where an influencer may add genuine value to a brand.
The cynicism that characterises the average consumer response to spammy advertising can be overcome by product recommendations from trusted, powerful people in a specific niche.
When a trustworthy source recommends a product or service, consumers let their guard down and are more receptive to product or service proposals.
Some brands such as vape brands or CBD brands are not able to advertise their products using Facebook or Instagram ads as this would breach advertising policies and rules that have been set in place by these platforms.
Therefore, they have to look at other marketing channels to increase brand awareness and sales.
It’s critical to know what the future of social media marketing looks like as the new decade approaches.
Every brand, from Chanel to Nike, to startups and e-commerce stores, must take the effort to find influencers that reflect their brand’s distinct personality.
So, what better way to advertise your products than through influencers!
