Introduction
This essay will define what an influencer performs and explain how they have developed into a crucial marketing component. Additionally, it will explain consumer behavior and what companies need to know to successfully market their products or services. Moreover, it will name two instances of social media influencers and analyze each one’s impact on their following. Finally, it will describe the phases that influencers can alter in the buyer behavior model.
Influencers: Defined
A person who has the power to influence others’ purchasing decisions is known as an influencer. On their social media platforms, influencers spend their time connecting with users to eventually promote a product or service to just that following on a company’s behalf. Social media use rose during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, while the capacity to make ads fell because of constraints (Wiley, 2021). There are four categories of influencers: Mega (1,000–1,000,000 followers), Macro (100,000–1,000,000), Micro (10,000–100,000), and Nano (1,000–10,000). (Geyser, 2022). The well-known renown of macro and mega influencers is used to promote businesses.
The capacity to interact with their audience on a more genuine and credible level, which fosters that deeper personal connection, enables micro and nano influencers to be more effective at times while having fewer followers (Wiley, 2021). As a result, nano or micro-influencers need to keep up with their fan base, be authentic, and keep promoting in a manner that their fans can relate to. Additionally, influencers need to be able to convey a product or item to their audience in a way that is relevant and clear. Finally, to ensure that the information they provide to their followers is genuine and reliable, influencers who select a specific specialty must develop become experts who specialize in that field. Misinformation may result in failure or a loss of supporters.
Buyer Behavior
Buying behavior examines how businesses and people select the service or item being supplied. Three criteria may be used to analyze consumer purchasing patterns. This list comprises personal, psychological, and societal variables (FitzGerald, 2019). The hobbies and viewpoints that each person holds are individual elements. Understanding this element is crucial for businesses, especially those working with various populations. For instance, a company specializing in shoes would need to know the differences between attempting to market combat boots in South Texas vs. Downtown New York.
Individuals’ mindsets and how they interpret and comprehend information are mental aspects. Businesses must thoroughly understand psychological variables to effectively market their products or services. Even if a company has the most refined product available, it might still be misunderstood if it isn’t being presented understandably. When considering psychological aspects, consumer perception significantly impacts purchasing decisions. As a business, you should simply market your products to understand or add details that will educate the buyer and provide them with the information they need to make a purchase choice.
Social elements include the impacts of a person’s peer group, economic status, and media influencers (FitzGerald, 2019). Understanding social aspects are crucial when discussing a person’s friends, relatives, and social circle. They are the ones in a user’s closet, which is why they significantly influence how they shop. Socioeconomic class is essential because businesses need to know which types to target with which products. For instance, lower-class people would want a robotic vacuum, but they could only afford one that costs between 100 and 200 dollars. At the same time, those from the higher class might be able to purchase those costing 500 dollars or more. Finally, perhaps most importantly, a firm must comprehend social media’s effects. Nowadays, people tend to look up to or lean toward those who occupy particular societal positions. Buyers are 71 percent more likely to make a purchase when something is recommended to them via social media, as per FitzGerald (2019). If a company can comprehend and utilize social media’s power, statistics show that social media analytics increases sales by 32% over not having one.
Influencer Examples
Selena Gomez and Jessica Davenport are just a couple of instances of influencers. Because of her fame, Selena Gomez is regarded as a Mega Influencer. She presently has 86.1 million followers on Facebook. Selena, who first gained notoriety as a singer, has since utilized platforms on social media as an influencer to support nonprofit organizations and commercial enterprises. Selena encouraged her campaign against human smuggling and the protection of children from violence claims (DMI, 2018). This is consistent with how taking a position becomes essential (Wiley, 2021). Selena used her stature as an influencer to raise awareness about significant issues impacting our nation. Additionally, she is employed by brands like Vogue as an influencer to advertise their beauty goods. According to reports, Mega Influencers like Selena may charge anywhere from 750 thousand dollars to 1.5 million dollars for a single comment (Turner, 2020). Selena, a Mega Influencer, doesn’t need to repeat herself to make her point. In contrast to the following sort of influencer outlined below, she may post about something once, and her fans will do the work for her by favoriting and spreading her material.
A micro-influencer is someone like Jessica Davenport. The Cruz for a Kure Foundation was founded by Jessica and used a variety of social media sites, including Instagram and Facebook. She is regarded as a micro-influencer due to her presence on social media. Presently, Kruzn for a Kure has 27.4 thousand fans on Facebook and 13.5 thousand followers on Instagram. Being a Micro Influencer means she interacts with her fans differently than Selena. To be seen, she had to provide a lot of daily stuff. Her postings needed to be visually beautiful and attention-grabbing to attract an audience. She also needed to encourage those followers to share, like, and comment to attract other fans. Giveaways are one strategy Jessica uses on her sites. Running sneakers and tickets are just two examples of the freebies she holds to gain more attention and fans. She must publish consistently as a Micro-Influencer to maintain an active dialogue with her fans and advance the understanding of her cause.
Making Connections
The buyer behavior model comprises the external elements, the life choice process, and the customer’s attributes. External influences come first when considering which phases of this paradigm can be influenced (Borawska & Latusznska, 2020). Influencers promote products through social media channels by running advertisements and reviews (FitzGerald, 2019). By studying the buyer’s beliefs, values, and habits and focusing on those traits in their video production, influencers may also change the buyer’s qualities. Success depends on perception, as was already said. Suppose an influencer can present a product for a company that is given understandably. The likelihood of the buyer purchasing that product is higher. In the decision-making procedure, influencers are crucial (Sydorenko, 2021). This is because they promote market products that give consumers the necessary details to begin weighing their alternatives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, everyone may be an influencer, from a regular individual with a thousand subscribers to a famous person with millions. To make sure you are advertising an item in a manner that would better highlight your brand, it is crucial to understand consumer habits. Micro-influencers occasionally outperform mega-influencers because they can connect to the audience more intimately despite having a smaller following. Ultimately, because influencers have the power to shape all facets of a buyer’s behavior, they must comprehend the external circumstances, consumer traits, and the ease of accessibility and comprehension of the content they spread.
References
Borawska, A., & Latusznska, M. (2020). Incorporating neuroscience data into agent-based simulation models of buyer behavior.European Research Studies Journal. XXIII. 1197-1212.
DMI. (2018). 9 of the Biggest Social Media Influencers on Instagram | Digital Marketing Institute. Digital Marketing Institute. Web.
FitzGerald, R. (2019). How does social media impact consumer buying behavior?Forbes.
Geyser, W. (2022). What is an influencer? – Social media influencers defined [Updated 2022]. Influencer Marketing Hub.
Sydorenko, N. (2021). What is buyer behavior: Definition, types, patterns, and analysis. Snov.io. Web.
Turner, J. (2020). What is influencer marketing?60secondmarketer.
Wiley, D. (2021). Council post: Influencer marketing’s surprising rise of the ‘every person’. Forbes. Web.