When it comes to Influencer Marketing, one of the most common questions people have is around payment and influencer expectations. Unfortunately there is no black and white answer to this as a number of factors are involved when setting pricing. One thing for sure is that you can expect to pay different rates for each influencer. In this article we will cover exactly how to pay a micro influencer, so that its a win-win scenario.
The main factors that are considered when setting pricing for Influencer Marketing partnerships are as follows:
Size of audience and engagement levels:
The size of the influencer’s following is the most common metric that’s used to set influencer marketing prices but it’s also important to consider their engagement levels. A blogger with 5,000 followers may be more more valuable than one with 20,000 followers. In fact, Marketly’s regression analysis explored this correlation and found that the higher the number of followers, the lower the engagement rates were (likes divided by number of followers).
For example, micro influencer Nya, certified nutritionist and creator of @TheFineVegan, has 7,454 followers. If you were considering a collaboration, try calculating her engagement metrics first to get a better idea of how much to offer.
This post would have an engagement level of 16.47%.
(1,228 likes / 7,454 followers x 100 = 16.47%)
Gifted products, perks or experiences:
It gets even more complicated when you consider influencers who are willing to work without monetary compensation! Many influencers who are just getting started, or who have a connection to the brand’s values, are willing to partner in exchange for free product, discounted services or experiences like travel.
A recent study from Adweek shows that 90% of influencers are looking for free products or services from brands, compared to 63% looking for monetary compensation. This could be especially helpful if you are looking for the most cost effective incentives to offer influencers when approaching them.
Usage rights:
Standard rates for influencer marketing campaigns allow brands to use the influencer’s content on their branded social media channels only. If your marketing team is looking to distribute the content on other platforms, like your website, blog of email marketing campaigns, you can expect to pay a more premium rate.
Exclusivity:
If you’re focusing on working with micro influencers within a typical industry, which you should, there’s a good chance that your influencer could have existing relationships with your competitors. If you expect exclusivity from your influencer during the length of your partnership, that will impact their rate as it creates barriers to their potential earnings during that period of time.
Make sure to do your research ahead of time. Review their posts and tagged posts, and see if they’ve worked with any of your direct or indirect competitors. If they have, don’t be discouraged. It can actually benefit you to work with a micro influencer who is experienced in the influencer marketing world. They likely will be easier to work with and create good content. Take advantage of their previous partnerships by asking how did the audience respond to the post? And is there anything you can leverage about the other companies that might help you with your own strategy?
Length of partnership:
When you’re negotiating a partnership with your micro influencer, the number of pieces of content and posts expected throughout the partnership will be considered. Typically the more posts expected, the higher the rate; however, your rate per post can decrease if you’re offering the micro influencer a larger partnership opportunity.
The 2017 State of the Creator Economy study explored various influencer marketing campaigns and revealed what brands paid on average for social media influence in 2017. Their findings found the following influencer marketing pricing averages:
There has also been recent research conducted on pricing expectations based on particular social media platforms. Bloglovin’s Global Influence Survey discovered that 90% of micro influencers charge less than $150 per Twitter post and less than $250 on Facebook. Looking at Micro influencers on Instagram, 97% charge less than $500 per promotional post.
Overall, the bigger your budget for influencer marketing, the more micro influencers you’ll be able to partner with to reach targeted audiences. The right strategy isn’t always to spend more money though, it’s about spending strategically. The first step is to really figure out who can help, and how.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]