When the pandemic hit and Americans hunkered down, spending on essentials and entertainment, but on little else, brands naturally cut their marketing budgets.
One area that survived was social media influencers. After dipping slightly at the outset of the quarantine, social influencer spending quickly returned to pre-COVID levels. Meanwhile, other advertising, including digital, continued to decline so much that 7-in-10 CMOs have seen an average 19% cut in their marketing budgets.
From an almost accidental niche specialty, influencer marketing has become a big part of digital marketing. Spending on social influence was estimated to hit $9.7 billion this year.
Marketers report that for every $1 they spend on social influence they earn an average media value of $5.78. No surprise then that influencer jobs have become one of the hottest new marketing careers. By virtue of the relationship they’ve established with their audience, social media influencers can introduce their followers to a new brand, or boost an established brand’s sales simply by posting about them.
Until recently, influencers didn’t see what for many began as a hobby as a career. They wrote blogs, posted videos and images to YouTube and Instagram channels and otherwise produced content about what most interested them. As they gained followers, they gained influence and companies noticed.
Kylie Jenner, with 164 million Instagram followers, can drive huge sales for her cosmetics line and for other products she promotes. So effective is her influence that companies pay her hundreds of thousands, even up to a million to post about their products.
More typically, the average established influencer earns $30,000 to $100,000. Increasingly, brands are willing to work with nano-influencers who may only have a few thousand followers, but as authorities in their niche, exert an outsize influence on buying decisions.
The money is what makes a social media influencer career so appealing 54% of Gen Z and millennials say they’d become one given the opportunity. Increasingly, companies are offering those opportunities, opting to grow their own social media influencers.ProjectCasting.com found a job posting to become an influencer for a startup. The three positions reportedly pay $120,000.
That’s still the exception. For obvious reasons, brands want to work with established influencers. When they advertise influencer jobs, what they’re usually looking for are marketers to develop and manage a social media influencer program. These jobs may be described as “Influencer Strategist,” “Social Media Coordinator,” “Social Media and Influencer Manager,” “Brand Influencer” and other titles. These marketers identify, recruit and manage influencers, developing campaigns, often creating the content and always measuring and reporting on results.
If working in influencer marketing sounds interesting take a look at the many digital marketing and online creative positions we have available. Even if the right one for you isn’t there today submit your resume. We’re always looking for talented creative people. When the perfect job for you pops up, you’ll hear from us first.
