‘In the past, brands that really wanted to stand out from the crowd would enlist the support of a celebrity. But Jerri Devard, Office Depot’s chief customer officer, says that’s changing, and it’s a new reality marketers must adapt to. “It used to be that celebrities became influencers; now influencers are becoming celebrities.”

What is influencer marketing?

Think of it like this, a combination of old and new marketing combined. Taking the idea of celebrity endorsement and placing it into a modern-day content-driven campaign with ‘normal’ but influential individuals who have the power to affect purchase decisions – based on his/her knowledge, authority or relationship with their audience, via social media channels, blogs and vlogs.

These individuals usually follow a particular niche which they engage with, for example, a personal trainer, think Joe Wicks, who hasn’t heard of him?! The Body Coach, a fitness expert, a cookbook creator, a supplement creator and a creator of motivational posts – his influence throughout the market has made him a huge ‘influencer marketer’ that brands are desperate to work with. His Instagram account alone has 2.4 million followers.

The long and the short of it… An Influencer is easily recognised by their followers, hundreds of thousands if not millions of them! And this is the target audience you’re after.

What’s the difference between a Celebrity and an Influencer?

The difference between a Celebrity and an Influencer is that an Influencer has worked hard to build their own brand and manage and grow their own audience – because of the effort they have put in to their own brand, this means they are much less likely to accept any old marketing promotion for a quick buck (no offence celebs!).

So why Influencers?

Want to reach a highly relevant audience and make a huge impact? Then the Influencer is a priority.

Benefits of working with Influencers.

They are ‘real’.

They present themselves, as themselves which makes them highly relatable to their audience. They are just like regular people, living regular lives (although some with envious lifestyles due to their own success!) and this could be exactly what your brand needs to set you apart from your competition.

Niche market reach.

If you are concentrating on reaching a niche market then once again, the Influencer is for you!

Incredible, high-value unique content.

Influencers work hard to gain followers and build their brand, and to build their brand and followers they create incredible content that is engaging and will resonate with their audience. By working with an Influencer they will know how to build your product into their content to ensure it has maximum impact, they are also very honest with their audience about what posts are their own and what posts contain products/services that they have been paid to promote.

So, will you be looking for Influencers to help you reach your online goals this year?