How many followers does your influencer need to have?

This is indeed one of the most asked questions about Social Media Influencer Marketing. In fact, if you look up Google’s statistics about what people search for regarding Social Media and influencer marketing, this question comes on top.

Yet, just like most important questions in life, there is no simple elegant answer. It’s mildly complicated.

But you’re in luck! OMNES Influencers are here to help break it down.

First of all, let’s reframe the question with a simple mental exercise: Why do you need these followers to begin with? In general, you may want those followers as a. potential customers, or b. as users for which you want to increase brand awareness (or affinity). From this angle, we can start estimating the number of followers needed. Because it depends on the nature of your business.

The scale, scope, customers and the geography of your business determines your influencer marketing needs. For example, you may have little to gain from a million followers all located in Southeast Asia if your company is a local delivery service in Kuwait. Yet at the same time, what about a mere thousand relevant loyal engaging followers who are interested in your service in the first place? These followers may in fact take your marketing campaign to the next level.

So, the first takeaway is: the nature and location of your business are the prime factor in estimating the number of followers needed. Yet, no matter the nature of your business, engaging loyal followers who are relevant to your brand are what you should be seeking, not merely their number. 

This idea brings us to another vital principle relating to your influencer marketing needs. That is: The Community.

You surely have noticed the big shift Facebook did towards Groups a couple of years ago. That was not a coincidence. In fact, Snapchat, Instagram, and Telegram are all oriented towards the basic idea of a community. Why?  Because today a community is no longer bound by geography. “Community” has become an online concept. It is the space where people of genuine interest can gather around what they care for, hopefully that would be your brand. 

Thus, it is perhaps your best marketing strategy to form a community around your brand, not merely target audience or followers whom you think are potential customers. In strategic terms, a community can become your self-sustaining marketing machine at an insignificant cost.

So, the second takeaway is: don’t limit your thinking to the number of followers, think about the relationship you can forge with a community of interested people. 

Want more content like this? Contact us at OMNES Influencers through any of our social media channels or our website. We are more than happy to cater to your influencer marketing needs.