Social media influencers are people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular topic. They make regular posts about the topic on media channels and generate leads.

Using social media influencers in your marketing is the practice of building relationships with the people who have built an audience who are genuinely interested in their actions. Whether an influencer’s audience is small or big, he/she influencer can reach consumers via their blogs and social networks that your brand may not be able to. In short, their followers would be now your perspective leads.

Generally, influencers can be divided into these four segments

On the basis of your budget, desired goal and audience you should decide on what type of influencer would you want to hire.

1. Make sure they are genuine

Look for genuine influencers who have actually built their audience and not purchased followers. Audiences follow genuine influencers’ because they are actually interested in their content.

2. Quality over quantity

It's not just the number of followers that matter but the type of followers and how they have been obtained. It's quality over quantity that you should give weight to while choosing influencers.

3. Audience that is interested in your product

Choose bloggers who blog about an industry that is similar to yours, only then you will be able to catch the attention of people. Make sure the audience of the influencer will be interested in your product or service.

For example, you can't be hiring an influencer who talks about cars to promote pet food.

4. Decide on a budget and choose the right type of influencer

Work on your expected gains and expenses and decide on what group of influencers should you be hiring. Mid-level influencers are a great option to start off with not only are the budget-friendly but also there are many more reasons to hire them.

• Micro-influencers are more affordable compared to the celebrities or well-established influencers. Generally, the budget for 70-80 micro-influencers who offer valuable reach will be as equal to the budget for a single well-known celebrity.
• They are more keen on building their reputation and passionate about their subject.

Based on all these guidelines you should choose an influencer that matches your brand persona and image to promote your brand and increase its reach on social media.