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Kristen Matthews with SocialMediaToday surveyed 400 mid-level influencers with 10,000-100,000 followers to get their take on the current state of the industry.
Her survey revealed the average price brands pay for posts, how influencers get connected with brands, the role of influencer networks and other insights.
According to the survey, influencers charge between $250-$400 per blog post, which includes an SEO-optimized blog post that lasts forever online and social promotion.
"I was specific with this type of partnership, because it’s by far the strongest influencer-brand partnership that I've seen in my 8 years of implementing influencer marketing strategies," Matthews wrote in her SocialMediaToday post. "Blog posts show up in Google results for years to come, while social posts create a quick spark about a brand. Combine blog and social together and you’ve got strong a brand awareness strategy via influencers."
Unsurprisingly, 100% of influencers want monetary compensation for an ad on their account rather than a free product package, unless the product is "of high monetary value."
While influencers must disclose their social media post is an ad, per Federal Trade Commission's guidelines, the majority of them don't feel like their followers discredit the recommendation less because it is a sponsored post, according to the survey.
"The whole reason that influencer marketing works in the first place revolves around trust in said influencer," Matthews said in her post. "Brands need to trust influencers to create content that resonates with their followers, and followers trust influencers to only promote brands they sincerely stand behind."
To create partnerships, the majority of influencers typically reach out to brands to feature on their account to partner with brands they relate to themselves, rather than brands reaching out first. Additionally, 75% of the 400 interviewees reported they were a part of an influencer network, which connects brands to the "right" influencers.
"A key takeaway here is that brands should make sure they’re 'influencer friendly' and have a way for influencers to easily contact them if they want to form a partnership, Matthews wrote. "You can do this by having a link in your menu on your homepage just for influencers which can take them to a landing page to learn more about how your brand works with influencers."
Brands should be wary over fake influencer accounts as some users have strategies to increase their clout online, like buying followers and likes or saying a product or brand is a sponsor when it isn't. Asking for engagement analytics from the influencer or checking their sponsored partnerships are ways to reference check an influencer before partnering with them.
