How Parent Instagram Influencers Can Promote Your Products

Whether you’re an avid liker or a couldn’t-care-less scroller – baby pictures are a pretty common sight on Instagram and Facebook. But the parents who post them aren’t just there to share their cute snaps.

Nowadays, social media is full of content for parents to scroll through, read, watch and enjoy. So much so, that there are even dedicated parenting influencers who provide tips, advice and relatable stories – along with plenty of adorable pictures and videos, of course.

While that’s great for parents, it also provides an opportunity for those who want to promote products for parents and babies, as this post will explore.

Parents as influencers

Over the past decade, it’s become the norm to see Millennials as the new kid on the block. These tech-savvy youngsters were entering the workforce, with Baby Boomers and Generation Z baffled by their short attention spans and lack of commitment – to quote a couple of cliches.

Fast forward to the 2020s, and Millennials have grown up. While definitions vary, Millennials are those born between 1980 and the mid-1990s. That means Millennials are now those aged between their mid-twenties and late thirties. For many of us, that means one thing – time for babies.

The result is that the latest cohort of parents are mostly Millennials, almost all of them are on social media and, like all parents, they’re on the look-out for some much-needed advice. That’s paved the way for parenting influencers. These like-minded Millennials have curated a following by documenting their parenting journey on platforms Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Are they parenting experts?

Not necessarily. Baby and parent influencers aren’t restricted to people with a degree in child psychology. In many cases, they’re parents who are finding their feet – just like those who follow them. This adds a unique, relatable quality, which is actually why they’re so trusted by their audience.

With 81% of consumers trusting their family and friends’ advice over that from business, this is a huge factor when it comes to promoting baby products.

What can they promote?

There are a vast array of baby products which influencers can promote on Instagram and beyond. This includes everything from prams and car-seats to the best brands of nappies and baby formula. It also covers every stage of parenthood, from pregnancy right up to teenagers.

On top of that, you’ll find various niches such as baby fashion and kids’ nutrition. Not to mention influencers who help the parents themselves. Fitness after pregnancy, working from home with kids, ways to relax and unwind when you get five minutes to yourself – the possibilities are almost endless.

Finding the right parent & baby influencers

With so many potential avenues to go down, it’s so important to find the right parent and baby influencer for your products. Fortunately, that’s never been easier, thanks to Find Your Influencer.

With a vast network of hand-picked influencers, we pride ourselves on matching brands with the best influencers for their requirements. See for yourself - read one of our influencer campaign case studies.

To find out more, simply contact our team.

What is the Value of a Social Media Influencer?

Social media influencers can be a powerful ally for any business. But like any investment, it’s important to consider the cost – not to mention the value you get in return.

In truth, there’s far more to social media influencing than the return on investment (ROI) alone. Read on as we look at ways of tracking ROI from influencers on social media, and the value they add elsewhere.

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Why influencer value is tricky…

ROI is calculated by dividing financial gain by the cost of an investment. It’s shown as a percentage, with larger numbers signifying a better ROI.

However, in marketing, that calculation doesn’t quite work. Why? There are a number of factors that can lead to financial gain over time, but they’re not easy to attribute to a single marketing campaign.

That’s especially the case if influencers are promoting your brand rather than specific products or services. How do you measure the results of better brand awareness? Let’s say you get 500 likes on a social media post that’s shared by an influencer or 1000 new followers following their involvement. It’s hard to put a specific value on this, but it can’t simply be dismissed.

In many cases, companies will take an educated guess. Unfortunately, this can be problematic when it comes to reviewing success. How can you decide whether a campaign was worthwhile if you don’t know its value? Should you continue using influencers or would your investment be better elsewhere?

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Is there a solution?

How can you track how much you’re getting back from your investment in influencer marketing?

At Find Your Influencer, we provide influencers with a unique URL to use in their promotions, allowing brands to precisely track how many sales are generated by people clicking through on their links. This allows you to see how specific influencers are performing, calculating a specific ROI for each influencer. If you’re using multiple influencers, you can compare these numbers to see who is providing the most value directly.

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Added value from social media influencers

With influencer marketing, it’s not just about direct ROI. There are several factors which could lead to more sales for your business over time, but that wouldn’t necessarily be attributed to your influencers. That’s important to consider the value they add elsewhere…

Awareness

One of the biggest benefits of influencer marketing is that it gets your brand out there. Potential customers become more familiar with your brand the more they’re exposed to it online.

Should they eventually see your products in store or an advert for your services, they might be more likely to make a purchase having seen the brand before.

Following

Having your business promoted by influencers on social media can also lead to more people following you on those platforms. That means a bigger audience to connect with, build loyalty within and sell to in the future.

Association

In some cases, influencer marketing can even create an association between your brand and the influencer’s characteristics or qualities. Customers link your product to what they know about the influencer.

Just look at Mo Farah’s endorsement of Quorn on TV adverts. Suddenly, Quorn is seen as the food product for health enthusiasts.

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Find a social media influencer for your brand

Influencers can add huge value to any business. But it’s important to find the right fit for your brand. At Find Your Influencer, our goal is to make this process a whole lot easier.

To get started, you can list your campaign on our site. Influencers will contact you, so you can discuss the project directly and find the right person for you.

If you’re looking for more support, our team is on hand to manage the whole process. We can assist with briefing, contracts, delivery, reporting – and recommend the best influencers for your campaign. Any questions? Give us a call on 0161 731 0048.

What is a good Instagram engagement rate?

Engagement rate is the heartbeat of Instagram influencer marketing, revealing how actively an influencer's audience connects with their content. Put simply, it’s the percentage of followers who interact – liking, commenting, sharing or clicking – showing just how impactful their influence really is.

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How to calculate an Instagram influencer’s engagement rate

The first option for calculating your Instagram engagement rate is to divide their total number of likes and comments (past 30 days) by their follower count, and then multiply by 100 to give you a percentage.

So what is a good engagement rate?

To understand what the number actually means and whether it is good or bad. Below is an industry standard guideline so you can benchmark results:

Less than 1% = low engagement rate 

Between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate 

Between 3.5% and 6% = high engagement rate 

Above 6% = very high engagement rate 

Engagement rate benchmarks by platform

Of course, an Instagram influencer may also be active on several other social platforms too. What is considered a good engagement rate on one may not be as impressive on another.

Engagement rates vary from platform to platform, depending on factors such as content type, posting frequency and the authenticity of the influencer's connection with their followers. Here’s a breakdown of engagement rates for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube:

1. Instagram:
Excellent: 5%+
Good: 3-5%
Average: 1-3%
Low: <1%

2. TikTok:
Excellent: 10%+
Good: 7-10%
Average: 4-7%
Low: <4%

3. YouTube:
Excellent: 4%+
Good: 2-4%
Average: 1-2%
Low: <1%

Engagement rate by follower count

It’s not just the platform that affects an influencer’s engagement rate – so does the size of their audience. Influencers are typically categorised into tiers, and engagement rates can differ significantly. 

It’s important to remember that a higher follower count doesn’t necessarily result in a higher engagement rate (ER). Often, smaller accounts that have built a closer connection with their followers will enjoy the highest ER. 

Let’s take a closer look at the different influencer categories:

Nano influencers (1K–10K followers):
Typically have the highest engagement: 4-10%+.
Their smaller, highly targeted audiences often result in more trust and interaction.

Micro-influencers (10K–100K followers):
Engage rates are strong but slightly lower than nano: 3-8%.

Mid-tier influencers (100K–500K followers):
ERs decline with increased followers: 2-5%.

Macro influencers (500K–1M followers):
Engagement rates typically fall between 1.5-4%.

Mega influencers/celebrities (1M+ followers):
Lowest engagement: 0.5-2%, as their audiences are larger and less niche.

What to aim for in influencer selection?

• Niche relevance: Even influencers with "lower" engagement rates can still be effective if their audience aligns well with your product.

• Balanced follower engagement: Look for consistent likes, comments, and authentic discussions – fake followers and bots can distort engagement.

• Context matters: Some niches (such as luxury interiors or finance) naturally have lower engagement due to the nature of the content.

So, what is a good engagement rate?

In summary, as an industry standard, an engagement rate on Instagram between 1% and 3% is generally good, it is the average we see on an influencer's profile. If the engagement rate is higher than 3%, that is a good sign that their audience is very engaged with their content, and if it is below 1%, it means their audience as a whole is not very engaged with their content. 

Keep in mind, a number of things influence engagement rate on Instagram, such as the time of each individual post, the frequency of posting, the number of followers, the content and messaging and the Instagram algorithm (and the limitations that sometimes come with it).

So when you are deciding what influencer to work with, or comparing a cohort of influencers, make sure you consider engagement rate. It's an important metric to consider and should not be ignored when choosing influencers for your campaign. 

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If you have any questions about engagement rates on Instagram, or would like to collaborate with a UK influencer, you can email hello@findyourinfluencer.co.uk or call 0161 731 0048 to chat with our team any time.

FYI secures partnership with Aldi Taste Kitchen & Instagram star Sara Kiyo - Shisodelicious

Looking to inspire parents with exciting ‘Back to School’ lunchbox recipes, Aldi Taste Kitchen collaborated with Instagram star Shishodelicious to create colourful, plant based bento box recipe videos.
 
In September 2018, Find Your Influencer secured a partnership with Aldi Taste Kitchen and @shisodelicious - Sara Kiyo, an Instagram star known for her colourful, plant based bento boxes. Bento is a Japanese-style packed lunch: rice plus several small side-dishes packed neatly in a bento box.

The Results

Sara Kiyo created two bright and inspirational bento box recipes, using only Aldi ingredients!, resulting in each video reaching over 250,000 views on YouTube in just over 7 days! Take a look at the final videos below and learn how to make Pink Tortilla Wraps with a Rainbow Fruit Salad, along with a Bean Mash Rainbow Salad.

Sara Kiyo also supported the campaign by creating bright and colourful photography, which was shared on her Instagram Feed and Instagram Story to her 94.1K followers!

NEED SOME HELP FINDING THE PERFECT INFLUENCER FOR YOUR BRAND?

Contact us today on 0161 731 0048 or email us on hello@findyourinfluencer.co.uk

5 Key Components for a Successful Influencer Marketing Campaign

The vast majority of marketers across the globe are increasing their influencer marketing budgets for 2019, and by 2022 Influencer marketing ad spend is poised to reach between $5 billion and $10 billion! A recent study also showed that a majority of marketers will spend anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 on influencer marketing.

So, what makes a successful influencer marketing campaign? We’ve listed below what we believe to be the top five key components:

1. Proven Influencers

Identifying the right influencers is integral to your campaign, with 75% of marketers identifying it as their biggest challenge. Not all influencers are created equal, and knowing the difference between micro, power-middle, and top-tier influencers will help to determine who is right for your campaign.

Holding influencers accountable for driving business results is necessary for a successful influencer campaign. An effective influencer campaign utilises influencers who have the proven ability to engage with their followers, and inspire them to take action. The effectiveness of influencers is determined by engagement, clicks and conversions, not by their follower count.

2. Compelling Story

It’s important to create messaging that can be translated into a larger brand story – stories can affect consumers far more than billboards, statistics, or discount offerings. Information is better retained when it’s consumed in story-form, and influencers are effective storytellers, having amassed their following as a result of their ability to emotionally connect with and understand their followers.

3. Variety of Quality Content

As consumers pay less and less attention to traditional advertising methods, it becomes increasingly important for marketers to develop new ways to creatively capture audience attention. Influencer content is valuable because each piece is unique and produced in the same style that made the influencer successful in the first place, while presenting the brand’s core message in a manner that resonates with the audience. The content establishes an emotional connection between the influencer and their influencers, and is effective in inspiring action.  

Content creator and Instagram guru, @allthatsheis, is a great example of how an influencer can use her style and creativity to capture the attention of her audience. Her carefully-curated feed, which she updates once a day, has become something of a modern art form. Major brands such as Disney, Dyson, eBay, Mastercard, and many more, have cottoned on to the Instagram influencer and have all commissioned her to run advertisements on her channels. 

4.     Actionable CTA

The call-to-action (CTA) should be short, direct and actionable. Consumers need to be offered something that they need, which will then drive them to the next step in the process. A strong CTA compels consumers to take the further action desired of them, whether it’s visiting a landing page in order to learn more about the product or brand, signing up for a mailing list, a giveaway, a coupon, or making a purchase.

Photo credit @fashioninflux

5. Tracking your ROI

It's imperative when working with influencers to have a strong tracking mechanism. Ask influencers to use trackable links so you can measure traffic, engagement and, ideally, conversions on your site if possible. Alternatively, you could direct your influencer campaign into a branded landing page in order to measure the ROI of that influencer. The influencers can have as much free reign as you'll permit, as long as they drive their audience where you want them to go. Once on the landing page, you, as the brand, can incentivise the users and capture their lead info for measurement data and future communication.

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NEED SOME HELP?

Not sure where to start with your influencer marketing campaign? Contact us today on 0161 731 0048 or email us on hello@findyourinfluencer.co.uk

Why Influencer Marketing Will Dominate Media In 2018

This article was originally published in The International Business Times. 

Keyword stuffing, link building, QR codes, and automated cross-channel posting — all were once promising marketing tactics and strategies that have since been characterized by some as marketing fads. At one point, marketers wondered if influencer marketing was going to suffer the same fate. Many claimed that blogs were dying and changing social media algorithms continued to diminish the organic reach of influencers.

However, influencer marketing has done the exact opposite: The channel is only growing stronger as the industry matures and evolves. And as with any tactic that drives concrete business results, marketers are responding by increasing their investment in the channel.

WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF INFLUENCER MARKETING

Eighty-three percent of global consumers report that online advertising interrupts their online experience and the time spent watching traditional TV is dropping for every adult age group. As a result, marketers must find new ways to reach consumers with relevant messages in ways that establish trust and drive measurable results. Micro-influencer marketing has gained traction in recent years because it provides brands with the ability to reach their target audience through the voices of those they trust most: their peers.

Today, 86 per cent of marketers are using influencer marketing, 92 percent of whom find it to be effective. Nearly a third of marketers run more than five programmes per year per brand; and according to a new report, The State of Influencer Marketing 2018, marketers are calling for more. Thirty-nine percent of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2018 to accommodate for more frequent and larger-scale influencer marketing programs. The continued widespread adoption of influencer marketing indicates it is becoming an integral part of the marketing mix and is not a passing fad.

INFLUENCER MARKETING DRIVES REAL BUSINESS VALUE  

As the industry matures, we are starting to see marketers use influencer marketing to drive lower-funnel actions like signups, downloads and purchases. For example, Mezzetta, a popular CPG brand specializing in pickled vegetables, spreads and sauces, launched a three-part influencer marketing campaign to raise brand awareness and grow its email database as part of a broader initiative to increase its U.S. market share. By employing an “always-on” micro-influencer marketing strategy, the brand was able to grow its email marketing database from zero to over 70,000 qualified consumers.

Influencer marketing has also proven that it can successfully drive product sales. Gerber, which turned to micro-influencer marketing to launch its new Lil’ Beanies snack product, was able to drive a 5 percent national sales lift. When asked what made the programme so successful, Gerber’s brand manager said, “If you Googled Gerber, or just Lil’ Beanies, you would see [influencer] sites come up organically that featured beautiful photography of children eating the product or the mum looking for it [in store].”

INFLUENCER MARKETING TRENDS AND CHALLENGES FOR 2018

Influencer marketing is not going away. As the industry evolves, the channel is adapting to keep pace. While 2017 saw the rise of the micro-influencer, the survey found that 52 percent of marketers plan to leverage multiple types of influencers (celebrities, top-tier, mid-tier and micro-influencers) as part of an integrated strategy in 2018. Determining the ROI of influencer marketing remains the top challenge going into 2018, calling for marketers to take a serious look at their measurement methodologies and hold their influencer marketing programmes to the same measurement standards as their other media investments.

The key to realising influencer marketing ROI is to leverage the content beyond the initial campaign to improve the performance of other programmes. The survey found that 81 percent of marketers are using influencer content in other channels, with 51 percent reporting that it outperforms brand-created content. Of those that haven’t tested influencer content against brand created content yet, 59 percent plan to do so. In 2018, you will start to see marketers use influencer marketing to develop a strategic blueprint that will enable them to drive greater returns from their paid, owned and earned media.