Types of Influencers and Their Characteristics

UPDATED 02/27/2023

Social networks are currently the preferred medium for sharing advertising messages. But simply having a social media profile isn’t enough for brands to make the most of the possibilities this new medium has to offer. For that reason, many companies have decided to collaborate with different types of influencers, or in other words, charismatic people from different sectors who have popular social media profiles and are well-known amongst consumers, with the aim of boosting their brand image and sales.

If you’re interested in finding out more about influencers and whether they could be beneficial for your marketing campaigns, just keep reading!

What type of influencers can I collaborate with for my campaigns?

In the current marketing panorama, collaborating with influencers is imperative for brands, not just because of the fantastic results, but also due to their capacity to influence consumers’ purchasing processes and behaviour.

Just as consumers have many different tastes and preferences, there exist many different types of influencers which can be distinguished by the sector within with they work. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at them!

Types of influencers per sector

Fashion

The world of fashion is just as popular as it is versatile. María Pombo, Dulceida and Laura Escanes are just a few of the most popular influencers from this sector.

Makeup

Alongside fashion, beauty is one of the sectors which most profits from Influencer Marketing. It’s becoming increasingly more common for fashion influencers to promote cosmetic products and vice versa. Aishawari, Marikowskaya and Esbatt are some of the most popular makeup influencers in Spain.

Foodies

There are a great number of influencers specialised in all things gourmet, but the sub sector which has truly triumphed is that of “healthy food”. Some of the most popular foodie influencers include Mery, whose Youtube channel is called “Cocina para todos” (Cooking for everyone), María José with her Youtube channel “Las recetas de MJ” (MJ’s recipes) and Marta, with her channel “Delicious Marta”.

Gamers

Gamers are the most popular type of influencers amongst the younger generation, who are the biggest video game consumers. In this particular sector, the most popular influencer is Rubius, who has just made a comeback to Twitch after taking a 4 month break.

Entertainment

Entertainment influencers set challenges for their audiences.

Vloggers

Vloggers are audiovisual influencers who record their day-to-day life to show to their fans.

Travel

This sector is based on creating idyllic experiences that captivate the audience and make them fall in love. Profiles such as Sasha Jade, or photographer Nuria Val, share much more than just photos of landscapes.

Fitness

Fitness influencers are those who post content related to sports, working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Patri Jordan and MisterMarkinos are two popular profiles from this sector.

Types of influencers according to the collaboration

The following are the different types of collaborations that exist between brands and influencers:

Product recommendations

Brands send a product to influencers who then share it on their social media profiles, either via a post on their blog, a photograph or audiovisual content in which they present the product and talk about its characteristics.

Sponsored posts

Prior agreement with the brand, influencers publish sponsored posts on their feed promoting a specific product.

Brand ambassadors

Brand ambassadors are influencers who collaborate with brands on a long-term basis. As well as promoting the products they’re sent on their social media profiles, they also represent the brand at events. It’s important to note that brands can request complete exclusivity so that the influencer doesn’t work with the competition.

Guest posts

Influencers are invited to write a post about a certain topic to be posted on the brand’s blog, with the aim of increasing visibility and improving brand reputation. This particular method is popular amongst B2B companies.

Interviews

Many companies interview influencers and ask about a particular topic related to the brand. This type of collaboration usually involves the influencer sharing the interview on their social media profiles, too.

Discount codes

This type of collaboration consists of creating personalized discount codes for influencers, who then post said code on their social media profiles whilst recommending a product or the brand itself and offering their followers discounts on their purchases.

Events

Some brands invite influencers to their events to boost brand image.

Keep reading: Objectives: the starting point of any influencer marketing campaign

Types of influencers per followers

1. Nano-influencers: between 1,000 – 10,000 followers
2. Micro-influencers: between 10,000 and 100,000 followers
3. Macro-influencers: between 100,000 and 1 million followers
4. Celebrity: an influencer with more than 1 million followers

Other types of influencers you should know about

As well as being distinguished by the type of content they create, influencers can also be categorized by other characteristics, such as their status or skills:

Celebrities

Well-known profiles who use their visibility to create communities on social networks and interact with their fans.

Communicators

Profiles considered to be experts in a certain subject and whose opinion is relevant. Also known as bloggers.

Opinion leaders

Profiles with high visibility who recommend products or services to their followers without expecting anything in return. Their altruistic nature, however, becomes less credible once they start collaborating with brands.

Exploiters

Profiles that locate trends online and share their opinions.

Consumers

Profiles that constantly test new products or services to later share their opinion on social media.

How to collaborate with influencers and measure their activity

If one thing is clear with influencer marketing, it’s the success and profitability that derives from brands collaborating with influencers from the same sector.

So, what should you bear in mind when collaborating with influencers?

First of all, it’s important to take into consideration the numbers. The selected influencers’ metrics must match the campaign’s objectives; this refers to statistics such as their number of followers, or their engagement rate, since the higher the engagement rate, the bigger the campaign reach. If you wish to promote a product that is directed at different target audiences, it may be a good idea to diversify the campaign and collaborate with influencers from different sectors.

Another factor to take into account is the quality of the influencer’s content, since the brand’s image will depend on this.

Furthermore, if a brand chooses to collaborate with influencers on new mediums, it will need to adapt its campaign to be completely online. Youtube, for example, is one of the preferred mediums for generating quality audiovisual content.

Collaborating with influencers is the new preferred method of advertising in the digital era and within reach of all companies, both big and small, which, by adjusting their budget, can achieve high conversion and growth rates, as well as increase sales and improve their reputation.