The Instagram influencer revolution is hitting new heights every day. The global influencer market is being valued at USD 13.8 billion, so it leads you to wonder what an average influencer makes per post. Creating engaging content for brands requires time, labour, skill, and production capital. You won’t get satisfactory branded content with just products and giveaways. The problem then becomes how to determine what to pay your influencers for a successful influencer marketing campaign, as there is no standardised rate card available.
How do you calculate fair influencer rates?
Even among macro influencers, there is no standardised rate – Emily Ratajkowski would charge USD 80,000 per post, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson takes a cool USD 1.5 million for a post. The absence of a hard-and-fast rule makes it all the more difficult to determine influencer rate.
There is a solution here, one that ensures that brands are getting their value from the influencer marketing campaign and at the same time, that influencers are being fairly compensated for their work. Quantitative metrics like an influencer’s follower count and engagement rate are important in determining the influencer rate, but qualitative factors like magnetism, talent, skill, audience type and size also matter greatly. Additionally, any expenses involved in the shoot (studio rent, equipment sourcing, stylist charges) will also be taken into account.
Considering the above factors, pricing usually starts with this baseline formula-
Engagement rate per post + extras for type of post (x #of posts) + extra factors = total rate.
However, your brand goals are the most important aspect for you to consider while determining which influencer will work best for your influencer marketing strategy.
If your goal is brand awareness
If you are looking to reach the maximum number of people you can with your influencer marketing campaign, then a macro-influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers might be the best way forward for your campaign. If you’d prefer to reach a niche audience, then a micro- or a nano-influencer might be the best option for you. Micro- and nano-influencers are known for being specialists in one field, as a result of which they have at their disposal a dedicated niche audience who value their opinion greatly. In fact, if you’re certain about the kind of audience you want to reach out to and can find the right micro- or nano-influencer for the same, then this strategy might be even more powerful for brand awareness.
If your goal is conversions
If what you’re looking for is conversions, then you should look at engagement rate rather than follower count. The most reliable way to predict conversions on Instagram is through an influencer’s engagement rate. Engagement rates can be calculated by adding all engagements on a post (likes, comments, clicks, shares), dividing by follower count, and multiplying by 100.
Price per Instagram Post or Story
Influencers will generally have a press kit enlisting all the different kinds of partnerships brands can carry out with them along with their price points. You can work out the right costs based on the kind of campaign you want to carry out. For example, a standard sponsored Instagram post features a photo and a caption, and using the above formula, the cost would come to under INR 2000 for accounts with under 100,000 followers. For macro-influencers, the cost might be in the range of INR 5000-10,000. A video post on Instagram would cost more just on the basis of the medium. As such, rates differ on the basis of what it is you actually want out of your influencer marketing campaign.
Other methods of determining influencer rate
Another way you can go about determining influencer rate is through an influencer marketing agency. Influencer marketing agencies usually possess all information (average engagement rate, follower count, audience behavior, pricing) about an influencer, and an agency can also help you find the correct influencer for your influencer marketing campaign.
