Size is relative to whatever you are talking. Now pull your mind out of the gutter and think about the question from a marketing standpoint. Lots of companies (and their agencies) are looking for new audiences and expanded networks for sharing their content in hopes of creating a reason and desire to buy their product. Consequently, brands are embracing influencer marketing as they realize the power of an influencer’s social media share and the impact it can have across their network.

While 2015 was touted as the “year of the influencer,” many are making their 2016 influencer marketing predictions and reminding us all that it's here to stay. But as brands move in this direction, there are long-standing misconceptions that smart marketers are beginning to figure out. Here are two:

Misconception: Size Is Most Important

When it comes to the topic of influencers, it’s tempting to go after those who fit a product’s demographic and have the largest follower base in hopes they can help a piece of content “go viral.” Making a determination based upon their audience size and demographics is not enough. I argue that we should be looking at audience engagement and the influencer’s credibility around the subject matter.

Let’s say you’re a hotel chain and you’re launching a new benefit within your frequent stay program. Would you rather:

• have 100 really passionate fans who already love your hotel chain share the news on social media, potentially reaching their network’s network, or have 10,000 Facebook “fans” click “like” on your post just to win a free 2 night say?
• pay $50,000 to a celebrity with 8,000,000 followers, some of whom are in your target demographic, to post on social media about your program? Or partner with a vocal, well-researched travel blogger who has written positively about your hotel's frequent stay program and has 80,000 engaged followers, some of whom are in your target demographic but most of whom are already interested in and value his opinion on hotels?

This is where size of network is confusing. Marketers and media professionals are graded on the number of “impressions” achieved. But the reality is that impressions are not always truly quality impressions in terms of actual network engagement. So for some, bigger network numbers are better to justify their jobs even if it’s just the potential of an audience.

Adding another dimension to this is something we’ve previously written about: Social media influencers are emerging faster than ever. Whether they have the average Twitter follower base of 500 or are well on their way to tens of thousands of followers, what makes them powerful is their ability to amplify your message and engage their followers into action with your brand. Put simply, a sign of a good influencer is not how many followers they have, but how many influencers they create.

For these reasons, decisions can no longer be based solely on quantitative data – there must be a qualitative dimension.

In a fast-paced social media world and data-driven marketing environment, the need to layer in real-time, qualitative social media influencer data can give any marketer heartburn. Many are asking themselves questions like these: How time consuming is this going to be? Do we have the expertise in-house? Do I need to hire a data analyst? Can we move fast enough? Where am I going to get the budget?

Having lived on the client, agency and now solution/product side of the marketing equation, I’m here to tell you that you can do it. There are tools available to help marketers analyze, visualize, understand and achieve this balance. And you don’t need a PhD to run the analytics and strategy when implementing them.

Misconception: A Paid Media Approach is Easier and More Effective

Many times, influencer programs are under the auspices of shops specializing in paid media and paid social marketing, claiming they can curate, sponsor and leverage paid influencers to achieve a certain number of impressions. Why? Because these shops are already pitching brands on their ability to “outsource” the task of getting their product in front of the greatest number of eyeballs possible.

Unfortunately, this continues to propagate the old print advertising mentality: Put it in the paper and be assured of large circulation numbers and x number of impressions. It once worked to sell cars, weekend door busters or tickets to the truck rally, but this shotgun approach doesn’t deliver results anymore and it certainly doesn’t work for creating a desire to buy with today’s increasingly sophisticated customers.

According to a 2016 study published in MediaPost, 60% of marketers will increase their spend on influencer marketing to help them build a loyal and engaged consumer community, and 22% say it is a top-ranked customer acquisition tool. For good reason, enterprising media agencies are filling a customer need for a quick and, in some instances, hands-off solution. I encourage marketers to explore the opportunity beyond paid influencer networks and to not be intimidated by the process of finding your brand’s advocates on your own using easy-to-use tools. I also encourage you to partner with agencies and adtech organizations that have a comprehensive definition of influencer marketing. Neither organic nor paid are the silver bullet, but like many areas of marketing, finding the right mix will drive greater results.

So, Does Size Matter?

While the number of followers is certainly important, audience size doesn’t matter as much as it used to. Today, it’s about finding the most vocal, informed influencers who are credible voices among their network because they are actively sharing tips, news and opinions about your product, brand, topic or category. These folks will help you achieve higher quality impressions, network engagement and long-term results for your brand.

To learn more about how VizSense helps marketers harness the power of Big Data and influencer marketing to help content owners activate their advocates to improve revenue and profit, visit us here.