Influencer marketing is not new and has always existed. People have always recommended the brands they like and celebrities have always been asked to promote particular products. So what changed?

Two words. Social media.

The birth and growth of social platforms has enabled influential people to exert their influence like never before, resulting in a multi-billion dollar industry, but what does 'influencer' really mean?

An influencer is someone who promotes brands to their social media followers on channels such as lnstagram, Facebook and TikTok, even translating to other platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.

One can categorise influencers based on the number of followers they have:

• Celebrity Influencers

Celebrity influencers are also known as mega influencers. These are the Kardashian- Jenners and Cristiano Ronaldos of the world. These influencers have followings that are well over 1 million and can demand serious compensation for promotional content - upwards of $250 000 for one single post.

• Macro Influencers

Celebrities without quite that level of international fame fall into the macro influencer category. They have a following of between 100 000 and 1 million. They are joined in this middle ground by successful online experts (professional influencers) who have built up their own sizable following, like Tim Ferris or Seth Godin.

• Micro Influencers
• Micro influencers have typically between 3 000 and 100 000 followers on their social media accounts. The micro influencer often connects to a smaller but highly engaged following on social media, providing content focused on a particular niche or interest.
• Nano Influencers

Nano-influencers are social media users, with anywhere from 100 to 10,000 followers. They are not professional 'influencers' in any way - and the majority of their posts feature typical content like photos of their family, friends, cat videos and memes.

What skills do influencers need?

All influencers must know how social media platforms work, know which platform is the best match for their target audience, and stay up-to-date regarding emerging platforms and trends in their particular field. They also need knowledge of social media optimisation and marketing techniques. In reality, it takes a lot of time to monetise influence, even on a part time level.

Yes, one can make a blog/ Instagram/ YouTube channel a business, but there is a lot more to it than money and pretty pictures and videos. If one does not understand the market and industry of influencer marketing, how to leverage value and where one fits in it, it will certainly be difficult to stand out in that market.

A business plan is necessary if you want to seriously profit as an influencer, especially at a full-time level. You could just improvise and it would take you twice as long to 'make it' (if not longer) because you had no idea on what steps to take next.

Unfortunately not all influencers have access to solid business acumen to guide their path to success and the only way to get that direction is to have a very detailed and strategic plan designed specifically for them by a suitable professional consultant.

What to expect from your influencer business plan

All influencers want to monetise and make a profit. But making a profit is vague and unattainable until one writes down the specifics of how much one wants to make and then decide how that is going to be achieved. This is exactly why the business plan is needed to help one get a clear and focused pathway to success. There is nothing to it but to do it.

Whether you want to become a full-time influencer or create a solid side hustle from your blog and/or social content, you need direction. The only way to get that direction is to have a plan. A very detailed and strategic plan designed specifically for you.

Whether your influence is in parenting, food, beauty or something other than style, the overall focus for most influencers is working with brands to make an income. That includes pitching, planning and creating content while also setting income goals. During a recent Instagram live someone asked me how I make money as an influencer. In short, I make money as an influencer by working with brands via paid campaigns. That includes a variety of content such as sponsored blog posts and YouTube videos or paid Instagram Stories.

But here is the number one thing I have learned as an influencer: You cannot charge people for something you do not know how to do well. Well, you can, but not many people will trust or pay you.

For me, my blog and social content did not start generating real income (you know the kind you can pay your rent or mortgage with) until I wrote down what I wanted to accomplish as an influencer. I did not realise that essentially I was creating a business plan. I just knew that I wanted to leave my 9 to 5 and make more money from blogging than my job was paying me at the time.

Truth be told, it took me three years to monetise my influence even on a part time level. In the beginning, I was creating content just for the sake of creating and had no direction of where I wanted to take my little blog. Even though I had written down what I wanted to accomplish three years after I started blogging, I finally wrote them all out in an organised and intentional document- a business plan.

Your brief is to develop abusiness and marketing planfor a new Southern African macro influencer by analysing current realities and then crafting a comprehensive and executable plan to achieve realistic economic goals over the next three years. You represent a current business consultancy practice on whose behalf you are crafting and then presenting your plan for creation and growth to the new influencer.

Question

Help me create a Operations Plan with the following;

- Operations objectives

- Operations implementation plan with timelines.