Influencer marketing

3 minute read • Last updated: 25 February 2025

An influencer is a person who shares content online with a group of people who strongly value their opinions.

Traditionally this was a role filled mainly by journalists, celebrities, and reality TV stars. Recent years have seen the growth of social media users as influencers.

What is influencer marketing?

Two friends taking a photograph at The Helix Visitor Centre — The Kelpies at Helix Park

This type of marketing is where businesses pay an influencer to promote their products, brand or services. Influencers create sponsored posts and social media content for a fee.

Influencer marketing works best when there is a good fit between influencer and business. Social media users are very savvy these days and can tell when an influencer genuinely cares about what they’re promoting.

Costs

The cost of working with influencers can vary greatly depending on the type of influencer, the size of the influencer and the platform they use.

Benefits of working with an influencer

Search Engine Optimisation
Improving search engine optimisation (SEO) to your website
Encouraging engagement
From people talking about, researching or even booking your business offering.
User generated content
Rather than you saying how great it is, this is a valued, authentic and respected opinion.
Longer-term benefits
Potential for longer-term benefits from having the content assets to use again in the future, to working together again.

Tips on how to get started

Know your customer
You need to know who to target to get results from influencer marketing.
- Research who is interested in your product or service, and find out key demographics such as their likes, age range and location.
- Look at your existing followers and look at who else they follow.
Pick the right influencer
When you select the right influencer, consider:
Audience
The age, market and interests of their audience - do they match your target audience?
Engagement
The engagement they get from other social media posts – do people like, comment and share their work? Look for around a 3-5% rate for an average post.
Response
The response they get when they do advertising on their channel – are the comments from their audience positive in response?
Authenticity
How they talk about other brands – do they seem authentic in their opinions and are they honest about their experiences?
Quality
The quality of their content – how good are the images, and the text with their social media posts?
Work out your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Decide what you want to achieve from the collaboration, whether that is:
- an increase to your social media audience
- more positive engagement on social media – likes, comments, shares
- bookings
- engagement
- increased traffic to your website
- increased brand recognition

Examples of influencers

These prominent influencers promote Scotland by creating videos, images and reviews working in partnership with tourism businesses.

They are great examples of different sized influencers who specialise in different themes such as food and drink, hidden gems and responsible tourism.

@carolinemcquistin
@carolinemcquistin is an influencer from the Isle of Skye with 315k followers. She loves to post videos from her cosy cottage which she has been renovating. She shares what life is like on a Scottish island including sampling the local produce, culture, landscapes and walks.
Take a look @carolinemcquistin on instagram.
@itspippa
@itspippa has 35K followers and is an Edinburgh-based content creator. As well as sharing lifestyle and travel content, Pippa started the instagram account @eatinburgh which showcases new and exciting places to eat in the capital. Collaborations have included the likes of PepsiCo, IHG Hotels, Scotrail and UberEats.
Find out more about @itspippa and her influencer work.
@traveltwo_
@traveltwo_ have a following of over 681K followers. Tom and Laura produce scenic photos to inspire visitors by showing Scotland at its best. They have also created a map of their favourite places to visit and stay with itineraries. Gleneagles Hotel, the Fingal, Edinburgh and The Witchery are a few businesses they've worked with.
Keep up-to-date with the @traveltwo latest posts.
@Foodngems
@Foodngems have 58,000 followers on Instagram and 126,000 followers on TikTok. Sarah Ahmad showcases the best places to eat and how to discover hidden gems across Glasgow, Scotland, the UK and across the world. Creating engaging reels Sarah works with companies such as Tennants Lager and ScotRail.
Watch @Foodngems videos on TikTok

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Influencer marketing