Who is a brand influencer?
A brand influencer is someone who impacts others to show an interest in your business by posting on social media or blogging about it. Usually, these are people with a specific following in a specific niche that they engage with regularly. There are different types of brand influencers such as celebrity influencers, micro-influencers, macro-influencers, and key opinion leaders.
Celebrity influencers
These are individuals who have massive followers in the millions. In Kenya, one such celebrity is Jalango also known as Jalas. He has a following of 2.3M followers on Instagram, and 384,000 subscribers on Youtube. The keyword ‘Jalango’ gets 320 monthly searches on Google according to Ubersuggest analytics.
In the post below on Instagram, Jalango promotes parcels of land in Konza for a real estate consulting firm called Arkland Consult Limited. Jalango has tagged Arkland Consult in his post as well as included information on how to contact them in the video so that his followers can learn more about the firm by following them on Instagram and Facebook and contacting them through the information provided.
Micro-influencers
A micro-influencer is one who has between 1000 and 100,000 followers. They are generally regarded as industry experts or topic specialists who have stronger relationships with their audience. Unlike a celebrity influencer, a micro-influencer has a uniform audience. Due to the type of content they create and the number of followers they have, they usually have a high engagement rate. Brands love to work with them to build more personal relationships with their target audience.
Yvonne Kendi is one such micro-influencer. She has a follower count of 10,800 followers on Instagram and 17,800 subscribers on Youtube. Her niche topic is home styling and E-design services and therefore most of her videos are all about improving your interior décor. She promotes beautiful pieces of furniture, light fixtures, carpets, curtains, artwork as well as maintenance and care with couch and carpet cleaning services.
In the post below she has tagged a company that sells light fixtures-Meydan Lightings- and as a result, her followers will be able to contact them if they want to beautify their own spaces with their lightings. Yvonne makes a perfect micro-influencer for Meydan Lightings because her brand image and lifestyle are targeted towards people looking for design inspiration for their homes.
Macro-influencers
Macro-influencers are a notch lower than celebrity influencers. Their followers range between 100,000 and 1million. Unlike celebrity influencers, macro-influencers gained their fame largely through the internet, either through blogging, creating funny or inspiring videos and posts.
A good example of macro-influencers in Kenya is the Wajesus family of Milly Wajesus, Kabi Wajesus, and their son Taji Wajesus. Their channel on YouTube has 402,000 subscribers on Youtube, and on Instagram, Kabi Wajesus has 693,000 followers, Milly Wajesus has 805,000 and their son’s account has 177,000 followers. According to Ubersuggest, there are 110 monthly searches on Google for the keyword ‘wajesus family’.
Key opinion leader
A Key Opinion Leader (KOL) is a high-level expert in a specialized topic within a particular field. A good example of a KOL is Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife conservationist and the CEO of a Kenyan NGO- Wildlife Direct. She also holds a doctorate from Princeton University and is a lecturer on wildlife conservation. The keyword-Paula Kahumbu has 203 monthly searches on Google according to Ubersuggest which is a significant number if you compare her with the influencers earlier mentioned.
If your organization or business is looking to attract this type of audience in a very specialized field then a KOL will be perfect for your brand.
How to choose an influencer
If your product has mass appeal and is likely to be appreciated in an audience with varying demographics, consider working with a celebrity influencer. The reason for this is because celebrities have a huge following and as a result can provide your brand with a greater reach. They’re likely to be more expensive than other influencers and this is why it’s better to partner with them when promoting products or services that appeal to the masses so as to make a return on your investment.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to target a certain type of customer but still appeal to the masses, consider working with a macro-influencer. For instance, if you want to target a massive demographic like young women then consider working with a macro-influencer.
On the flip side, micro-influencers are typically known to charge a little lower than macro-influencers due to their smaller follower numbers. However, this means they’re more likely to give your brand value for money as they normally have high engagement rates with their audience. If a micro-influencer built her following of natural hair lovers (naturalistas) through vlogging, a brand selling hair-related products for naturalistas is most likely to gain brand awareness and sales quickly by partnering with them.
When deciding on who to work with, always remember that the larger the audience, the less focused it is likely to be. This is why having a broader offer appealing to the masses will be more beneficial to your brand if your focus is on high follower numbers. It is no surprise that the likes of Jalango promote brands such as Jahazi ugali corn flour because ugali is a staple food in most Kenyan homes.
List of Kenyan influencers and their statistics
| Influencer | YouTube subscribers | Instagram followers | Instagram engagement rate | TikTok followers | Topic | |
| Abel Mutua | 201,000 | 391,000 | 2.30% | 39,400 | Comedy | |
| Azziad | 126,000 | 1.1M | 1.1M | 163,000 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty, Entertainment | |
| Bahati | 613,000 | 2.7M | 87400 | 195,100 | Music | |
| Benjamin Zulu | 29,500 | 37,200 | 6,019 | Relationships | ||
| Betty Kyalo | 141,000 | 2.7M | 0.80% | 106,000 | 1M | Media |
| Blessed Tugi | 205,000 | Other | ||||
| Caroline Mutoko | 118,000 | 420,000 | 664,700 | Personal finance & Investing | ||
| Cartoon Comedian | 182,000 | 354,000 | 20,100 | 2,567 | Comedy | |
| Chef Ali Mandhry | 86,700 | 141,000 | 2.00% | 27,800 | 10,800 | Food |
| Crazy Kennar | 257,000 | 393,000 | 83,600 | 56,300 | Comedy | |
| Daddie Marto | 8,600 | 2.00% | 6,734 | Comedy | ||
| Diana Marua | 385,000 | 1.6M | 0.70% | 9,983 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| DJ Mo | 1.8M | 112,500 | Music | |||
| Eddie Butita | 41,700 | 389,000 | 1.00% | 14,400 | 145,600 | Comedy |
| Edgar Obare | 105,000 | 372,000 | 71,700 | Gossip | ||
| Eric Omondi | 511,000 | 3.4M | 55,700 | 46,100 | Comedy | |
| Fena Gitu | 52,500 | 369,000 | 0.60% | 13,900 | Music | |
| Flaqo411 | 374,000 | 498,000 | 398,900 | 159,600 | Comedy | |
| Grace Msalame | 6540 | 697,000 | 1.20% | 35,800 | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Heaven Bahati | 533,000 | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty | ||||
| Henry Desagu | 548,000 | 695,000 | 0.30% | 96,800 | 18,700 | Comedy |
| Janet Mbugua | 42,100 | 1.1M | 2.30% | 4575 | 53,800 | Other |
| Jessy Junction | 145,000 | 1.7M | 0% | 164,000 | Comedy | |
| Jesus Girl | 14,200 | 70,200 | Other | |||
| Joy Kendi | 57,600 | 267,000 | 2.90% | 32,500 | 2,114 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty |
| Joyce Maina | 43,000 | 219,000 | 3.20% | 52,000 | 3,515 | Media |
| Joyce Omondi Waihiga | 22,400 | 774,000 | 0.40% | 28,400 | Music | |
| Just doing life | 10,000 | Other | ||||
| Just Gym It | 44,000 | 176,000 | 5.90% | 62,500 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Kalekye Mumo | 11,200 | 1,300 | 0.10% | 462,300 | Media | |
| Kaluhi’s Kitchen | 62,600 | 116,000 | 1.70% | 42,900 | Food | |
| Kate actress | 119,000 | 1.7M | 0.90% | 93,700 | 21,900 | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty |
| Khaligraph Jones | 459,000 | 1.7M | 2.10% | 1,730 | 258,800 | Music |
| King Julius | 122,000 | 62,900 | 252,300 | 1,985 | Comedy | |
| Ladasha | 417,000 | Other | ||||
| Legally Clueless | 4960 | 12,100 | 0.20% | 282,500 | Other | |
| Maggie Mwende | 50,200 | 35,400 | Home Decor & Cleaning | |||
| Mandi Sarro | 75,000 | 113,000 | 2.60% | 35,500 | Food | |
| Maureen Waititu | 61,000 | 488,000 | 1.80% | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty | ||
| MCA tricky | 275,000 | 1.5M | 10,000 | 112,000 | Comedy | |
| Michelle Anyango | 41,900 | 16,500 | 1346 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | ||
| Milly Chebby | 130,000 | 221,000 | 3,501 | Parenting | ||
| Mulamwah | 83,600 | 386,000 | 88,100 | 310,100 | Comedy | |
| Murugi Munyi (YummyMummy) | 56,400 | 221,000 | 2.00% | 24,800 | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Muthoni Gitau | 31,400 | 16,900 | Home Decor & Cleaning | |||
| Muthoni missions | 52,100 | 310,000 | Relationships | |||
| Nasra Rashid | 60,100 | Comedy | ||||
| Natalie Tewa | 87,300 | 222,000 | 13.90% | 12,900 | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Nelly Mwangi | 21,200 | 49,400 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | |||
| Njugush and Celestine | 486,000 | 2M | 0.40% | 14,000 | 134,500 | Comedy |
| Nkatha-K | 17,800 | 8919 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | |||
| Nyce Wanjeri | 29,200 | 554,000 | 0.80% | 60,400 | 1,029 | Comedy |
| Pascal Tokodi | 83,800 | 905,000 | 49,700 | 15,300 | Music | |
| Patricia Kihoro | 39,400 | 219,000 | 1.80% | 175,900 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Pika na Raych | 157,000 | 103,000 | Food | |||
| Rue Baby | 610,000 | 3.70% | 174,600 | 2,377 | Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Sharon Mundia | 69,500 | 343000 | 2.30% | 65,600 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | |
| Terrence Creative | 109,000 | 450,000 | 1.50% | 67,800 | 3,861 | Comedy |
| Terry Anne Chebet | 33,600 | 696,000 | 0.30% | 536,700 | Personal finance & Investing | |
| The Murayas (Size8Reborn) | 216,000 | 2.3M | 131,500 | Music | ||
| Tom Daktari | 216,000 | 68,900 | 36,700 | 1,504 | Comedy | |
| Wabosha Maxine | 203,000 | 384,000 | 9.30% | 154,000 | 6,282 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty |
| Wajesus Family (Milly Wajesus) | 391,000 | 787,000 | 1.80% | 114,000 | 2,894 | Marriage, Fashion, Lifestyle & Beauty |
| Wanjiru Njiru | 44300 | 85,500 | 2,091 | Fashion Lifestyle & Beauty | ||
| Willy Paul | 665,000 | 1.9M | 65,700 | 39,200 | Music | |
| Yvonne Kendi | 16,100 | 10,000 | Home Decor & Cleaning |
In conclusion
Make sure you determine what type of product or service you’re bringing into the market. Is it suitable for the masses or targeted at a small niche? This will help you choose the right influencer to partner with. Remember, the number of followers alone should not determine who you should work with. Get their engagement analytics to see how many people interact with their posts. Remember that marketing a good product even in the hands of an amazing influencer, will not do well if it is not in alignment with the interests of their audience. Once you have determined who to work with, ask them for examples of their past partnerships with other clients and the results they were able to deliver.
Digicurated 