The entrepreneur's ultimate guide to influencer marketing on Instagram, from micro-influencers to brand ambassadors, and everything in between

• Influencers are the best way to attract customers to your brand on Instagram.
• By 2021, shopping on Instagram is expected to generate $10 billion a year in revenue.
• Business Insider spoke to influencer marketing expert Elma Beganovich on how to navigate the industry. She gave us tips on the five types of influencers, how much they cost, and getting loyal customers to build your network.
• Beganovich suggested starting small - don't go after celebrities and macro-influencers until you've established your brand and following.
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Influencers are the compass that navigates consumers toward new and interesting products.

Startups are using influencers for market research, product development, and free or low-cost marketing. Business Insider previously reported that shopping on Instagram is expected to generate $10 billion a year in revenue by 2021.

But when it comes to marketing your brand, not all influencers will give you the same results. The most successful strategy is one catered to your customers - one that speaks to them on a personal level but isn't forced. Social media is ultra saturated and followers are fickle. Miss the mark and you become invisible.

Elma Beganovich founded a $5.2 million digital-marketing agency with her sister Amra Beganovich before "influencer marketing" was coined. They were on the fashion blogger scene back when fashionistas documented their outfits on their blogs and shook up the front row at fashion week. The sisters' agency now works with a database of one million influencers and has created campaigns for international brands like Uber, Huawei, and Johnson & Johnson.

"Since Amra and I started this, it has really developed into a fairly sophisticated industry," she said. "Once upon a time, you could even get one of the major influencers to do something on a trade basis - it doesn't happen anymore."

Beganovich told Business Insider what brands need to know about influencers, from macro to micro (and what those terms mean), how much they cost, and how to hire them. We also talked to startup founders who have rapidly gained followers on social media, worked with influencers, and formed legions of loyal customers.

Here is your ultimate guide to working with influencers to market your startup brand.