If you’re a business owner on social media, it’s hard to ignore the fact that influencer marketing is here to stay. It’s probably something you know you need to start doing, but getting big influencers can be expensive. The thing is, you don’t need big influencers to use influencer marketing successfully. That’s where micro-influencers come in.
If you work within a niche or own a business that runs out of a particular demographic area, then you might want to consider micro-influencers as part of your marketing strategy. Especially if your campaign KPI is engagement & awareness, (which are both VITAL things to have in your social media campaign)!
“Marketers have noticed that… the ratio of likes and comments to followers peaks when an account has around 1,000 followers. Get more than 100,000 followers, and engagement starts to flatten out; users just aren’t as keen to interact with a celebrity as with someone they can relate to more closely.” – Medium.com
Everyone wants to be heard, and engagement on social media becomes far less fun if it is a one-way street. Micro-influencers can help you be heard!
What Are Micro-Influencers?
First, what, exactly, are micro-influencers?
There is no definitive definition for a micro-influencer in terms of follower count or content. However, the consensus seems to be that they are individuals with a small but highly targeted and engaged following.
The key is engagement, micro-influencers often have a loyal and enthusiastic audience made up of family members, colleagues, and other members of their community and first circle. They also hold a certain cachet within their niche and are a trusted go-to for advice and product recommendations.
“A micro-influencer serves more niche audiences and can be beneficial to a brand because they provide access to a small subset of a targeted demographic interested in your business.” – Forbes
Why Micro-Influencers Have A Higher ROI?
Simply put, micro-influencers have integrity. It takes more than money to buy their support. Your values must align with theirs. They must actually like and trust your product or service. Most importantly, they are not afraid to turn down offers if the opportunity isn’t right.
This makes them valuable in 3 very important ways:
- They’re More Relevant: Influencer marketing is at its best when you know their fans will find your product or service relevant. Micro-influencers have often spent years building up a following in their niche and fans hang on their every word and suggestion. They are authorities within their community and you can rest assured that everything they share is important and well thought out.
- They’re More Authentic: Audiences are catching on to influencers and product posts that are not sincere. Contrived influencer images are so common these days that they are actually getting lost and marked as not relevant. An image or post that is a little rough, but that a user just could not wait to share is often worth a lot more than a fancy, staged, glossy shot from an influencer with 1million+ followers. For this reason, you can always trust micro-influencers to keep it real!
- They’re More Cost Effective: If a micro-influencer decides to work with your brand, it is because they know that they will be providing real value to their audience and to your company as a result of the partnership. Micro-influencers won’t take advantage of you or the market since they are not in it just for the money.
“While influencer marketing can be expensive, it doesn’t have to be. Micro-influencers are a great way to gain traction with your marketing efforts on social media if you have a tight budget.” – Like A Voss
How Do I Find Micro-Influencers?
You can find a micro-influencer by noticing their engagement rates and quality of content. Micro-influencer accounts tend to have higher engagement rates than those with larger followings. When looking into engagement metrics, make sure that they are not members of comment pods and that they don’t use any sneaky tactics to inflate their stats.
“An effective strategy for finding the right kind of micro-influencer for your business is using hashtag search features, particularly branded hashtags. […] If you search #YourBrandName, you’ll be able to find people who are already engaging with your brand (if they are).” – Social Media Today
You can also use services like TR|BE which is a company dedicated to micro-influencers. They have highly vetted content creators that are ready and eager to share your brand message with their loyal fans!
Micro-influencer marketing should always be paired with a strong, consistent brand message and presence across social media channels. As a brand, you should be taking cues from the best influencers in your category. Focus on building authority, awareness, and trust within your niche, and perhaps even become a micro-influencer in your own right!
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This blog post was originally published in March 2019 and has been edited to improve accuracy and readability.
