An untapped source of marketing potential
With top influencers capable of earning upwards of $25,000 for a social media post, it can leave smaller businesses out the running when it comes to influencer marketing. But partnering with an influencer doesn’t need to be expensive.
Opting for a partner, with over 10,000 followers on Instagram for example, is going to set you back at least a few hundred pounds, maybe even a few thousand. But micro influencers are an untapped source of marketing potential…
WHY DO MICRO INFLUENCERS MATTER?
- Build trust in niche audiences
If you have a niche product like sporting equipment or raw dog food, you won’t reach people interested in that product through a social giant like Kim Kardashian. Instead, embracing your niche product by finding influencers within that niche can lead to a much warmer, and therefore more likely to convert, audience. Influencers with a niche will have honed their craft over months, or even years, and be an authoritative voice on the matter. Embrace that via genuine recommendations, if you can, or paid product placement.
- Real people with real influence
Social users see social influencers with small followings as more real and relatable than celebrities or macro influencers. Usually, these users have followed micro influencers since their digital inception making them much more highly invested in their content. You may still be wondering why a micro influencer is more valuable than a celebrity. Ali Parmelee, Facebook Strategist said; “They’re more accessible. People love to see themselves in these aspirational ads, and that more niche, every day-person influencer makes that much easier.”
- Higher engagement rates
Because of their higher relatability and greater accessibility, given they are usually much more likely to reply to DMs and comments on their posts, their engagement is elevated compared to macro influencers. According to Medium, micro influencers see 60 percent higher campaign engagement rates than their larger following counterparts. This makes these campaigns 6.7 times more efficient per engagement with 22.2 times more weekly conversations than the average consumer.
- Cost-effective
We already know macro influencers are an expensive addition to your marketing strategy. Luckily for you, micro influencers are much kinder to your wallet, costing anywhere between £250 to a thousand for a post or story. They are also much more likely to post in return for a gifted experience or product – especially if you have a strong working relationship already.
- Loyalty is hard to come by
If you’re lucky enough to have fans of your products or services who are also micro influencers, these are the perfect partner for paid promotion. Their recommendations will appear genuine as their viewers may have seen or heard about your brand via historic posts or stories. Make the most of this by encouraging brand loyalty through freebies, discount codes and a good working relationship.
- Competitive edge
Given the micro influencer pool is so deep and varied, you’ll be unlikely to find yourself using the same one as your competitor. They might not be working with micro influencers at all! It’s easy to underestimate the power of a micro influencer in spite of their small audience but, if you encourage a long-term working relationship with your chosen micro influencer, your brand will grow with them as their channel grows.
HOW TO PARTNER WITH MICRO INFLUENCERS
If you’ve decided micro influencers are indeed for you, then there are a few ways that you can incorporate them into your marketing strategy. Outlined below are a few methods to sharing content via an influencer:
- Generic sponsored post
Essentially this is product placement; a nice photograph that fits the influencers’ feed but also has your product or service in the shot. It’s a great, visual way to get eyes on your business, but it can look disingenuous if done incorrectly. Make sure you give your influencer creative freedom over the ad to give it a sense of authenticity and allow them to be honest, even if their post includes negativity.
- Product reviews
Great across a manner of social channels, a product review is a great way to get your brand and products out there. Lots of major fashion companies give influencers free money to spend on their website (plus payment on top in some cases) to film a ‘haul video’. Here they buy and try on new clothes from the site with their honest opinions. It can be a bit scary giving influencers space to negatively review any of your products, but if you have faith in the products and the working relationship between you and your influencer, the pay off can be huge.
- Story-telling
The digital world, in particular social media, is extremely cluttered. Authenticity is key for any influencer campaign. Allow your influencer to tell stories that connects both them and your brand.
If you think your brand could benefit from using micro influencers in your marketing strategy, get in touch at influentialmarketingteam@thisisinfluential.com
