What springs to mind when you hear about micro-influencers?
Less famous? Fewer followers? Limited power to influence?
It’s a common misconception to underestimate the capability of micro-influencers.
The exciting truth is these micro-influencers can hold significant potential in the market despite their modest popularity and follower count.
This article will debunk the negative stereotypes about micro-influencers, revealing a thought-provoking perspective on why most small businesses are wrong.
Building Genuine Connections
The common problem with celebrity endorsement or macro-influencers lies in connections. It’s hard to build a genuine relationship with big personalities since they’re usually busy with their hectic schedules.
Most of the time, they only use your products for contractual purposes. It eventually becomes apparent to the public that it’s merely a sponsorship.
Building genuine connections help you solve this problem by conveying messages more meaningfully and tapping into the audience’s emotion and empathy.
You can achieve this goal if you’re working with micro-influencers, as they tend to have fewer clients and more dedicated time to focus on endorsing your products.
Take a look at Airbnb’s strategy as a great example of building genuine connections. As an accommodation marketplace, Airbnb engages with micro-influencers to promote its property.
The micro-influencers are none other than active hosts on their platform. These hosts share recommendations and their unique experiences with hosting travelers around the world.
Instead of endorsing famous celebrities, this strategy effectively helps Airbnb builds real influencer relationships with potential hosts and guests.
Budget-Friendly Collaborations
Budgeting is another challenge with influencer marketing. It’s no secret that getting your products advertised by celebrity icons or public figures can be costly.
The price tags get more expensive as they have more renowned names within the industry and society.
However, a wider audience doesn’t directly translate to higher sales for your business. Micro-influencers are the answer if you want to promote your products without spending hefty money. They usually charge a more affordable rate for an advertisement campaign.
Suppose you’re an owner of a skincare product line with a shoestring budget for promotions. Endorsing a celebrity might have an immediate impact on your business, but it’s going to stifle business for the long term.
In that case, collaborating with micro-influencers is a smart move. Reach out to the local beauty vloggers to try your products and create a review video on Youtube. You can also partner with beauty bloggers to write a comprehensive review about your skincare brand.
Quality Over Quantity
Micro-influencers usually refer to a group of internet personalities with around 2,000 to 100K followers.
While this number might seem small compared to celebrities or macro-influencers with millions of followers, it can be enough for small businesses seeking to boost their conversion rates.
Having a small follower count lets them communicate with their audience on a personal level, leading to better engagement.
Micro-influencers help you showcase your products or services through valuable conversations and feedback rather than just a scroll-through.
Sometimes, people follow celebrities solely because they’re famous, not because of their content. But people who follow ordinary personalities, like micro-influencers, are genuinely interested in their content.
The aim of the endorsement is to educate the public about your brands. Even with a small number of followers, micro-influencers still hold the power to spread awareness and influence the community into buying your products.
Niche Leader
A niche leader is a key advantage micro-influencers offer, thanks to their fewer followers.
Unlike macro-influencers, who often have a more extensive range of audience, people who follow micro-influencers are most likely to have a specific interest they share in common.
Operating your small business in niche markets is better than competing in broader and generic markets. This strategy allows you to reach relevant audiences and win them over.
Have you ever come across a plant-based recipe while scrolling through Instagram? That’s a great example of a niche leader. There are many dedicated vegan personalities online whose followers are not even close to a million.
However, it’s better to collaborate with them if your business focuses on selling vegan foods. Why? Because they have the right audience for your products, compared to celebrities whose lifestyles are probably not in line with your brand’s value.
Authentic Storytellers
In a world full of advertising and marketing campaigns, consumers have become more savvy in spotting endorsements.
Micro-influencers hold a competitive advantage. Their followers often come from genuine relationships and trust built over time, making it easier for them to deliver more heartfelt promotions.
In addition, micro-influencers usually handle smaller endorsement projects. This allows them to allocate more time to your products and get directly involved in content creation.
People who find their content authentic and valuable may eventually become your business customers.
Lasting Referrals and Backlinks
While investing in influencer marketing can be a game-changer for your small business, you might want to make the impact last longer.
If you aim for long-term impact rather than just a one-time purchase, consider collaborating with micro-influencers.
Thanks to their trustworthy storytelling, it becomes easy for people to believe their recommendations and referrals.
In addition to social media referrals, micro-influencers who write a blog post also provide quality backlinks to your website and enhance your SEO performance by linking your brands in their articles.
Example: Micro-Influencer Campaign for a Small Fitness Apparel Business
Campaign Goal: Increase brand awareness and drive sales for a small fitness apparel business that specializes in eco-friendly activewear.
Target Audience: Health-conscious individuals, fitness enthusiasts, and environmentally conscious consumers.
Micro-Influencer Selection: Identify local micro-influencers with around 5,000 to 10,000 followers on Instagram who have a genuine interest in fitness and sustainability. Look for individuals who often post about their workout routines, healthy lifestyle, and eco-friendly products.
Campaign Strategy:
- Influencer Partnerships: Reach out to selected micro-influencers with a proposal for a collaboration. Offer them a selection of eco-friendly activewear products in exchange for creating authentic content featuring the products.
- Product Showcase: Provide influencers with a variety of fitness apparel items, emphasizing the eco-friendly and sustainable aspects of the products. Encourage them to highlight the quality, comfort, and style of the apparel.
- Content Creation: Ask influencers to create posts showcasing different workout outfits featuring the products. They can share their workout routines and how the apparel enhances their fitness experience. Encourage influencers to share information about the eco-friendly materials used in the products and the business’s commitment to reducing environmental impact.
- Engagement and Authenticity: Allow influencers creative freedom in how they present the products. Authenticity is key, so the influencers should be encouraged to share their genuine experiences and opinions.
- Giveaways and Discounts: Collaborate with influencers to host a giveaway where their followers have a chance to win some of the fitness apparel. Additionally, provide influencers with unique discount codes to offer their followers, driving traffic to the business’s online store.
- Storytelling: Leverage Instagram Stories for behind-the-scenes content of the influencer trying on the products, sharing their thoughts, and interacting with their audience’s questions and feedback.
- Cross-Promotion: Encourage influencers to cross-promote the campaign on their other social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, to maximize reach.
- User-Generated Content: Encourage influencers’ followers to create their own posts wearing the products, using a specific campaign hashtag. Repost the best user-generated content on the business’s official social media accounts.
- Metrics and Measurement: Keep track of engagement metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and new followers gained during the campaign. Additionally, track the usage of discount codes to gauge sales generated by the campaign.
Campaign Duration: 4-6 weeks, allowing sufficient time for influencers to create and share content and for their followers to engage with the campaign.
End of Campaign: Express gratitude to the influencers for their participation. Highlight the success of the campaign through a recap post on the business’s social media accounts, showcasing the best influencer content and announcing any notable outcomes, such as increased website traffic, follower growth, and sales.
Work With Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers have their own way of driving people into buying your products. From building genuine relationships to gaining referrals, micro-influencers are worth your consideration.
With the right strategy, you can maximize your influencer marketing efforts without spending too much financial resources.
Author Bio
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order). Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
