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The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) last year reported that 75 percent of all U.S. marketers would consider using Influencer marketing and over 40 percent would increase spending in 2019. The study also notes that the types of social media influencers may differ. Some companies are working with influencers with only a humble 1000 followers, while others are looking for influencers with well over 100,000 followers.
What are micro-influencers
To date, most people and marketers think of influencers as celebrities who have millions of followers on platforms like YouTube or Instagram. But in fact, it doesn’t necessarily take this many follower numbers to draw some serious attention on social media. It all depends on the approach. The Kardashians, Zach King or The Rock can of course fuel the sales and the publicity with a small random post, but the costs are often far beyond the available budget. Instead, smaller companies, in particular, are now looking for more “normal” but absolutely credible social media users serving smaller niche target groups. This influencer category is called “micro-influencer”.
Micro-influencers are characterized by extremely high authenticity, openness and also by honesty or credibility – their followers respect and actually know them and vice versa. Therefore, such micro-influencers often generate very good engagement rates. Fewer followers also mean that influencers can cultivate much better relationships and really respond to fan comments in person, etc. Bringing these features together with lower partnering costs will make it clear to everyone that you get a much higher return on investment. Big names are not necessarily required – “just” an active, smart marketing department.
Micro-influencers are relatively easy to find. In the first step, you will be looking for personalities that have quality content that matches your brand and high engagement numbers. Simply put – many comments and likes and a few hundred or a thousand followers. Make sure that the Influencer’s personal “brand” or look and feel matches your brand image, values and goals. Of course, details can also be coordinated.
It’s about many small, very healthy fish in a huge pool. If you establish good cooperations and communicate clearly these small “fish” can cause quite a stir.
