Influence Marketing is a collaboration with influencers on Instagram or other social media channels to promote their brand, product, service, or campaign. Influencer Marketing has gained ground in a short period. Over 75% of Instagram influencers are micro-influencers – they are categorized with 1,000 and 10,000 followers – as per the recent research from Socialbakers. Marketers are turning to influencer marketing -
● To help brands boost their authenticity
● Boost brand sentiment
● Building trust with customers and potential customers
● drive engagement
● Increase website traffic, and conversions
As per Heather-Mae Pusztai, Source
“There are a lot of similarities to celebrity endorsements and to word-of-mouth marketing. Just like with those strategies, influencer marketing aims to make a brand more relatable and trustworthy in the market, especially with younger demographics. In fact, studies show that 70% of millennial consumers are influenced by the recommendations of their peers in buying decisions.”
Why micro-influencers are a good idea?
"It is not true that influencer marketing is possible only with giant influencers like Kylie Jenner ($1 million per post) or Dwayne Johnson ($650,000 per post). Influence marketing is most effective with micro-influencers. Here are some popular reasons why small and mid-size brands prefer micro-influencers over the big wigs on the platform." Nadim Ahmed of Venture X Dallas Flexible Office Center. Venture X Galleria.
● They have a stronger bond with the audience
● Influencers with a few thousand followers come across as more trustworthy, authentic, and relatable than those with huge followings
● They engage and interact with their followers through comments and direct messages
● They are a much more cost-effective option
● They nurture relationships with their followers rather than simply posting a picture or video with a strong caption
● People who follow micro-influencers are also genuinely interested in their posts and what they have to say
● They are more authentic content creators, and they generally choose to work with brands they believe in
● They have higher engagement rates because of their authenticity
As per Anna Komok, Source
“As you see on the graph, the more followers influencers have, the less engagement they get. It’s also noticeable that bloggers with 20K and those with more than 1 million followers don’t have any significant difference in ER. Their average ER is between 1.54% and 1.62%.”
Micro-influencers can have a positive impact on your brand. You can directly connect with potential customers with similar likes and interests, increasing the possibility of conversion or sale.
As per Myriah Anderson, Source
“49% of people say that they trust recommendations by influencers to make their purchase decisions.
And that shouldn’t be a surprise, reviews and recommendations are huge!
For example, when you’re going to choose a restaurant to go to that you haven’t been to before, if you’re like me, you check out Yelp or Google reviews to see what people think (if you haven’t asked your friends already).”
Getting micro-influencers on board
"Generally, brands tend to reach out to micro-influencers through emails since; they are not swamped with thousands of emails nor have a management team like macro-influencers." says Kytari Chapman a Dallas LinkedIn influencer at Dallas coworking space Venture X.
Some common ways of finding a micro-influencer are:
● Through word of mouth
● Connect with an agency to use its influencer database
● Suggestions and recommendations from existing groups and associations
● Scroll through macro-influencers’ posts to find prospective micro-influencers who often comment and engage with their audience
An important point to keep in mind while looking for a micro-influencer is not just to consider the number of followers they have. It is also important to consider how many comments and “likes” (the profile) get per photo.
Working with a micro-influencer
Content creation is a very creative process and unique to each person. Some influencers like to plan all the details of the post well in advance while others might wait for fresh inspiration. Similarly, some might prefer a subtle way of posting content, while others would like to go all out. Therefore, working with micro-influencers is not alike, and it is not like running a business unit. Here are a few tips –
Avoid Micromanaging – It is best to leave the content creation to the micro-influencers, with key points about your content, brand, product, and/or the service. Followers respond to authenticity, and too much meddling can lead to an unoriginal post; the followers can deem it as too formal or cheesy.
Boost credibility with cross-posts – This is a great way to highlight collaboration; this benefits both your brand and the influencer
Analyzing the results – It is recommended to frequently monitor the influencer’s activity and check the performance of the shared against the overall business goal of a campaign. Required tweaks and changes can be made to better the results.
Conclusion
"Including Micro-Influencers in your marketing strategy can give you macro results. They are cost-effective and highly impactful at their job. Reach, Relevance, and Resonance is the key to Influence and should be considered through the process." Qamar Zaman Chief Growth Officer KISS PR
