Businesses have been using the power of social media for their brand promotion for several years. Those brands who don’t utilise this could fall behind, as they are unable to take advantage of the many benefits that it presents. One of the main ways to use social media to benefit your business is through influencer marketing. This is paying people popular on social media platforms to promote your service or product.
The only problem with this type of marketing is that it can be expensive to attract the most popular influencers, with those over 500,000 followers usually charging over £10,000 per post. If you’re a small business who is unable to afford this, there is a cheaper solution. Micro-influencers charge less per post and can be more beneficial if you are trying to appeal to a niche market.
This guide will delve into the magic of micro-influencer marketing and showcase how it can be leveraged by smaller accounts to get a more prominent brand impact.
What is a Micro-Influencer?
Social media users that have 10,000 to 50,000 followers are usually recognised as micro-influencers and are at the level where they can start to charge for sponsored content. Prices vary depending on how many followers a user has, with the more followers usually equalling higher charges. As a small business, you should aim to work with users that have followers up to 30,000 and increase this slowly as your business begins to grow.
The followers of these social media users will have specific niches that businesses need to look at before deciding on the perfect one for them. From fashion to fitness to gaming, you need to select a micro-influencer that best suits your brand. Their followers will trust their opinions about your product or service with 63% of shoppers saying they are more likely to buy a product if recommended by a social media user they trust. This can make them invaluable partners for your brand.
The Benefits of Partnering With a Micro-Influencer
Builds Authenticity
Celebrities and macro-influencers can be unreliable, as they typically collaborate with multiple brands at a time, which can dilute their credibility. Micro-influencers don’t have this issue, as they are less likely to be working with other brands and if they are promoting a product or service it will seem more genuine. This can help foster a stronger connection with their audience who will then be more interested in what they are promoting.
Reach Niche Markets
Micro-influencers can reach niche markets when compared to macro-influencers, as they have a less broad audience so it enables them to target specific demographics. This can lead to better engagement and conversion rates, as the promotional content is more likely to reach an audience that has a higher chance of completing actions on the brand’s website. These actions can include adding products to their cart or completing a service enquiry on the website.
Cost-Effective
Small businesses tend to have a lower budget, so they need cost-effective solutions to promote their startup brand in the best way possible. Micro-influencer marketing campaigns give smaller businesses the chance to reach their target audience without having to break their budget on influencers with a higher following.
Higher Engagement
Due to the smaller audience size of micro-influencers, it allows them to form a more personal and deep connection with their followers which can help with gaining higher engagement. It’s important to conduct thorough research into different micro-influencers to help you decide the best place for your promotional content, as you want an influencer who can gain trust for your brand.
How to Find the Perfect Micro-Influencer
Know Your Brand
You should have a clear understanding of your brand’s focus and future vision if you want to successfully succeed in influencer marketing. Look at your brand’s value, what makes you unique and what audience you need to reach will help you with selecting the right micro-influencer. The search for an influencer should be shaped around what you want to present to your audience.
Hashtag Research
Just like local keyword research, such as SEO in Manchester, you should conduct hashtag research for the perfect influencer marketing campaign. Searching words that relate to your brand on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok can help you reach the part of the platform where your target audience has gravitated towards. You should use a micro-influencer that regularly uses the hashtags that most relate to your brand.
Follower Interaction
You should want to find a micro-influencer that interacts with their followers and is engaged with what’s going on. Having a partnership with influencers that are passionate about what they are promoting will help your service or product come across in a much better light. Taking the time to look at a range of influencers and how they interact with their audience will help you make the perfect choice.
Choose a Platform
Each platform will have different benefits to your brand, as they each give you the ability to reach a specific demographic. When choosing to partner with an influencer for social media advertising, you need to ensure that your chosen user is on the platform that will most benefit your business. For example, TikTok will be the best platform to promote to teenagers, Instagram for young adults and Facebook for the older generation.
Quality Over Quantity
Simply choosing the influencer with the highest follower count might not be very beneficial for your business, as they might have an audience that won’t relate to your product or service. You need to analyse engagement rates, your brand’s target audience and the authenticity of your brand’s promotion. You should look for a micro-influencer that will be passionate about promoting your brand.
Conclusion
For small businesses looking to reach new markets and establish connections with specialised customer bases, whether you make personalised gifts or sell technology, micro-influencer marketing offers a potent and economical solution. Influencers that can form a connection with their followers can help brands become more authentic, increase engagement and improve conversions.
