Why Micro-Influencers are Taking Over the Marketing Space

By Chan Desai, Account Strategist — Otter PR   

Micro-influencers are no longer the underdogs of social media marketing. In fact, their authenticity and trustworthiness make them more engaging than macro-influencers. On top of this, micro-influencers are more affordable than macro-influencers, meaning establishing a partnership with them can allow your brand to reach more people at a lower cost.

These small-time influencers have been gaining popularity over the past few years and show no sign of slowing down. Let's look at why they should be part of your marketing strategy.

Who are micro-influencers?

Micro-influencers are content providers on social media sites like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram who have a relatively modest, yet dedicated fan base. With audiences between 10,000-50,000 followers, they are better able to prioritize quality relationships over quantity.  

These influencers connect deeply with their followers. For marketers, this means that if a micro-influencer promotes your brand to their audience, their followers are more likely to interact with your company, purchase your items, and spread the word about what you're offering.  

Micro-influencers provide genuine connections with their audiences

People explore social networking sites because they yearn for interaction — everyone looks for a community where they can feel accepted and included. PRWeek finds that over half of all internet users would rather follow regular people than famous celebrities on social media.

Compared to more famous individuals, micro-influencers are far more genuine and approachable, allowing them to foster these relationships with followers by offering authentic material, one-on-one encounters, and shared experiences. When a micro-influencer endorses your product or service, they do so in a way that doesn't read like a sponsored advertisement. 

Additionally, micro-influencers make sure that they are easy to reach, and they respond to their followers' feedback. Because of all this, their followers pay attention when they talk about real-world problems and the products that solve them.

The engagement rates for micro-influencers are higher than those of macro-influencers

Simply put, engagement measures how many followers reach out and connect with an influencer's content. And micro-influencers have notably higher engagement rates than macro-influencers.

Interestingly, the more people an influencer attracts, the less engaged those followers tend to be. Essentially, as influencers' audiences grow, their engagement rate dwindles. 

According to research by Influencer Marketing Hub, the micro-influencer with 5,710 followers has an average engagement rate of 5.7%. That average engagement rate drops to an average of 1.7% as the number of followers reaches 100,000.

Marketing with micro-influencers saves money

Companies that previously depended on online advertising platforms like Facebook and Google are now including micro-influencers in their marketing strategy, as these influencers enable them to combat the ever-increasing expense of acquiring new consumers. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of acquisition increased by almost 60% between 2014 and 2019, according to ProfitWell.  

Micro-influencers' engagement rates enable them to offer more bang for the buck than macro-influencers and conventional advertising. Thanks to their high engagement, these influencers have an audience that is more likely to view a brand's advertising and interact through clicks, likes, and comments. In terms of marketing, this translates to a much higher ROI.  

Furthermore, the conversion rate provided by micro-influencers is higher than that of macro-influencers. Since their audiences trust them, their suggestions result in more sales. 

It's also helpful that, in most cases, micro-influencers have used the product they're promoting. For example, guitar players hoping to purchase a new instrument want to hear sound comparisons and reviews from a skilled musician micro-influencer they follow who has also used and reviewed the guitar in question.

Niche expertise from micro-influencers attracts targeted audiences 

Micro-influencers find success by dominating a tiny subset of a larger market or industry. As a result, marketing through micro-influencers allows your brand to reach highly responsive and engaged groups.

Micro-influencers are enthusiastic about their work and open to new experiences because their goal is to establish themselves as leaders in their profession by teaching others what they know through their passion for the niche they occupy. If your brand operates in that same niche, they will likely share a passion for the product or service you’re looking to promote.

Choosing the right micro-influencer to act as your brand ambassador  

When compared to macro-influencers, micro-influencers have a much greater impact. Not only do they provide engagement from your target audience and improved conversion rates, but they're also a more affordable way for your business to promote its products on social media sites.

There are two ways to go about locating just the right micro-influencer for your marketing campaign. You can find influencers yourself by searching organically online, or you can trust the job to a public relations specialist.  

To conduct your own organic search, start by combing through your social media followers who have an audience between one and ten thousand. With this tactic, you can approach influencers who are already enthusiastic about your brand's offerings. As current customers, their endorsement of your product would be sincere and unprompted. 

To widen your search, you can connect with micro-influencers through social media hashtags. Look for micro-influencers who routinely share posts about your product's niche.  

Finding the ideal micro-influencer requires hours of diligent research. If you don't have the time or resources to tackle the process on your own, a public relations expert can help. These experts can handle everything from selection to influencer management, and as the campaign progresses, they will continue to be involved in tasks like content development and campaign analysis. 

To learn more about the benefits of utilizing micro-influencers for your brand, reach out to the public relations professionals at Otter PR.