Why You Shouldn’t Sleep On Micro-influencers
Nowadays, it’s so tempting to go big or go home when it comes to a product — especially when it comes to influencers. Brands, too often, look for large scale opportunities. Their first line of defense quite often comes down to seeking out influencers that have the most views, engagements, clicks as if they’re spellbound by the numbers. Working with a large influencer has its advantages but maybe it’s time to change up that mindset. The bigger the better, right? Not necessarily. It’s time to think smaller.
Trusted, Authentic — The Friend You Can Trust
Micro-influencers are often an afterthought in the world of influencers but they’re equally important, if not more so than macro-influencers.
As tempting as it might be to hire macro (large scale) influencers, micro-influencers have a better understanding of their community. Communities tend to look at these influencers as genuine people — unlike large scale influencers. They are viewed as someone authentically speaking to a product in the same space as them, as a peer. Viewed as authentic and genuine, they’ve worked hard to establish a real relationship with their base.
Micro-influencers have a really solid relationship with their followers. If an influencer they connect with markets something, chances are they will be willing to look into that particular product. This is partially due to their ability to understand their targeted audience and know what speaks to their audience. They have a feel for what their community likes, what they want see, and what things most likely won’t hit.
Micro-influencers also have a tendency to engage their followers in conversation. Have you ever noticed how quickly the chat goes by in a Twitch stream for larger influencers? Or how many comments go ignored on Instagram? Once influencers reach a certain status, many larger influencers struggle to fill the engagement that micro-influencers have. Compared to a macro-influencer, engagement is off the charts with micro-influencers. By responding to comments, reposting stories, asking/answering questions, and listening to their community, a micro-influencer creates a genuine relationship with their followers.
Save More, Earn More Views
Larger scale influencers have one major disadvantage of working with them: cost. Campaigns that center around well-known, huge influencers are, quite frankly, rather costly. Want a well-executed campaign for half the budget? Deploy a larger number of micro-influencers!
When considering micro-influencers, it’s important to remember that they stay true to their brand and tend to only agree if a particular sponsorship fits their core values. Instead of going for just views or clicks, they tend to work with brands that they know their audience would love. Since they have already established a set voice and tone, they prefer to work with brands that won’t seem out of place on their stream/channel/page.
Negotiation may play into a bigger part in a campaign with larger influencers since they typically work with an agent or another party that will go back and forth on a budget/commission/pay. This can be a time-consuming process — the more time spent dealing with a back and forth — the less time you have to be out there. Micro-influencers, on the other hand, will not have an agent and you’ll deal with them directly.
Build An Army (AKA — The More The Merrier)
Brand awareness is extremely important for burgeoning brands. More brand recognition means a higher possibility of acquiring new customers and looking at your product. It’s a convenient way to get your name out there. If this influencer, and the next influencer, and another influencer are talking about you — there must be some truth in the hype, right?
By deploying micro-influencers, you’ll find you have discovered a broader way to get your message across. The more talk about the product, the better. Soon, you’ll see your brand all over Twitch. If these people are talking about it, and I see more people trying it, why wouldn’t I want to try it? This is an extremely effective trickle-down level of marketing.
Think Small
Have a product demo you want to share? Want to gauge real-world thoughts on a new product? Micro-influencers and their community is key to garnering all types of useful feedback. Choosing an influencer with a small but more relevant fan base can help you drive good results.
Based on their ability to cultivate niche communities, micro-influencers enable brands to tap unexplored communities with undeniable results. While their range may be a little more limited than the macro or mega influencer, utilizing an army of micro-influencers will help extend reach and raise brand awareness — all without breaking your brand’s bank. Next time, when considering your next campaign and reach, try broadening your scope by thinking smaller.
