On trend: micro-influencers
Micro-Influencers are probably the hottest topic in social media right now.
But what is a micro-influencer? What do they do? What should you be looking for? And is influencer marketing actually worth doing?
We’ve been watching this trend unfold for a long time and, as there are so many different views, we can understand the confusion and questions. As we’ve got a bit of experience in this space, we thought we’d simplify it for y’all!
What is a micro-influencer?
In it’s broadest sense, a micro-influencer is anyone who has more than 3000 followers on their Instagram, Facebook or other social media accounts. While some would say an influencer can be anyone, we personally believe that an influencer should be investing in growing their following and creating a conversation with their followers around a particular passion or niche. We also believe they’re realistically not worth your time unless they have a following worth your financial investment.
Importantly, a micro-influencer isn’t ‘celebrity status.’ This is a macro-influencer. And this is where the whole discussion starts to get a bit confusing. When does one become a macro-influencer? In our view, the definition becomes about the commercial side of influencer marketing. When you engage a macro-influencer, you’re likely to spend 100s of thousands of dollars, and you’re probably going to need to liaise with their agent to broker the deal. When you engage a micro-influencer, you’re likely to be talking less dollars (hundreds or thousands), and it’s quite possible you’ll be dealing with the person directly.
Why consider micro-influencers as part of your social media strategy?
Anyone who has had any experience in social media marketing will know how difficult it is to get the attention of users these days. Let’s be real. There is so much competition for attention that you’ve got to be using every possible angle to get cut through. We love influencer marketing because you’re working with people who already have the trust of your communities.
“Studies have shown 92% of consumers have more trust in recommendations from other people than brand content, even if they’re strangers. Micro-influencers are not only real people, but thought-leaders in a chosen field, making their endorsement one that matters.” – Tribe Group
What should I look for in a micro-influencer?
There are so many micro-influencers out there, and the reality is, they’re not all suitable for your brand. So, before you reach out to someone, we would strongly, strongly recommend that you take back and consider your brand’s story. We call this “FindYourVoice” and it’s the first step we take with any client.
Once you’re clear on this, you can start to do a bit of research! We recommend that you start searching for hashtags related to your hashtag strategy (or know search terms), and seeing what you get from those results.
When I find someone, what should I do?
Go you! So now it’s time to work out the arrangement. You should expect that the influencer will want some kind of reciprocal benefit, whether that’s products or something else. Go into the conversation seeking to understand more about their fit for your brand, and then ask them about their fees or terms.
Be clear on what you want in return also. So, for example, how many posts? When would it be posted? What will they say in their caption? What hashtags will they need to use? How would you want your product presented? Get super specific, and the likelihood of success is much, much better.
And finally, does Micro-Influencer Marketing Work?
The question you’ve all been waiting for! And, as you probably guessed, our answer is: “it depends.”
Asking this question is like asking: “does chocolate make you fat.” We should all know the response we’d get to this. “Yes and no, depending on how much you eat… whether you exercise, your body’s metabolism….” and then of course, “what exactly is fat?!”
Just in the same way, Influencer Marketing needs to be understood from a range of angles.
When deciding whether influencer marketing is right for our clients, we always start a conversation with our clients by asking a few questions such as:
What is our client’s marketing goals?
Who is their audience?
What would an influencer look like for this client?
What sort of endorsement would an influencer give?
What budget do we have to work with?
What we can say confidently is that for many of our clients, when we use influencer marketing, we see a significant increase in following, post engagement, website traffic, and sales. If those are your goals (let’s face it, who doesn’t have those goals), then influencer marketing is for you!
SUMMARY
Need a hand with influencer marketing?! We can help! When you’re ready to take your social media to the next level, get in touch and let’s start the conversation to #GetTonguesWagging and increase sales!