In a world where digital marketing flourishes through the confines of social media, there lies the all-powerful warriors, micro-influencers. Distinct from macro-influencers — an influencer who have millions of followers — micro-influencers has a lesser yet more approachable, loyal, related, and engaging following. Micro-influencers are individuals who have 1,000 – 1,000,000 followers through specific social media (Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc) and are considered experts in a specific field. A micro-influencer can show competence and interest in a field such as food, fashion, beauty, travel, lifestyle, and technology.
The big music streaming powerhouse, Spotify, had once reached out to micro-influencers to promote their Discover Weekly feature by instructing them to post images and mentions of their Discover Weekly playlists online. The campaign was advantageous and generated 29,540 likes with the engagement of 2.5%. Brands and companies employ micro-influencers to advertise their products because micro-influencers have some assets that many celebrities or macro-influencers do not have. You could see it as their special superpowers.
The first superpower is that they have a small engaging audience. Now you might be thinking: How is that an asset? Isn’t a bigger audience better? The truth is that when an influencer that has millions of followers advertise a product, doesn’t mean that he or she will influence more people to buy it. Influencers with 1,000 followers usually have 85% higher engagement with her or his followers than those who have 100.000. Engagements are the key. This can accumulate personal interactions with target audiences and make advertising for a company’s product more relatable and trustworthy.
Some marketing experts would argue that advocating a company’s product through a micro-influencer could be better than through a celebrity. This makes sense because people tend to trust other people that seem more reachable and interact with their followers more frequently. Micro-influencers are likely to share and talk about common interests and problems with their audience related to the product they’re advertising. In other cases, “get real” with them. The interaction and high engagements with the followers can produce real conversations about the product and get the message across.
The second superpower is that they are known for their interest or expertise in a specific field. This creates a Niche Market which is a market focused on a specific product. Micro-influencers appeal to an audience or following who share a common interest or expertise with the influencer. Businesses and brands try to find a micro-influencer by matching their buyer personas or target audience with an audience or followers of a micro-influencer. For example, an influential beauty guru who praises cruelty-free products advertises a new brand of cosmetics which claims to be eco-friendly and cruelty-free. Advertising through a Niche Market makes it more authentic.
The last superpower, the asset that promotes a user to an influencer: content creating. Micro-influencers gain followers by creating creative and attracting content based on their interest. When advocating a brand’s product, they will do it by creating content that is compelling and engaging. No creativity will be lost if brands hire micro-influencers.
According to Forbes, 40% of Twitter users, have made purchases motivated by influencers. Not only is it affordable to employ micro-influencers, but it could also increase the return on investment (a ratio between net profit and investment). Hiring combinations of micro-influencers and celebrities is now the savvy way to do digital marketing.
In a world where social media is a new reality and where digital marketing prospers, micro-influencers are becoming powerful marketing underdogs.
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Sources:
https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/power-of-micro-influencers
https://brand24.com/blog/who-are-micro-influencers-how-to-find-them/
http://www.labourbeat.org/2018/09/12/want-instagram-influencer/