The Rise of Micro-Influencers and Why They Benefit Businesses
It's no secret that these so-called "micro-influencers" have been taking over the internet in recent years. If you're wondering what in the world is a micro-influencer, you're probably not alone. A micro-influencer is a content creator who has anywhere between 1,000-100,000 followers. They specialize in promoting products or services that relate to their niche to their followers across various platforms. Although these individuals do not have as many followers as celebrities or macro-influencers do, their audience tends to be more engaging, close-knit, and loyal to the opinions of the content creator. Forbes recently came out with "The Business of Influence" an educational series on YouTube, covering the role of a micro-influencer in great detail.
https://youtu.be/FVkno0Qkun4?si=KIR4QJU7Lsi39Ahs
"Micro-influencers are a little bit more relatable. You feel like you can talk to them. It is more of your friends and family type of following. Someone with a more smaller, intimate type of following."
- Ariana Pierce
Now that we know what a micro-influencer is, in what ways do they benefit businesses? Let’s break it down. Every micro-influencer has their own niche, whether it’s lifestyle, beauty, fitness, music, family… or whatever it may be, their videos tend to be centered around the same type of content. Their followers, are of course, individuals who are interested in that same niche. Businesses that sell products or services that can also relate to their content will reach out to these influencers and ask to do either a gifted collaboration, product review, paid collaboration, or ask the influencer to join their product campaign. All of these things are centered around one thing, which is having the influencer promote the product on their platform to show off to their followers, for more sales in return. So, does micro-influencing marketing actually benefit businesses? The answer is yes, in many ways.
1. Inexpensive Marketing
Micro-influencing marketing is often extremely cost-effective for businesses ranging from small to large. This is because individuals with smaller followings will charge less (or sometimes not charge at all), than celebrities or influencers with millions of followers. Inbound Explained, covers this concept in greater detail in a YouTube video.
“Micro-influencing campaigns usually cost less, compared to collaborations with larger influencers. This affordability allows you to partner with multiple creators at once, expanding your reach, and allowing creative and experimental campaigns.”
- Inbound Explained Team
2. Targeted Audience
Because micro-influencers tend to post content that all relates to the same niche, their followers are individuals who are also interested in the same niche. Let’s say that a micro-influencer posts videos about makeup and beauty. All of their followers are going to be people who are also interested in that category. This is a great opportunity for companies who sell makeup products to reach out to this influencer and offer to ship free products for them to promote to their following. In return, their followers will already be interested in buying the showcased products because they had an initial interest to begin with.
3. Loyalty and Trust
A micro-influencer is a content creator who has a smaller audience. Because their audience is smaller, their followers tend to be more tight-knit than let’s say, a celebrity. Along with that comes trust, loyalty, and authenticity. When a micro-influencer promotes a business’s product to their followers, their followers are very likely to buy the product. This is because the followers feel like they have a close relationship with the micro-influencer, leading them to believe that the product must be worth the price if they are promoting it.
4. High Engagement Rates
Along the lines of loyalty and trust, micro-influencers tend to have high engagement rates within their tight-knit following. This is because their audience usually takes everything that the content creator says, promotes, or posts to heart. This article by Inkbot Design has a great section covering how micro-influencers tend to have high engagement rates.
“These influencers often achieve higher engagement rates than those with more followers. This is because they have a small but loyal audience that allows them to maintain meaningful interactions. As a result, genuine recommendations and conversions are more likely.”
- Inkbot Design Team
References
Micro-influencer Marketing: Authenticity And Engagement. (2023, October 9). Inkbotdesign.com. https://inkbotdesign.com/micro-influencer-marketing/
How Micro-Influencer Marketing Can Grow Your Business 🚀. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FurealBpkMk
micro influencers forbes - Search Videos. (n.d.). Www.bing.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024, from https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=micro+influencers+forbes&&mid=1221A390423239F156541221A390423239F15654&&FORM=VRDGAR
ReplyDeleteHello Eden! I would like to say that I thought you did a nice job of developing your blog post. It was easy to understand and simple to follow but didn’t take away from the depth of your chosen topic. In my introduction I mentioned that I am not much of a social media user and would consider myself a spectator on several platforms. With, your blog has allowed me to expand my knowledge on social media use by introducing the position of a micro-influencer. I found a blog from Hootsuite that falls right in line with the information you provided. The points are consistent to what you have written about in your blog, but it puts micro-influencing on a smaller scale of content creators having a following of anywhere between 10k-50k followers or subscribers. The blog also gives a step-by-step guide on how to find a micro-influencer that best meets your brand’s needs or desired outcome. In one of the steps, it advises the brand owner to consider the level of creative control they wish to keep or share with the micro-influencer during the collaboration. This seems like something that should be considered prior to choosing a person to market your brand as mutual understanding and goals would only further the success of both parties. Here’s the link to the Hootsuite blog: https://blog.hootsuite.com/micro-influencer/