Micro influencers are every day social media users who rarely exceed 10k followers. Their content is consumed by people who actually know them personally. They post organically about things that make them happy or interest them, and they post about brands whether they are getting paid for it or not. And they are one of the most valuable assets in marketing.
We've all met them: the foodie that posts pictures of every meal, or the car guru who snaps photos of his rebuilds, or the adventure couple who are always traveling with their camera in hand. Micro influencers are every day mavens and, though small in followers, typically see 3-5 times more engagement than macro influencers.
Today people are creating and sharing more content than ever on social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. It’s as if every person is their own media company posting about their weekend getaways, favorite restaurants, and things that matter most to them. If you can assemble and inspire enough of them, they are extremely valuable for spreading branded messages.
Importance of Micro Influencers
But why are they important? Most notably, they foster trust among potential customers. If you only have a few hundred followers they are most likely all your friends and family. When you post something, it holds more weight with that audience. They are in your circle of trust, not random people who ran across your account and accidentally started following you.
Similarly, because their circles are smaller, micro influencers have higher engagement rates and have more time to respond to every comment. Which means more engagement with branded content and stronger brand recognition. And when it comes to efficiency, a micro influencer’s audience shares a higher percentage of similar interests and activities. The more followers, the more broad the audience gets. Spend influencer dollars more efficiently and use Micro Influencers to reach a more relevant targeted audience. They also allow you to tap into a hyper local audience, an invaluable tool for any budding company.
A Better Return on Investment
Micro influencers exist within a trusted community. Because their circles share a high percentage of similar interests, their message has more weight and attraction, which translates to higher engagements. A concentration of their audience in a geographic area means better targeting. Brands also get a higher volume of user generated content by using more influencers to find their target reach. All of these things together equate to much higher return on investment.
Influencer marketing takes time, and the process of recruiting, qualifying, and negotiating with potential social media influencers can be grueling. Not to mention trying to recruit and negotiate with a few hundred, or even a few thousand micro influencers. Start small with a quality product and see who you can attract on merit alone. Then, reach out to the people you know will love your product. After all, being genuine is why micro influencers are so helpful to a business.
