What is Micro-Influencer Marketing and Its Uses?

As the era of authenticity fades, businesses are turning to micro-influencer platforms to help them reach their goals. These individuals, who often have a relatable and genuine following on social media, can help them connect with their target market and grow their marketing budget. Since they represent 91% of the influencer marketplace, there are plenty of talented individuals to work with.

Micro-influencer marketing is a new concept that's similar to influencer marketing but on a smaller scale. It involves partnering with individuals on social media who have a small following to promote products.

What is a micro-influencer?

A brand can work with a micro-influencer, who has between a thousand and 10,000 followers, to reach its target market. These individuals are known for their niches and have high engagement rates. Through this approach, a company can extend its reach in certain areas.

Unlike a celebrity, who has a large social media following, a micro-influencer is smaller than a normal person. These individuals, who are known for their expertise or interests, promote products that align with their audience's interests. For instance, a food blogger might share their favourite meal prep service, or a travel writer might share their favourite luggage brands.

Uses of Micro-Influencing

There are many benefits to working with a micro-influencer, and we'll walk you through some of these and how they can help boost your marketing efforts.

Engagement

If brands were only focused on reaching out to consumers, they would probably not work with micro-influencers, they rely on their engagement, which is the number of shares, likes, and comments that a piece of content generates. This is because micro-influencers tend to interact with their audiences more frequently and genuinely, as they are often friends or acquaintances

Micro-influencers charge lower rates

If you’re planning on working with a mega- or macro-influencer, you might be spending a lot of money on an influencer campaign. But, working with a micro-influencer can help boost your business’ reach and can be a more affordable option. Compared to profiles with millions of Instagram followers and celebrities, micro-influencers are more affordable.

For instance, a celebrity might charge up to $75,000 for a single post promoting a certain product. On the other hand, almost all of the micro-influencers who promote products on Instagram charge around $500 for promotion. Even if a hundred of them were to charge the same amount, it would still be cheaper than a single celebrity.

Relatable content

While a micro-influencer connection with their target audience is valuable, the quality of their content is also very important to brands. The success of TikTok shows that low-fi and goofy content can have a bigger impact than polished videos.

More targeted or niche audience

Through the use of micro-influencers, you can reach a much wider audience of people who are interested in your product by targeting them in a certain niche. For instance, if you want to promote a new line of piping tools, you can work with a local cake decorator to do so. Having a dedicated group of micro-influencers can help you reach the exact individuals who are going to be interested in buying it.

Micro-influencers are more likely to have a targeted following than influencers with millions of followers. For instance, if a clothing brand wanted to partner with a celebrity on Instagram, it could easily reach its huge pool of followers, but a lot of them might be interested in other things. Instead, they could connect with a much smaller group of fashion bloggers.

Micro-influencers are more authentic

Since micro-influencers are real individuals, their content on Instagram is real. They're likely to post their own content and interact with their followers in a more authentic manner than a celebrity or brand would. For instance, if a micro-influencer promotes a product, their followers might click on it to learn more about it.

It's important to note that Instagram has changed its algorithm in response to Facebook's. Previously, promoted content was shown first in users' feeds. On the other hand, quality content from micro-influencers will be more prominent than that from celebrities. This could make it easier for them to reach their followers and attract more attention.

Find the right micro-influencers for your brand

To start your search, go to each social media platform and look for keywords that you want to search for. Then, filter your results by looking for only those accounts that you want to work with. For instance, if you want to work with an influencer on Instagram, go to the search tab and type in the keyword "health."

After you have found the profiles that align with your brand's mission and products, you can start searching for influencers that you can reach out to. One of the most effective ways to find the ideal ones is by looking through your follower’s lists. This will allow you to see who is following you and if they already have a connection with your brand. Another strategy is to work with a marketing agency that specialises in influencer marketing

Choose your influencer partners to create

The next step is to determine the type of content that you want your influencers to create. While they are responsible for the content, having suggestions and an agreement can help you develop a strategy. There are a variety of platforms that can be used by micro-influencers, such as YouTube and Instagram.

Conclusion

The concept of influence refers to the ability to change the behaviours of others. It can come from personal relationships, expertise, or community ties. While micro-influencers can have all of these factors at their command, none of them should matter to a business if they can’t convince their followers to purchase a product or service.

It can be very challenging to work with multiple micro-influencers. Brands have to manage their relationships with these individuals, and it's worth it for engaging and authentic posts. One of the most important factors that you should consider when it comes to promoting your brand via micro-influencer marketing is the presence of users who are tagging your brand.