Looking to use influencer marketing to grow your brand on social media? Here, we reveal the pros of working with small influencers on these social media platforms.

Who are micro-influencers?

Micro-influencers are social media users who have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. Micro-influencers are experts in their niche. For instance, this could be fashion, makeup, traveling – you name it! They have a loyal following and their opinions are trusted by their followers. Micro-influencers use different social media platforms to grow their following but they usually have a strong loyalty to one platform. For example, a YouTuber may start using TikTok and Instagram but post mainly on their YouTube channel.

On social media, brands use influencers to promote their products and services. Nowadays, 96% of people watch a video on social media before buying something. In 2020, brands spent $8 billion on influencer marketing on Instagram. 94% of brands say it helps them grow. But what makes micro-influencers special?

1. Micro-influencers are cheap.
2. Higher engagement rates with their fans than macro-influencers.
3. Smaller influencers help connect a brand with a niche market.
4. Bad experiences will not be as damaging to the brand’s image.

1. Micro-influencers are cheap

Working with smaller influencers saves you money. Bigger influencers are expensive and ineffective. For example, Fyre Festival spent tens of millions on celebrities and then couldn’t afford to run their festival. Bigger influencers are also often involved in scandals that can ruin your brand image. The cost of a micro-influencer per post is only $250-1250. Celebrities charge a lot of money for just one post on Instagram or TikTok. If you run a small business, working with micro-influencers will not break your bank.

2. Higher engagement rates with their fans than macro-influencers

Micro-influencers have more engaged fans than macro-influencers or celebrities. They are more likely to get likes, views, shares, and comments from their followers. In particular, brands should use the ‘likes to follower ratio’ to measure influence. Many celebrities have thousands of fake accounts who follow them. This makes it look like they have more followers than they actually do. When you’re selecting which influencers to work with, make sure to look at these figures. It will help ensure you are getting bang for your buck!

3. Help connect a brand with a niche market

The fans of smaller influencers follow them because there is something special about their content that makes them stand out. Some influencers post about the clothes they buy online, some post about their skincare routine, some post about what food they eat. Whatever they do – their audience follows them because they likely do the same things. To grow your brand, you need to find influencers who are in your niche. For instance, if you’re starting a new food truck, find influencers who post about going to different food spots around your city. This will let you reach their audience – who are people that are interested in where they should eat in the city. Simple!

“Don’t pay solely for likes and views. Pay for a creator who can speak intelligently about your brand.”

– Joel Robinson, CEO of InfluenceLogic

4. Bad experiences will not be as damaging to the brand’s image

By working with influencers with a smaller following, it means that there is less risk of the brand’s image being damaged if something goes wrong down the line. Some brands have worked with big-name celebrities who were involved in scandals or failed to follow the rules of influencer marketing, and this had a bad impact on the brand. Kim Kardashian broke the law in 2015 when she posted a paid advertisement on Instagram about a drug without including the side effects in the caption. Brands need to be careful and give influencers clear instructions. But when these type of scandals happen, it attracts less attention when it is a less famous micro-influencer behind it.

Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/950920/global-instagram-influencer-marketing-spending/

https://www.econsultancy.com/96-of-consumers-find-video-useful-when-buying-online/

https://www.influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-rates/