The battle for success in the fields of online and social media marketing is growing every day.
While there’s a high priority on reaching the right markets for your product, it’s also getting harder to appear unique and genuine.
With more than 700 million people scrolling through social media every month, the potential for growing your audience is significant.
You might be thinking, what’s the best way to stand out in a field overflowing with Twitter ads and sponsored blog posts?
Create a circle of micro-influencers to extend your brand audience into unique niches.
What are micro influencers?
Micro influencers are individuals on social media that have between 10,000 to 100,000 followers, says Markerly.
Influencers with a smaller following tend to come across as more authentic than a big celebrity with millions of followers, clearly just promoting a product for the profit.
These smaller accounts are often talking about products they genuinely use and want to promote.
They share because they truly like the product and want to voice their thoughts on it.
When an individual begins their account in this authentic way, even if they get bigger, their followers are more likely to stick around because they’ve listened to and trusted them from the beginning.
According to Medium, the ratio of likes to comments and followers will peak when an account has around 1,000 followers, with a 60% higher engagement rate.
The importance followers place on being heard by their favorite influencers plays a role in if they want to continue trusting and following them.
When micro influencers comment back to their followers, and occasionally even follow them back, it gives the audience a real voice.
They’re interacting with the people who care enough to care about them. It’s an important ingredient in the recipe for influencer brand success online.
Where to start
The first step in the process is finding the right micro influencer for your company.
Start looking at the followers and mentions you already have online.
If someone is talking about your product it should be easier to get them on board with promoting it on a larger scale.
If someone is already using your products, receiving an additional benefit from the company feels like a bonus, and they are much more likely to share it with their audience.
Another important step is ensuring the micro influencer fits the overall mission and voice of the company.
A woman living in the middle of hustle and bustle in New York City might not fit the beachy casual vibe of a swimsuit company.
Someone who Instagrams themselves eating at a steakhouse once a week wouldn’t be a smart collaboration partner for a vegan purse brand. Know and understand who you are reaching out to ahead of time.
With so many people checking their social media accounts every day there’s potential to find plenty of influencers that match what you’re looking for.
See also: 10 influencer marketing strategies you should follow
Keep in mind, however, you’re probably not the only ones reaching out to them, so make yourself stand out from the competition.
Be kind, be appreciative, and show that their past and present support of your company means something to you. A little appreciation goes a long way!
How to be successful with micro influencers
Marketing professionals believe there are many different techniques that can be used in order to develop lasting relationships with micro influencers.
See also: How to get started on an influencer marketing campaign for your business
Like macro influencers, micro influencers will accept money, but a good way to get them started is by sending a free product.
Sometimes this can be enough on its own, no monetary compensation is needed to get them to talk about the product.
If they genuinely like it, they will share it.
This is what makes them stand out to their followers, they promote what they like, not what they’re being paid for.
Even in circumstances where money is offered, the amount needed is much smaller.
If you target micro influencers you’re able to work with multiple, rather than spending a whole budget on just one A-list celebrity.
If you are a small business and don’t have a large marketing budget for influencer work, it’s easier to send out a few products, and see how influencers and their followers respond to the product.
If you’re trying to approach marketing from a different angle, set a new type of goal for measurement.
For example, after sending a product to 50 micro influencers you want the sale of that product to double within a certain amount of time.
This way, you’ll get a clear understanding of whether or not this approach is working, or if new strategies need to be created.
Marketing campaigns might not go as planned, but that doesn’t mean hope is lost.
There are tons of ways to work with micro influencers that can make a difference to your bottom line.
Be an influence
One of the best ways to make lasting connections with people who make a living with social media is to be a social media presence in your own right.
Make sure to maintain your social accounts and be as active within your community as possible.
Focus on the importance of making a good impression within your community and the influencers within that community will be much more likely to work with you.
Influencers should feel like they can ask you questions, share exclusive information with their followers, and talk openly about potential projects for further collaboration.
This deepens the bond with the influencers beyond just one campaign and builds true brand loyalty.
As the influencer continues to grow their following and reputation, you will get the chance to grow alongside them.
Even though they may have the title of micro influencer now, you want to be sure you’re a positive influence within their community so you can grow too.
About the Author
Sara is an experienced tech expert who writes with her colleagues on Enlightened Digital, to share her passion with others around the web. After 15 years in the industry, her goal is to bring information on all technology to the masses. Her philosophy is to create each article so that anyone can understand the content, whether they are a consumer or a technology expert. Check out her site at Enlightened-Digital.com.