What Is Micro-Influencer Marketing And How Can It Help Your Business?

In the past few years, marketers have been seeking out and partnering with micro influencers to help them increase brand awareness, sell products, and reach new audiences, and this trend isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Micro Influencers cater to a specific subset of the population. Looking for someone who focuses on elaborate cakes with song lyrics, there’s a micro influencer who does and if you want to market baked goods to millennials, well then you there you have it! The benefits of working with this elusive group of thought leaders far outweigh the risks, but who are micro influencers and why do they matter in a world of celebrity thought leaders and mega influencers?

What is a micro influencer?

Micro influencers are social media content creators who have between 5k – 15k dedicated followers. If they were movies, they’d be cult classics. Their communities trust them because they are authentic and have a more of “plain folks” appeal than social media users with huge followings. They promote products that they love and use, and they can help bring brand awareness and sales to your business for a fraction of the cost of a celebrity or mega influencer.

You can generally find micro influencers on Instagram, although they hang out on Twitter and Facebook as well. They use their personalities, glimpses into their personal lives, and aesthetic to inspire their followers to take action.

Why choose a micro influencer when you can work with a mega influencer?

One of the most significant benefits of working with micro influencers is cost and engagement. Mega influencers can charge tens of thousands of dollars for one social media post. While having your product promoted by someone with millions of followers may seem like a good idea, according to Markerly,
“Those with less than 1,000 followers generally received likes on their posts 8% of the time. Users with 10 million+ followers only received likes 1.6% of the time. There is a clear downward correlation between follower sizes and post likes.”
This type of engagement shows that followers tend to trust micro influencer’s opinions more than their more famous counterparts.

Because micro influencers tend to have better relationships with their followers and appeal to more niche markets, it can be a surefire way for you to get closer to your target audiences and discover submarkets. Micro influencers social media aren’t bogged down with ads, which will help your brand’s promoted post stand out.

How to find and approach the best influencers for your brand

Whether you choose to work with an influencer who has 5,000 followers or 5 million, finding someone who fits your brand’s aesthetic and voice is key. Searching for users who already follow you and love your products and then approaching them in a thoughtful, non-salesy way is the best way to get micro influencers on board. Obviously, with mega influencers money talks, because they can get brands in front of millions of users and because of that, they can charge up to $300,000 per a post.