Micro-influencers prove bigger might not always be better when it comes to effective marketing.

With smaller, hyper-targeted online communities and great conversion rates, micro-influencers are on the rise in 2018.

They say millennials are the ‘self-made’ generation, but also the generation lacking in a spark; a drive that caused previous generations to rebel, reinvent and shake things up in a way that made the world a better, or at least, a more interesting place.

While the first part may indeed be true – hence our reputation as being self-ish and self-absorbed as much as we are self-made, there is an abundance of evidence to suggest the latter stands completely invalid.

One such example is the realm of marketing. Over the past decade, traditional forms of marketing and advertising have undegone a complete transformtion – due in part to the ‘narcissistic’ nature of the millennial mindset, combined with advancements in the dynamic and interactive space of digital media.

Nowadays, individuals from all walks of life have autonomy to create an online persona and build up a personal brand that is lucrative and influential, through their various social media platforms. Blogs have become somewhat obsolete, given that time-consuming, full-length feature posts can be replaced with quick snap-shots and a caption or Tweet while still managing to gain much wider reach and traction. Hence the rise of the term ‘influencer’.

Influencers are exactly that – influential. They provide the ability for brands of all sizes and budgets to enlist influential personalities to endorse their products and services, connecting them to a group of consumers in a way that’s more personal and powerful than ever before.

A study conducted by Nielsen revealed influencer marketing delivers 11 times higher return on investment than traditional forms of advertising, proving that influencers have emerged as key opinion leaders for their loyal group of followings.

It is the digital version of word of mouth.

But as influencers become a dime a dozen, and their content becomes increasingly commercialised, those who have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers may start to lose the authenticity that fans related to in the first place.

Although top influencers can charge exorbitant rates per post, surveys have shown that as follower numbers increase, engagement actually starts to decrease. Followers are less willing to comment and engage with personalities who seem more celeb-like and flaunt unattainable lifestyles.

It is in within this climate that 2018 has seen the rise of the MICRO-influencer, and as one digital marketing insider has claimed – they’re coming for necks.

Micro-influencers have a following of between 1000 and 10 000 online users and can be found in almost any sector, such as health and wellness, fashion, travel or cuisine, to name a few. These individuals can harness immense marketing power through their hyper-targeted, niche communities – even more so than their macro-influencer and mega-influencer counterparts.

The advantage that this rising group of influencers hold is that they are able to maintain a strong and more direct two-way dialogue with their follwers, as opposed to influencers with a higher number of followers and wider reach. Macro-influencers sport a following of between 10 000 and 1 million followers while mega influencers go beyond that.

It turns out, trust and and a close relationship with your audience are critical factors in consumer purchasing decisions, and as micro-influencers are often more personally invested in their craft, they are highly trusted sources of recommendations for their followers.

Brands have recognised three major statistics that makes micro-influencer marketing a profitable business decision:

Micro-influencers have 60% higher campaign engagement rates – that is 6.7 times more efficient than larger-influencers. This also makes them incredibly cost-effective, while at the same time, they generate 22% more social buzz and conversation than the average consumer.

Although macro-influencers can provide greater exposure for a brand, their engagement rate per post sits at 5- 25% while mega influencers have an engagement rate of only 2 – 5%. This is compared to the drive rate of 25-50% that micro-influencers are able to achiever per post.

To put it more simply, when promoting something to a smaller audience that is more targeted and interested in that particular product, the conversion from marketing to actual sales will be much greater than when promoting to a larger audience, where only a small percentage of them are interested in what is being advertised. Ultimately, micro-influencers have already built up the audience that a brand is looking for.

If a brand such as The Body Shop for example, decides to choose a big celebrity to endorse a new range of all-natural face-masks, they will no doubt be making more people aware of their products, however they will not be guaranteed that every individual will want to purchase a face mask, or even be interested in such a product.

Instead, they could capitalise on a micro-influencer who specialises in beauty and skin-care to promote the range to her loyal group of 5000 followers, in which the majority of them would be interested to learn about new products from The Body Shop and would be more likely to go out and purchase it.

Influencers have established a deep-rooted conncetion with their followers through the visual stories they tell – and when they’re willing to share a brand’s story, consumers are ready and willing to listen.

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It has been proven that micro-influencers are incredibly commercially viable, and for business looking to bolster their sales and online presence, investing in a micro-influencer can be a game changer. However it is important for a brand to define the objectives of their campaign before choosing an influencer with whom to partner.

Do they want more people to be exposed to their brand, or rather have a connection with it? Is the brand more locally or internationally orientated? By understanding the differences between micro, macro and mega influencers, you’ll be able to find a personality who will best deliver the intended result.

AUTHOR: Farah Khalfe