by People believe, interact and trust the closest influencers, with whom they feel an affinity.
A few years ago, we started listening about a new marketing term called influencer marketing, and we could say that that term has evolved and is different now. Nowadays, influencer marketing is one of the most effective tactics for businesses to promote their services and products. Research shows it’s 2x more effective than other forms of digital marketing! In this matter, there is an influencer strategy for small companies to make their businesses grow.
In the past, people would associate influencers with stars, people that have thousands or millions of followers on their social networks. But now, almost everyone is an influencer as people have the power of communicating and recommending products or services on their social media.
With the eruption of the global health crisis in 2020, our means of communication have changed. In this context, influencers have gained traction, establishing themselves as the best spokespeople and preferred endorsers for brands to promote and recommend their products.
Let us define some terminologies to understand this approach better.
There are different ranges of influencers: Nano-influencers, micro-influencers, macro-influencers, and celebrities. For this article, let’s focus on Nano and Micro-influencers, they are considered to be the most effective and budget-friendly strategy even for non-profits organizations. Yes, non-profits can benefit from this marketing strategy, and I’ve seen excellent results with Greater Miami Service Corps (GMSC), an organization for which I’ve provided consulting services.
What are Micro-influencers?
A Micro influencer is an influential personality within Social Media, but on a much smaller scale than a celebrity. By definition, this type of influencer has a presence on social media and has a strong reputation among its followers. Let’s put that in numbers.
- Nano-influencers: they usually have between 100 and 9,999 followers.
- Micro-Influencers: between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.
This type of influencer is good for creating brand awareness and improving the engagement rate. These influencers are more connected with their audiences, as they interact a lot with their followers because they have a manageable number of interactions.
Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are the most popular platforms when working with influencers. Facebook has the best ROI for influencer marketing, followed by Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok. (Source: HubSpot)
So, now that we have a better understanding of this approach let’s get back to our title.
Why brands should consider micro-influencer marketing
Without a doubt, it has been demonstrated through campaign results that micro-influencers are connecting with consumers on a much deeper level.
- They provide authenticity and credibility.
- The communication usually sounds more natural and personalized, which is good for brands that want to connect with their audiences.
Micro-influencer campaigns have risen by 300% since 2016. The opportunity for your brand behind micro-influencer marketing is that this type of influencer gives added value. Their creativity and closeness allow the influencer to connect with their followers naturally and strengthen brands’ relationships.
Stats that you should know
If you still have some doubts here are some influencer marketing trends and stats.
- 89.2% of brands find influencer marketing effective or very effective.
- 42% of respondents say that influencer marketing reports a better ROI (Return on Investment) than other strategies such as Paid Media Ads (27.8%) or SEO (13%).
- Nano and micro-influencers have established themselves as preferred collaborators. 89% of advertisers prefer to use profiles with less than 100,000 followers for their campaigns.
- It is worth it to say that 35% opt for influencers with less than 10,000 followers because they have a greater reach and better engagement rate.
- Instagram continues to be crowned as the queen of social media networks. 95.8% prefer Instagram, followed by Facebook (49.7%), YouTube (37.1%), and TikTok (32.9%).
- Regarding the current situation characterized by the Covid-19 crisis, the results are quite positive for the market. 90% of the results of influencer campaigns have been the same as before or even better.
- 89% of brands say that during the pandemic, influencers have the ability to reach a much more connected audience on social media networks.
- On the management side, outsourcing trends are clear. 54.3% of advertisers prefer to manage campaigns through platforms and agencies.
- Finally, brand safety and ROI measurement are perceived as the biggest challenges for influencer marketing.
source: Social Publi
How to find the perfect Micro-Influencer?
Well, the good part is that you have options as there are a few platforms that you can use to find a good influencer for your brand.
Platforms available to help create your Influencer Marketing Campaign:
Side Note:
I recommend you do your research as there are more platforms out there offering this type of service.
If you’re considering starting a new influencer marketing campaign but aren’t sure where to begin.
Let’s connect!
Some thoughts on how to choose the right person.🤔
When it’s time to choose an influencer for a B2C campaign, prioritize counting a wide audience in numeric terms. However, when it’s time to look for content creators to cultivate relationships with other companies, the parameters on which to focus should be centered more on the quality of the influencer.
In this sense, look for profiles that convey trust and have recognized prestige in the sector. You must remember that they are people who will be recommending your company. Therefore, the fact that they were influential and credible in the business sense is fundamental.
When it’s time to choose profiles for a B2B influencer marketing strategy, keep in mind the following parameter:
- They are connected with the right people and the message is aligned with the motivations of the influencer.
If this last aspect is important for the selection of influencers for B2C, for business to business it’s critical: you must ensure that the person generating relationships with other companies has the maximum commitment to your company.
The Biggest Challenge?
Influencer fraud is the number one challenge. Determining the authenticity of influencers’ followers is the main concern of marketers. With that in mind always do your research, find more information about the influencer you have selected.
Conclusions
As we can see, influencer marketing has evolved into an important component of a well-rounded marketing plan. In order to stay ahead in a competitive environment, it is critical to examine in depth how industry professionals perceive the market and what trends will dominate the future year.