Their audiences are smaller, more targeted, and often niche-specific, but when it comes to engagement, nobody beats the micro-influencer. What’s more, because their audiences know them intimately and trust their opinions, they often have higher conversion rates than their macro counterparts.
In fact, while influencer marketing has seen incredible growth, audiences are expressing their mistrust in cookie-cutter macro and celebrity influencers. Only 16% of consumers trust celebrity recommendations. But they still have profound trust in more authentic niche influencers – 70% of consumers are highly likely to follow a recommendation made by a micro influencer.
But getting the best possible results from your micro-influencer campaigns requires a deft strategy and smart use of automation to keep management busywork under control. Here are a few influencer-approved tips to keep in mind, starting with discovery.
Finding your next micro-partner
As a refresher, micro-influencers are typically those with between 5K and 50K loyal followers — audiences who check in daily to see where they’re going, what they’re doing, or what they’re wearing and eating. A great way to find up-and-comers who might make good brand ambassadors is with Impact’s discovery tool.
In your search, things to consider include:
- Audience/niche: Who do they talk to? What do they specialize in?
- Relevance: What content resonates with their audience?
- Engagement: What level of engagement do they get?
- Geography: Is the location right for your brand?
- Quality: Is it consistent over time? Does it align with your brand standards?
- Channel: Are the channels they use (blog, Instagram, etc.) relevant for your brand?
- Authenticity and honesty: Do you see any signs of odd activity like purchased likes and comments? Here’s how to detect them.
Three proven tips for mightier micro campaigns
- Focus on a single goal
Analyzing the quality of a micro-influencer’s channel is only part of the puzzle. You also need to think about the goals of your campaign. The best practice for influencer partnerships is to have one primary goal. Are you looking to build your brand or drive people into the top of the marketing funnel, i.e., potential reach and engagements? Or do you need content to reuse on your own blog, product pages, or social media channels? Maybe you’re looking for influencers who can drive direct sales. Make sure your goal is clear to the influencer and you are both communicating the same message.
- Pay for performance, but reward the work
Especially in contrast to celebrity influencers, micro-influencers can be very cost-effective. But you need to be realistic about the work that goes into quality content and compensate accordingly. Paying for performance (vs. per post) is generally considered a best practice in influencer partnerships, i.e., rewarding for engagement, clicks, leads, or participation in driving a sale. In your negotiations, however, don’t underestimate the time and effort that goes into quality content. The reality is that a two-minute YouTube video of even reasonably high quality could easily take ten hours to put together.
TIP! If you can work with influencers directly vs. through an influencer network, you can often keep costs lower, saving you as much as 50% or more on paid placement costs.
- Set them up for success
Next, think about how you’re arming your influencers. You can’t just send them free product and expect the moon. The key is to provide them with exclusive information or perks no one else has. Have them host a product giveaway you sponsor, give them insider information on your product to share, or provide a sneak preview of your next release or product line.
Delve deeper into the art of the micro-influencer campaigns in our eBook: How to run effective micro-influencer campaigns. Or get expert guidance any time from an Impact growth technologist at grow@impact.com
