The growth in influencer marketing over the last few years has been exponential. The fact that Google searches for the term have increased by as much as 1500% [1] in the last three years alone should give you an idea as to the potential that lies within this area of marketing.
The level of investment we are seeing in influencer marketing is increasing as more brands are tuning into its benefits. More than 60 per cent [2] of marketers are reportedly planning to increase their influencer marketing budget over the next 12 months. Encouragingly, forecasters also estimate that the influencer marketing industry could be worth $10 billion by 2020 [3].
As the influencer landscape is consistently in a state of rapid evolution, brands need to ensure that their influencer strategies are considered, up-to-date and fully aligned with their objectives. While considerable emphasis has been placed on follower counts and vanity metrics across the industry until now, let’s take a closer look at why micro-influencers could sit at the heart of the influencer marketing approaches of the future.
Less Can Be More
Influencer marketing success is not solely dependent on the number of followers for a given influencer. Some influencers have bought fake followers, which usually means that their engagement metrics are low, and you could struggle to secure a meaningful ROI. Conversely, however, although micro-influencers have fewer followers, they typically invest in their audiences by forging personal connections which result in stronger engagement.
It is no secret that the most popular influencers charge substantial fees in return for access to their audiences. Micro-influencers are more accessible to a greater number of businesses, however, regardless as to their follower count, it is still important to compensate any influencer fairly for the work you are asking them to do.
What Does a Micro-Influencer Campaign Look Like?
You might reasonably assume that large multi-national corporations would target macro-influencers with millions of followers for their campaigns, but this assumption would be wholly incorrect. Coca-Cola is just one example of a major company opting to run natural, long-term micro-influencer campaigns that prioritise brand affinity on a small scale.
Travel micro-influencers Miette Dierckx [4] and Yannick Merckx [5] share occasional pieces of sponsored content with the hashtag #cokeambassador that, crucially, remain consistent with their personal brands. This sense of authenticity makes this micro-influencer partnership valuable and helps Coca-Cola to curate an image that appeals strongly to niche audiences.
Successful micro-influencer campaigns are reliant on an ability to:
– Identify relevant micro-influencers within your niche
– Carefully assess micro-influencers against a set of clear campaign criteria
– Accurately measure your chosen micro-influencer’s engagement metrics
– Leverage several micro-influencers simultaneously
– Amplify micro-influencer content across your various social channels
– Allow your chosen micro-influencers to retain a level of creative control
– Nurture mutually beneficial long-term relationships with your ideal micro-influencers
The digital landscape is consistently in a state of change and the challenges that are faced by management teams are unprecedented. If your organisation is facing a digital resourcing burden that you want to assuage, please contact us to learn more about how we can help.
[1] https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-2019-benchmark-report/
[2] https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-2019-benchmark-report/
[3] https://mediakix.com/blog/influencer-marketing-industry-ad-spend-chart/
[4] https://www.instagram.com/p/BzQ-m1nIduK/
[5] https://www.instagram.com/p/By3NA0fifxM/
