Don’t go big, go micro

Working with influencers is an important part of any digital PR and marketing campaign, but owing to the spike in popularity of influencer marketing over the last year or so, the typical approach of partnering with a high-profile influencer has become prohibitively expensive for many brands with limited marketing budgets. The good news is that there is another approach to working with influencers that costs significantly less and is arguably even more valuable and impactful. Welcome to the world of micro-influencers.

Micro but mighty

There is no fixed definition of a micro-influencer, but it could broadly be defined as someone who has fewer than 100,000 followers across their social channels combined, though some prefer a narrower definition of 10,000 followers or fewer. Importantly, however, it’s not the influencer’s number of followers that matters, but how engaged these fans are with the influencer, and studies show that micro-influencers have engagement rates that are up to 60% higher than bigger influencers, and it can even be significantly more than this.

The reason for the higher engagement rates is simply because it’s easier to relate to a micro-influencer. That’s not to say that larger influencers aren’t relatable, because it’s already well understood that people relate more to YouTube stars than to mainstream celebrities, but even high-profile YouTubers can have millions of fans. Micro-influencers, in contrast, have a much closer connection to their more tight-knit communities, and can interact with them on a more personal level, through their social channels, or subscriber-only avenues, such as Twitch subscribers, Patreon supporters or even just members of a Discord group. Their communities are also likely to be more highly-targeted, perhaps focusing on a niche area, meaning that you can concentrate on the communities that matter most to your brand or product.

Smaller size, bigger value

Another great benefit to working with micro-influencers is that they are cost-effective and can drive tangible results. A sponsored activation with a micro-influencer costs a fraction of that of bigger influencers, and while the reach and total engagements of each individual micro-influencer may be lower, studies suggest that they have greater influence over purchasing decisions. In fact, a recommendation from a micro-influencer has a similar impact to that of an acquaintance and significantly more impact than recommendations from other general consumers.The one potential downside is that ensuring your campaign reaches a sufficient number of people potentially requires working with a large number of micro-influencers, but the workload can be distributed by partnering with an expert influencer marketing agency, such as digitalPR.

Grow your influence by aiming small

It’s easy to be seduced by influencers with six- or even seven-figure fan bases, but the truth is that an effective influencer marketing strategy doesn’t need to rely on big stars or celebrities, and the ROI from working with micro-influencers may be even greater. As with many things in life and business, it’s the little things that often matter the most, and the same is true with influencer marketing!

To find out what digitalPR can do for you, please get in touch.