With the massive development of social networks and web platforms, influencers keep multiplying and growing. Many popular brands are using influencer marketing to gain visibility on social networks and generate engagement. On the influencer market, the choice is huge for brands: from the web star to the smallest nano-influencer, there is something to suit all...
With the massive development of social networks and web platforms, influencers keep multiplying and growing. Many popular brands are using influencer marketing to gain visibility on social networks and generate engagement. On the influencer market, the choice is huge for brands: from the web star to the smallest nano-influencer, there is something to suit all tastes and budgets.
The notoriety of macro-influencers (more than 100,000 followers) leads to believe that the engagement obtained during an influencer marketing campaign will be more important. However, micro-influencers, despite their smaller number of followers (5,000 to 100,000), have a multitude of advantages for premium brands to exploit.
These brands are often reluctant to collaborate with less popular influencers, for fear of not reaching the right consumer target, but also and above all not getting a profitable marketing campaign. These persistent preconceived ideas are in fact opposite to reality. Micro-influencers, too often forgotten by premium brands with a singular universe, represent a major asset to use.
Here’s why:
1. Collaborate with a specific target expert
A micro-influencer has a smaller community and thus reaches a limited and well-defined target. In 2021, the time of follower hunting is over. Indeed, the number of subscribers is not representative of the influencer’s community or of his notoriety. What determines the quality of his audience is the engagement rate obtained: the total number of “likes” + comments/number of followers (to realize) on an average of several posts.
The number ONE criterion for brands to find an influencer to collaborate with is not necessarily his number of followers, but rather the engagement of his community and the quality of his work. Moreover, let’s remember that an influencer with thousands of followers can turn out to be a fake influencer who buys likes, comments, or subscribers, and sometimes publishes fake “sponsored” content to earn money and generate views.
In general, micro-influencers are often specialized in a specific area that they are passionate about and want to share with their loyal followers, which gives them particular expertise and is a guarantee of high-quality work. Collaborating with a micro-influencer ensures that you will reach the desired target thanks to their niche community.
In addition, there is no correlation between the size of the community and the quality of the content provided (Instagram feed, TikTok videos…): micro-influencers are professionals who make partnerships in line with their audience and their personality. Very often, content creation is not their main activity. They are therefore more easily accessible and less solicited by companies, which makes it easier for premium brands to find collaborations and partnerships quickly.
2. Small community, high engagement
Unlike macro-influencers or all-stars who have a very large audience, micro-influencers have a smaller, but more engaged and active community. Indeed, this type of influencer has a lifestyle similar to their followers, which allows them to maintain a relationship of trust with their community, looking like a “virtual family”.
Micro-influencers regularly interact with their followers on different networks, which is more difficult to do for an influencer with a large community. This allows to establish a link of proximity and gives more credibility to micro-influencers perceived as natural and authentic. Thus, followers are more inclined to buy a product appreciated or recommended by a micro-influencer having this credibility with his community. On the other hand, the most popular influencers can sometimes arouse mistrust among their followers due to the multiple partnerships and the numerous products recommended every day.
The luxury, fashion, and beauty sectors are strongly increasing these last months, which can be explained by the importance of self-care and body-positive put forward on networks focusing on aesthetics and visual aspects such as Instagram, Snapchat, or even TikTok. Many brands are looking for partnerships with influencers with whom consumers can identify and make sense of the brand’s DNA. This is the case of the micro-influencer @luanaflps who recently posted a picture of her earrings from the Swedish jewelry brand Safira.
3. A come-back to authenticity that attracts
As you can see, premium brands tend to go back to authenticity and simplicity that they find in smaller influencers with active communities. It’s true that one of the rules micro-influencers agree to respect is to be yourself. That’s why they are appreciated and desired by brands that want to put forward accessible content creators. They are more numerous and efficient: they reach an average engagement rate of 6.3% compared to 3.6% for influencers with 10,000 followers. This accessibility found in this type of influencer allows them to collaborate with any type of brand, from mid-range to high-end and brings them an interesting multi-range experience.
Moreover, micro-influencers collaborate with a brand they are really interested in, but also and especially if it is in adequacy with their audience. Particularly attached to their community, they are sensitive to partnerships that make sense to them and appeal to their followers. Micro-influencers prioritize this type of collaboration according to their content, their personality, and their taste. Indeed, they seek to promote products that they really like and use rather than making partnerships or challenges just to follow the latest trends and gain views.
4. Build a profitable collaboration with high ROI
Collaborating with a micro- or nano-influencer is lower investment and profitable for premium brands: this type of influencer easily accepts collaborations, including unpaid partnerships involving only a product delivery for example. As previously mentioned, the degree of credibility of a micro-influencer is such that they have a real power of prescription among their followers. This phenomenon has become stronger with the Covid-19 crisis, resulting in an isolation of the population, reinforcing the need to nurture relationships and interactions via social networks, especially with their favorite influencers. Influencers were able to build strong relationships with their followers during this period, making their influencer marketing campaigns even more profitable. It is estimated that over the last three months, 40% of Internet users have made a purchase thanks to an influencer after seeing it on social networks.
Thus, high awareness and conversion efficiency do not necessarily go hand in hand. Before buying a product, consumers are attentive to the recommendations made by the influencer, and the opinions were given, so it is essential for influencers to offer sincere and qualitative content to their community. In 2020, 71% of consumers were more likely to buy products recommended by influencers.
5. Multiply your campaigns and maximize your visibility gains
In addition to being profitable and efficient, adopting an influencer marketing strategy with micro-influencers is a growth lever. Indeed, the money you save thanks to the minimized costs of campaigns can be a way to invest in several campaigns with different micro-influencers at the same time.
They have a more limited reach due to their targeted community. Thus, multiplying collaborations can allow premium brands to widen the reached audience and multiply the communication platforms. For example, you can choose to work with an influencer present on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube depending on the product you want to promote. As an example, the brand Clinique collaborated with a micro-influencer on TikTok for a challenge called the #TapeTestChallenge which consists of testing the benefits of a cleansing lotion.
This is a good way to maximize your chances to gain notoriety, visibility and extend the reach of your messages. Above all, it makes it easier for premium brands to accomplish their conversion goals. Collaborating with several micro-influencers over the long term is beneficial for brands: a lasting trust link is established over time, bringing you credibility with consumers and, ultimately, better engagement.
How to find the right influencer?
Among the number of influencers existing, it is essential to choose the one that will best suit your brand and fulfill your expectations. At Hivency, we’re committed to guiding premium brands in their influencer marketing strategy, which is why we’ve created an influencer platform to find the right influencer quickly and efficiently. This involves completing each of your selection criteria and campaign goals. Once the collaboration is found, you can launch your influencer campaigns directly via this platform and calculate your return on investment.
Crédits photo : Kitti Incédi via Unsplash