These days, there’s not a corner of the internet that doesn’t have influencers lurking about. They’ve become one of the most important aspects of digital marketing and crucial for any successful online strategy. What we’re saying is no secret – gaining the support of influencers without hundreds of thousands of followers is always going to give your business a boost. But what about the little guys? Focusing on the smaller fish in the sea might be beneficial and here’s the reasons why.
It wasn’t a long time ago that brands only clung onto accounts with millions of followers (such as Kim Kardashian). Nowadays, with alternate algorithms and a huge increase in the number of people actively using social media, the playing field has started to expand.
With the rise of these large accounts, brands started to understand the importance of riding the viral wave and being the fashionable trend. Gradually, celebrities with less followers started to engage in advertising products on their social channels. Being an influencer is now an actual job – in fact, studies have found that more children want to be influencers when they grow up than anything else! To put it simply, if you’ve got over 100,000 followers, it’s time to pack in the day job. This all sounds well and good, but many brands have started to experience problems.
The top influencers with followers in their millions were becoming almost impossible to form a relationship with. They demand payment and form ‘paid partnerships’. If you’re Swarovski or Chevrolet – no sweat. If you’re an SME (as 99% of UK businesses are), it causes a bit of a pickle. So what’s the answer to getting your brand out there? Micro-influencers.
One of the massive advantages of micro-influencers is the trust followers have for the promoter. Audiences generally believe that a smaller influencer is being genuine with their reviews and wouldn’t promote a product they don’t like. If you think about it, it does make sense as most micro-influencers only get free products in return anyway. This increased engagement and more personal connection between influencer and audience is a massive part of the appeal of micro-influencers.
Not convinced? Here’s a quick stat for you: 80% of followers would go through with a promotion shown to them by a micro-influencer. Let’s work through some calculations and assume you send out 100 products to 100 micro-influencers with 500,000 followers combined. You could get your product recommended to 400,000 people without paying a penny. With a much smaller budget, you’ve actually managed to reach as many (if not more) people than many ‘mega-influencers’ ever would.
Even though this method seems clear and obvious, many smaller businesses still haven’t grasped the full possibilities of micro-influencers. At Bark Social, we know one thing for sure: this secret won’t stick around forever. Start your campaign with micro-influencers and get ahead of the game today!
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