Micro influencers are social media personalities with anywhere from 2,000-50,000 followers. The numbers vary depending on the source, but their importance is universal. They are a great cost efficient way to provide targeted advertising for small businesses with limited budgets
Here’s what you need to know about how these people can benefit your small business.
What is a Micro Influencer?
Jill Stanton is the Co-Founder of Screw The Nine To Five . She supplied a definition small business can use to get started.
“A micro influencer is someone who has a small, yet hyper-engaged following online of 2,000 to 20,000 followers,” she writes. “The followers read, watch, listen, click and buy anything these influencers put out there.”
Being authentic is one of the other attractions. That’s a big factor for selling in today’s markets.
“They are someone who prioritizes resonance and engagement with their audience over big, sexy numbers that can be faked.”
Some of what they do is the same as their bigger counterparts.
“They share glimpses into their daily lives, the products they use–ones they are paid for and ones they aren’t. Included are any products, programs or services they may be offering to their audience.”
Where Can You Find Them?
Typically, you’ll find micro influencers on social platforms like Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram. Here’s a few examples of the top micro influencers on Instagram from 2018.
According to Stanton, finding the right one for your small business means knowing how to narrow your search. She says looking through relevant hashtags on Instagram like #influencer #paid #partner helps. You can also search YouTube channels by looking at specific niches.
There’s one caveat. You might need to look under the hood a bit when sorting through Influencer Agencies.
“The only thing you have to keep in mind with these agencies is they typically represent larger influencers,” she says. “They may only have a few micro influencers who are looking to leverage their following.”
What Are the Benefits to Using a Micro Influencer?
Ellie Shedden runs the digital marketing agency THE-OOP.COM. She explained why micro influencers would be attractive to small businesses with limited advertising budgets.
“The benefit of using a micro influencer over a macro influencer (those with >100k followers) is the price,” she wrote in an email.“Rather than paying tens of thousands of dollars for a post, micro influencers may cost less than $100. Their conversions are high depending on their engagement rate.”
You can run diverse campaigns and get more for your advertising buck. Reach different audiences with multiple campaigns and spread the net wider.
Jill Stanton adds they often incentivize followers with discount codes and allow SMBs to “fast track” brand recognition.
How You Should Pick One
Both Stanton and Shedden weigh in here.
Stanton starts by offering some metrics to look for.
“You want to select micro influencers whose values and message align with your brand,” she says. “However, the biggest thing to consider is the level of engagement and resonance they have with their audience. What I mean is, do their followers like, share and most importantly, comment and engage on their posts?
She advises SMBs to look for at least 3% of the followers engaging consistently.
Shedden adds a few more helpful insights. She starts by offering an engagement rate formula.
“To quickly make that calculation, you can divide the number of followers by the number of likes on a post. Then multiply by 100.”
Shedden also supplies some quick tips for deciding whether the comments are genuine.
“A large number of emoji-only or comments less than 5 words indicates the use of bots. These influencers should be avoided,” she writes.
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