Are micro-influencers something you should consider for your next social media marketing campaign?

"Would social media influencers help my company's marketing?"

"Who would be the right influencer to use in my campaigns?"

There's no question that today, influencer-based marketing is more significant than ever and set to be a part of the social media marketing world for some time to come. That's why here at Studio x., when we get questions like the ones above from our clients, we have to provide answers and solutions!

While we don't directly deal in influencer marketing campaigns, we have work with a variety of micro-influencers in the Philadelphia market and beyond to the benefit of several clients! For that very reason, we want to share insight on how you can utilize micro-influencers in your social media and brand marketing campaigns. Keep reading to learn the main differences between influencers and micro-influencers.

"What's an influencer?"

Before we begin, maybe we should explain what and how influencer marketing works. The easiest way to describe it would be modern-day social media celebrity advertising. Companies just like yours can leverage a national or local celebrity to advertise their products online for an exchange of money or goods. Typically, after the transaction, the influencer will promote you on their channels using hashtags, pictures, videos, mentions, and more.

We all know of big-time influencers like the Kardashians. All they need to do is post how much they love XYZ products on their Instagram accounts, and then those products can take off overnight. The product’s company pages end up gaining tons of follows and views, which (usually) translate into real-life sales. Companies track these sales by asking the celebrity to share a code for a discount.

“What’s a micro-influencer?”

Micro-influencers differ from Kardashian-level influencers. Kim Kardashian, one of the highest-paid celebrity influencers, currently has XXX Instagram followers. Micro-influencers usually have around 1,000 to 10,000 followers on their social media channels. And that is not a bad thing for your business. Sometimes "shopping small" or "local" is better than big-brand.

Think about it…which influencer do you think would be more likely to engage with their audience? Someone who has 2 million followers on Instagram (Kim K.), or a micro-influencer who has 1,500 followers and is excited about a genuine connection? When a micro-influencer mentions or comments back to a follower, this creates a genuine dialogue and a sense of a community.

Not to mention, given their smaller audience, micros typically have a more targeted following and distinct social media voice. Big celebrity influencers can have fans from all the different adjacent territories to which they belong. Are you following Celebrity Model X because they were in a commercial of a clothing brand you follow? Or was it the movie you saw them in? Or did you follow them because their significant other, who you follow, posted vacation pictures of the two of them? Although micros can have this cross-over success too, you are more than likely following them because they have the best pizza blog in all of Philadelphia and you legit love pizza. Specific + regional is an affordable way to reach your fans. 

While cost is also obviously another significant differentiator between the two tiers of influencer, the last, and maybe most important one is authenticity. Micro-influencers (more than likely) started, or are still, just like you, me, and the rest of our team at Studio x. They are regular people who have regular day jobs and found an audience talking about what they genuinely LOVE in their free time. That love for their subject shines in their posts and that's why you follow them. Micro-influencers that fit your target demographic, posting about how much they love your company’s product will seem much more genuine to audiences.

A simple Google search can show you examples of the opposite effect: painful to watch influencer marketing, where you can tell it was all about the money. Take this now-infamous example of Scott Disick just copy-pasting a supposedly “genuine” caption without making any edits beforehand:

As social media marketing experts, we have helped our clients work with micro-influencers to great success. If you are interested in further developing your social media or brand strategy for your Philadelphia-based business, don't hesitate to give the award-winning team at Studio x. a call today to discuss a plan that will deliver the results you need.