Forget Macro: The rise of the micro-influencer (and why they’re the future of marketing)

A few years ago, the only people that marketed products on social media were celebrity demi-gods like Rihanna and the Kardashians. This was when the concept of ‘the influencer’ was completely fresh and therefore, very effective. The idea that Rihanna would willingly promote a product on her personal social media account made people believe that it was worth buying. However, this changed fast. 

Soon enough, marketing products over social media became the ‘in-thing’ for brands. This led to lesser-known celebrities and social media personalities transforming themselves into influencers overnight. This effect has spread its way across social media to the point where influencer marketing has become mainstream. Any users with six figure followings can now pack in the 9-to-5 job to become an outright influencer. Whilst this is great for them, it presents a problem to brands.   

Unless you’re prepared to enter into a brand-to-brand style relationship,  mega-influencers – or even bigger influencers – are no longer accessible. Influencers (like any other avenue of marketing) require payment, otherwise known as ‘paid partnerships’. If you’re a multi-million pound brand with an enormous marketing budget, this isn’t an issue. However, if you’re an SME (like the other 99.9% of companies in the UK) it really is. Unless, of course, you opt for micro-influencers.

“In a modern world that’s driven by social media channels, influencers have become a marketing staple. Almost every company with their head screwed on is using this tool to grow their business.”

Generally, users believe that micro-influencers are being genuine with their opinion or review. This makes sense: unlike mega influencers, there isn’t a massive wodge of dough to have their mind made up for them. For this reason, micro-influencers command a more committed following than big influencers and this is extremely valuable for brands.

The followers of micro-influencers are an extremely valuable resource. If you consider the fact that 82% of consumers would follow a recommendation by a micro-influencer, this value becomes clear. Let’s say you send 50 products to 50 micro-influencers with 250,000 followers combined – your product could be recommended to 205,000 people. Take your budget into account as well and the benefits become even clearer. Why? Because micro-influencers work for free. 

This all seems very clever, doesn’t it? Well, you would think so. However, many brands are yet to recognise the effects that micro-influencers can have on their business. We’re not sure why this is but what we can be sure that it won’t stay that way for much longer. The fact that micro-influencers are accessible, cost-effective, reach specific audiences and are trusted by them, is too obvious to stay a secret. Our advice is to strike while the iron is hot before everyone else has caught on.