If you’re on social media, I’m sure you’ve seen people try to get you to buy something. Whether it’s on the macro influencing or micro influencing side, influencing saturates social platforms. For the sake of this blog post, I’m not going to go into detail about the Kim Kardashians of the world. Kim and people on the same level of influence as her will get a lot more attention, but is it really authentic?
The goal of influencer marketing is to get new people to buy their services or products. People (and I’m guilty of this too) will buy things that look good on other people, or just simply because if the Kardashians are wearing it, they think they should wear it too.
But what about smaller brands that want to work with influencers? They don’t have the capital to pay these macro influencers their going rate, and 99% of the time, those influencers aren’t going to take gifted collaborations.
From this dilemma, the micro-influencer is born. What is a micro-influencer you might ask? A micro-influencer is an individual who has a social media following that’s larger than a normal person’s but smaller than a celebrity’s, so typically between 1,000 - 100,000 followers. One of the reasons why brands like to use micro-influencers is because the content usually comes off as more genuine, which builds trust not only between the influencer and the viewer but also between the influencer and the brand as well. This genuine content and connection to a product or service make the influencer more trustworthy to the viewer which makes the viewer more likely to buy the promoted product.
Another reason why brands like to use micro-influencers is because of their ability to respond and connect with their viewers. Whether this is through comments or direct messaging, a micro-influencer is much more likely, and probably a lot more willing to respond to a question left in their inbox rather than a big celebrity. This is also another way micro-influencers build trust with their audience and the brand.
I get to call myself a micro-influencer. I have had quite the journey in the last few years, but I've worked with some incredible brands - even ones I’ve bought products from before working with them. During the pandemic, while everyone was on TikTok, I had a few videos go viral (and looking back, my most viral one is the most embarrassing, but getting back to my point). I was able to hit over 10,000 followers on TikTok.
When I got my first email from a brand that wanted to work with me, I was so excited because nothing like this had ever happened to me before. My first ever collaboration was actually paid, too! A whopping $15 and a gifted whitening kit. I was so excited, so of course, I said yes, and uploaded a video for them. This was just the beginning of my side gig. The latest major sponsorship I had was with the company Getir, which is an app that provides a grocery delivery service mainly in Europe but has expanded to three cities in the United States; Boston, New York City, and Chicago. This one was really cool to create. Two years into my micro-influencer journey, I still get so excited when offered a sponsorship!
When you think about it, using micro-influencers is such a smart business technique because the individual is in charge of making authentic content for you and sending it out to their thousands of followers, and it’s usually cheaper than a lot of other marketing tactics like buying ad space on Instagram or promoting a post on social media platforms.
Brands also get to choose whoever they want to be a representation of their brand. They get to choose the individual based on their content, if they think they will represent the brand image well, what their goals are, etc. Micro-influencers have the potential to have a strong influence on their audience which is why they are so popular. With the majority of people on social media, it’s a brilliant marketing strategy.
Being a micro-influencer is super fun and exciting, and the opportunities are endless. If you’re a micro-influencer, shoot for the stars and have fun with it! If you’re a brand, look for micro-influencers who will represent your brand well. It’s a win-win for everyone!
