The increasing competition has raised the standard bar to such a level that you require taking different measures to sustain in the industry. One rule never applies everywhere, the answer is “it depends” on the situation. Influencer marketing is a new emerging tactic that seems to have taken off in a big way as for now. Due to which brands of all shapes and sizes are seen connecting with all sorts of new audiences.
What is micro influencing?
The term refers to individuals who are highly passionate and knowledgable in their field. For their popular audiences, they have trusted faces who carries expertise to sway purchasing decisions. In a layman’s language, if you have between 2,000 and 50,000 followers on a particular social media channel and being approached by several brands to come up with some influencer marketing campaigns; you are a micro influencer.
So, are you thinking of getting the ball rolling on a micro-influencer campaign? I must say it is both scary as well as an exciting prospect. There is no denying in fact, experiences you share on social media can have such a profound influence on those that follow you. However, with great influence comes a great upfront cost. What I mean is you will come across several big names charging thousands of dollars per post, making it impossible for small to medium-sized businesses compete. That’s where a micro-influencer comes into play. Small accounts are created featuring 10,000 to 100,000 followers. In the end, engagement and conversion rates you will find will be far higher than for the larger influencers. According to several reports, 82% of customers report that they are “highly likely” to buy a product recommended from a micro-influencer.
How to Maximize Your Influencer Marketing Efforts?
No matter how great it sounds in theory, running a successful micro-influencer campaign can be insanely tricky at times. I feel privileged enough to have a front-seat view and observe how some of the successful brands across multiple industries structure their campaigns. This is how I exactly know what worked well and what didn’t. In the following post, I would like you to get acquainted with certain crucial ways so that you don’t have to go through the road less traveled.
As a micro-influencer,
#1 Be you
You will no longer be handling your personal profile, being a micro influencer profile handler you might find things tricky to crack and adjust to. I have seen many professionals making a mistake of surrendering their personal feelings of their profile to enhance their new business agenda. Things don’t work this way always! As soon as you migrate from your personal profile to a commercial one, your first thousand followers will be your most loyal and some of your most engaged audiences; so don’t forget them.
More importantly, hold things close to yourself, keep backing yourself and valuing yourself on a constant basis. Many of you tend to get rid of your old memories like deleting your photos with your grandma. Never do that! Remember who are you, what is your belief –stick to that, there is a reason why your followers are following you. Micro influencers who are true to their self and their personal brand are the most successful ones in the long run.
#2 Before Outreaching, Know Your Budget
As I said before, returns from a micro-influencer campaign can be great, but the initial cost can be steep. Unlike mega-influencers and social ads, micro-influencing campaigns have the highest cost per engagement rate. This means before you outreach, it is always great to know your budget and play safe.
Keep a specific goal in mind before determining the budget. For example, what kind of return would be considered successful- is it 10% increase in conversion or 25% increase in the social followings? After aiming, go through each influencer’s past campaigns to see what levels of engagement they received. With the help of tools like Instagram Influencer Earnings Calculator, you can see whether the influencer’s price per post is reasonable for the ROI or not.
#3 Every brand has a story
Today every single person can come up with his or her brand; all thanks to social media platforms. The only difference is that being an Influencer, you have found a way to capitalize your brand. This can be done by finding and connecting with people especially the ones who share the same interests or passions, just as your company has. And wait for the magic to happen!
If you have decided to match up brand stories, wait! Take a look at the influencer’s feed- glare it carefully!
Examine the color scheme, styling elements, and keep your general focus on the part where their content revolves around. However, their styling certainly does not have to be an exact match for your brand. I mean try to keep it as a logical fit. So even if they are promoting it seems truly genuine, rather than blatantly promotional.
#4 Long-term planning always works
Don’t forget the fact; you are an advocate for your brand. It’s all about creating connections with audiences by engaging in conversations sparked by your brand. So don’t rush into any collaboration unless you haven’t figured out what their motives are. One of the essential winning traits found in successful professionals is they promote less than five brands a year, meaning that each partnership is highly strategic and vital to them. This also means working with the same influencer again and again will only help in increasing brand recognition with end customers.
#5 Incentives always matter
Incentive always matters irrespective of the field and micro-influencing campaign management is no exception. If you have people that are passionate about your brand, its events or the lifestyle it offers, even without using monetary incentives you can motivate them. Basically, it’s not just important how you reward your team members but who you choose to reward.
Conclusion
I guess I have covered some of the biggest takeaways! Are you ready to take your profile to the next level? Can’t wait to see you grow!
