How To Turbocharge Your Marketing By Using Micro-Influencers On Instagram

Micro-influencers are taking the internet by storm! The next questions you probably have in mind is who are they, what exactly do they do, and why do they make such a strong impression on people?

In this Big Domino Marketing post, we want to share a detailed outline that will help you understand a bit more about the micro-influencer market. We also want you to know how being a micro-influencer, or simply having them, part of your niche is important to your business.

In business, we can’t deny the fact that we are constantly looking for ways in which to grow our brand and generate better sales.

Why not use affordable tools and means like social media to help with this? If anything, we know that social media proves to work well repeatedly when used properly.

Micro-influencer VS Macro influencer marketing

What is a micro-influencer?

It’s obvious that before we can proceed to understand how this market works, it’s also important to know who these individuals are. A micro-influencer is not an individual who has over 1 million followers and subscribers or 100k views a month on their Instagram account.

Micro-influencers are able to make an impact without the “big stage presence”. However, a strong micro-influencer can have anything from 1k followers to over 10k for that matter.

Micro-influencers live completely for their brand. Not only do they know how to market their brand using Instagram and other social media or online avenues, but they also influence people. They appeal to regular people like you and me who may or may not run a small business.

With that said, we might just be looking for their brand, service or products to help benefit our everyday lives or business for that matter. Another thing about micro-influencers is that they focus on a smaller audience, which makes it easier to maintain engagement. Smaller audiences also make coming up with new content that appeals to their market more focused.

As mentioned just now, micro-influencers also have a specific focus and thus are able to create a deeper relationship or connection with their audience based on their brand.

What is a “macro influencer”

Here’s the part you’ll start to see the clear difference between these two marketing options. If you think of big brands marketed by famous people you’ll see that just by their popularity, those companies tend to win more customers.

A nude lingerie line by Ade Hassan came about because she wanted to close the gap in the market that did not cater nude lingerie and hosiery suited to her skin tone. It became clear just how the colour “nude” didn’t apply the same way to everyone because everyone’s skin tone is different. With this, she was able to launch her very own brand called Nubian Skin.

Adidas ambassadors like Pharrell Williams and famous sports personalities like Julie “Jaws” Nelson, or Nike’s sponsored players like Neymar Jr and Raheem Sterling are just naming a few. It’s easy to see how these large brands are boosting their marketing efforts by using macro influencers.

Macro influencers will definitely gain trust and emotional support from their audience, customers and prospective customers. When you think of these big brands, you think quality and great sportsmanship among other. When famous celebrities take to marketing their own brands, they use a completely new marketing strategy.

Instagram allows you to create an audience and following and when you’re dedicated to your brand you’re able to convert and enjoy increased sales because of the trust. Similar to macro influencer marketing, when using Instagram you can become popular in your own niche without having to invest as much as those big brands do.

How do you use micro-influencers?

Because micro-influencers are already popular using Instagram to market their own brand, they have already secured a sense of fame and loyalty among their followers. You can use them to help you market your brands by which they may do a post especially about your product (if it’s in the same niche as theirs of course).

They can even post a video, or caption that will help promote your brand using their Instagram page. This is a great way to get their audience to see how your product worked for them. In this way, your brand can get the exposure it needs to do even better and open up to their network of followers too.

That sounds like a good idea doesn’t it? And not to mention profitable too right? So what’s the low on numbers and costs when it comes to these Instagram micro-influencers? This is exactly what the next point is about, the cost…

Does it cost to use an Instagram influencer?

Yes! To make money, you have to spend money. In this case, you can decide which influencer will best suit your budget. Instagram influencers and sponsors have been a driving and successful force behind this social media channel and it’s more of a “win-win” mutual situation.

Larger influencers on Instagram with say 100k followers may charge a lot more than the micro-influencer with around 10k followers. This makes sense because the one has more influence, not to mention popularity over the other.

Apart from popularity, they also have a larger audience to expose your brand to. According to later.com, some statistic findings showed that 66% of businesses in the States paid under 250UDS (R3,525) for a post using micro-influencers. While a 27% are willing to pay even as much as 1,000USD (R14,098) per post.

According to some analysts, influencer ads expenses are expected to rise between 5 and 10 Billion USD by the year 2020. While the micro-influencer market may not be as large as it is in America, it is still a very popular marketing base in South Africa. It has also shown to help many local small and large business owners. When comparing how much influencers in America earn as opposed to South African influences, there’s a difference. South African Instagram influencers potentially earn between R500 and R10,000 a post.

How using micro-influencers can benefit your business

• They’ve established a very engaging audience — this will greatly benefit your brand/product.
• Affordable way to market your business and brand — despite the larger Instagram influencers this is still a cheaper marketing means. Unlike other advertising through traditional processes, using Instagram influencers is much cheaper.

Watch out for these risks

• Not so popular after all — if you’ve chosen “incorrectly” you may end up with a micro-influencer that isn’t as popular as other influencers on Instagram.
• Inexperienced — Yes, you may be exposing your business and all that you stand for to someone who doesn’t really know how to make Instagram marketing work and so it can be a waste of your time and money.
• Limited reach — micro influencers cannot get to a large audience in comparison to macro influencers.

How to find the right influencer for your business

It may take some time to find the best-suited influencers for your brand but there are ways you can do this.

Do a hashtag search

Some professionals suggest making use of Instagram’s hashtag keyword search. With this simple step, you’ll be able to find micro-influencers who are in the same niche as you.

Narrow down your list of potential influencers

By narrowing your search to your top influencers, it will make deciding the best one for you simpler.

Check their Instagram account activity

Once you’ve found some prospective candidates, use this time to check out their Instagram account. Just how famous are they? How much effort and time do they put into their account? Do they use the account to its full potential? Are they using Instagram Stories, IGTV and all the other bells and whistles?

Make contact

Remember that it doesn’t matter the casual look of some Instagram profiles, the fact is, it’s a business. Many influencers use their craft to generate income and this is what they do for a living. So stay professional.

#Tips:

1. While you may feel tempted to have 100% influence on the post they’ll be using regarding your business, the best thing to do is let them be. These strong Instagram influencers didn’t get to where they are by a lack of creativity and ideas, so trust them and let them make it work for you. After all, you could be paying top dollar for top results!

2. Keep them informed because the more information you share about your business, the better they can work and the better your post. Info can include anything from business slogans and logos to hashtags related to your brand.

3. Follow the rules of Instagram sponsors and endorsements. This is important because while your influencer is working their magic, you have to remember the role you need to play as well.

The takeaway

You can change the way you market your business by using a fun marketing strategy and when you pair up with like-minded people, you may just have a marriage made in heaven. Instagram and social media have paved the way for many lucrative marketing strategies. These not only help improve your business as a whole but also help you to connect and engage with other business owners and like-minded people.

Who would’ve thought that social media could become such an integral part of many business owners lives? While it’s so readily accessible through smart devices, you don’t have to be fixed at your computer to start making a difference to your audience. If you’ve decided to use Instagram micro-influencer marketing to boost your business, you may soon be on your way to enjoy and reap the benefits sooner than later.

One thing to bear in mind when it comes to any form of marketing is that it is a process and one that you need to keep at. Being persistent is your key to success. It’s also one of the things that sets social media marketing apart from traditional marketing methods is that you cannot simply put something out there and expect it to work.

The key is to find influencers who can showcase your products or services in the best light and find people who have a genuine interest in what you do. Anything else will come off as fake and insincere.

Establishing the right connections can be a matter of trial and error, but once you get it right, it can change your social media game overnight.

Originally published at https://blog.bigdomino.co.za on January 14, 2019.