By: Lydia Rachmawati Zein – PR Consultant of Fortune PR
As the world has shifted to social media, consumers look at their fellow consumers to inform their purchasing decisions. Micro-influencers managed to open a new channel for brands to connect with consumers more directly, more organically, and at a larger scale.
Micro-influencers have more followers than most people. But not as much as celebrities or public figures, their followers are typically in the 1,000 to 100,000 range. They tend to have a very engaged, loyal fan base, and for small companies, micro-influencers are more affordable and budget friendly. Meanwhile, celebrities might have more audience reach compared to micro-influencers. But they have less time to engage with fans.
A study from Marketly about Instagram engagement, mentioned a surprising trend that when the number of followers increases, the number of likes and comments from followers decreases. The study also found that micro-influencers have more targeted follower bases than influencers with hundreds of thousands, even millions of followers. The study concluded that micro-influencers are more authentic than macro-influencers.
This means that micro-influencers posted their own content, and reply their comments directly and more frequently. The replies are much more authentic than celebrities who hire a social media manager replying all their feedback.
There are two examples of successful brand campaigns using micro-influencers. The first is Banana Republic who used Instagram micro-influencer to modeled their clothing in a variety of settings. Their micro-influencer posted pictures with the hashtag #itsbanana, also included seasonal and campaign-specific hashtags such as #brmovesyou #brmakeitmatter, and #brholiday. By seeking fashion and lifestyle influencers who are known for their good sense of style, Banana Republic reached a huge and a targeted audience.
In Indonesia, a Swedish watch brand called Daniel Wellington did the same campaign to attract the local market. The company used fashion and lifestyle Instagram micro-influencers, and also micro-influencers outside the fashion and lifestyle niche to reach a larger audience in Indonesia. Daniel Wellington gave a discount code to their micro-influencers using their name, so that when the micro-influencers posted the discount code, they can attract more of their followers to engage and buy their product.
Micro-influencers are the solution towards an effective, affordable marketing strategy for businesses today. Brands can build a stronger engagement with their followers or subscribers, rather than regular influencers with huge followers or subscribers.
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