By now, you've probably heard the phrase, “the rise of the micro-influencers.” Although they may not have the reach of the massive mega-stars, when it comes to audience engagement, these micro-influencers are niche celebrities who are giving the big guns a run for their money.
As reach alone is becoming a far less important metric, the proposition of these engagement-driving micro-influencers is looking even better for brands looking to connect with their audiences.
But what exactly is a micro influencer? The short (and frustratingly vague) answer is, “an influencer with a smaller audience than a 'macro-influencer.'”
Some in the industry attribute the title to influencers with under 10,000 followers. Others say between 500 and 5,000. Rather than drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and getting caught up in the details of definitions, it's best to take a look at micro-influencers in terms of what they can do and why they are beneficial for brands.
What do diamond rings and micro-influencers have in common?
When you see a sparkly diamond ring on the finger of a proud and happy woman, you think of one thing: engagement. And when you think of micro-influencers, the same word should pop to mind.
Although its importance is not news to anyone in the industry, engagement rate is now muscling its way into the spotlight. Standing behind it are legions of micro-influencers-influencers who, despite a smaller reach, deliver great bang for the buck when it comes to engagement.
A recent study reported in Digiday states that Instagram followers with under 1,000 followers have a like rate of about 8 percent. Those with 1,000 to 10,000 have a rate around 4 percent. As the follower rate grows, engagement drops even further.
Those with fewer followers are often seen as more trustworthy and more authentic. Their opinions carry weight and their audiences are loyal. Many of them have grown along with the influencer–all of this leading toward all-important engagement.
Although engagement rate is undeniably important, influencer marketers aren't yet beating down their door with wads of cash in hand. The reason?
It's all in the name-micro-influence = micro-reach
In an ironic twist, despite superior engagement rates, they simply don't have the reach that many brands need. The obvious solution for brands is to engage with multiple micro-influencers, spreading that influencer marketing investment across a range, rather than investing it all in one big-gun celebrity.
Effective? Yes, but a big drain on resources. Running such a volume of campaigns requires time. It takes effort. Simply put, the more influencers you work with, the more work is involved.
From finding the right influencers, to developing and managing campaigns, to measuring results, you can almost see the stress tic on the poor social media manager's face as he or she considers the mountain of work ahead to execute this micro influencer plan–the more manual the work involved, the less benefit it actually has.
But it appears that there may be a solution to this problem.
Making everything just that bit easier
As influencer marketing becomes more sophisticated, we continue to see it fracturing into smaller niches. The spheres of influence are becoming smaller and more effective. But juggling more balls (spheres) takes more effort, even though the results may be better.
Enter the influencer marketing platform: A relatively new development in our industry, these software-as-a-service platforms provide a series of tools to help automate and simplify the process of influencer marketing.
By making it easier for brands to find the right influencers and manage entire campaigns within a single platform, we can expect brands to spend less time on the tedium and more time developing good campaigns.
Most important, it will make it easier to find and manage multiple micro-influencers in single campaigns, thus making them an even more valuable part of the influencer marketing landscape.
Although grade-A celebrities with mega-reach are still important, influencer marketing platforms are a natural response to the need to manage this burgeoning group of micro-influencers. Throw in a little creativity and collaboration and we are beginning an exciting new phase in the industry.
Francis Trapp is CEO of Brandnew IO, a platform for global influencer marketing.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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