Nowadays, more and more businesses are using influence marketing. There is a preconceived idea that it is only accessible to large companies. Discover how small and medium-sized businesses can equally benefit from influencer marketing.
An influencer is an individual with a large subscriber base who shares their opinion on social media platforms about different products, services and brands. The so-called “influencers” are usually those with over 100,000 subscribers. They tend to ask for a very high cash compensation each time they mention a brand or publish a picture of a product. A more interesting alternative for companies with a smaller budget is to use micro-influencers who have between 1000 and 100,000 subscribers. Some agree to collaborate for a more affordable amount or in exchange for a product or service. These influencers are generally more authentic and interact more with their loyal and engaged subscriber base.
Although micro-influencers are smaller in scope than larger influencers and celebrities, they generally have a much more engaged and focused audience. Statistics show that 82% of people are inclined to follow the recommendations given by a micro-influencer. Collaborating with micro-influencers could increase your brand awareness, subscriber count and potentially improve your SEO.
Since micro-influencers have a smaller subscriber list, these subscribers usually have several things in common. For a small business, collaborating with micro-influencers can help reach a very specific and relevant target.
Several different methods can be used during a collaboration. Following are a few strategies you could use.
First, you could create personal promotional codes for each micro-influencer. This encourages not only your collaborator to make publications, but also their subscribers to become acquainted with your brand. In addition, creating a promotional code is highly relevant to your business. This allows you to track purchases made using each promotional code and see your ROI (Return on Investment) from each of your influencers.
You could also ask your micro-influencer to create an unboxing video. These videos, becoming more and more popular, demonstrate the product as authentically as possible. The micro-influencer can show their reaction and product specifications. When using this strategy, it is important to pay particular attention to the packaging in which you offer your product. You have to express your brand image in the color and text used. On the other hand, it is necessary to make sure that the product is well placed and that it doesn’t move during transportation to ensure the best results for the unpacking video.
Contests are a great way to increase engagement. You could, on the page of your micro-influencers, create a contest that gives the chance to win a product. To be eligible, the participant must mention a friend in the comments. This creates commitment to not only the brand, but also the micro-influencer.
Many micro-influencers put a lot of effort into their publications. By imposing on them a type of post, some could lose subscribers to the fact that the publication is not in the same style as the rest. It would be a good idea to give the influencer a say or choice in the type of publication they put on their platform. Keep in mind, they know their subscribers best!
Partnering with micro-influencers can be tricky. First, it is important to establish exactly what you want. You need to know your budget, your target audience and your values. To do so, it could be interesting to create a typical character of target, then create on of a micro-influencer. This will allow you to better target potential influencers. You can then find micro-influencers that reach your own subscriber base through your employees, using tools on the internet, researching trends or loyal customers that you already have. Once you have a list of several potential influencers, it is important to make sure they share the same values as you and that they have a relevant number of subscribers. Don’t forget, some have a lot of fraudulent subscribers, so ensure not to take them into account. Finally, contact them explaining the benefits of collaborations and why you think you have a good team that fits with their image.
For more information about the different strategies to adopt on social networks, don’t hesitate to contact us!
