The evolution of social media marketing. Rather than using celebrities, brands are now working with micro-influencers to endorse their products. These every-day content creators with small but intensely engaged audiences are proving to be a bigger bang for the buck than high-profile stars in some marketing initiatives.
Micro influencers are considered any users with 10k —100k followers. Micro-influencers are not big-name celebrities with millions of followers; they are instead niche accounts covering topics including beauty, fitness, fashion or tech.
They communicate face to face with their audience, respond to comments, as well as reply questions, thus establishing intimacy. Which gives her a sense of trustworthiness that most major celebrities can’t even pull off.
Higher Engagement Rates
And one of the major drivers for brands towards these micro-influencers are their engagement rates. Research shows that micro-influencers [have] 3–4 times the engagement rates of celebrities.
Since their followers have a personal relationship with them, their recommendations are more authentic and relatable. They are trusted like a friend.
One post by an A-lister can cost hundreds of thousands. In contrast, micro-influencers are significantly cheaper — a more cost-effective vehicle for brand marketing.
Brands can receive coverage from multiple micro-influencers for the price of a single celebrity endorsement. That means they can connect with different audiences and get more bang for their buck.
Micro-influencers are more niche-specific(like sustainable fashion, dog training, or vegan recipes). A well-coached, target audience —so that when brands engage these thought leaders, they are focused on their real audience and not a big unjudged crowd.
A beauty micro-influencer with an organic skincare background may help a skincare company with a product that a beauty influencer with a more wide-ranging audience cannot.
People are becoming tired of celebrity endorsements. They’re assuming that selling products is a celeb thing like eating shit — there’s no real interest, they just do it for the money.
Micro-influencers usually use and believe in the items they’re promoting. They sound honest and credible so the followers tend to follow to buy.
Although the micro-influencer trend is growing, domain celebrities are not dead. Their massive reach takes them out of the running for international campaigns and big-budget branding.
For instance, luxury brands in the fashion segment or high-end automotive companies will normally engage with celebrities as they tend to be a better fit with their target customers who are more about status and prestige rather than engagement.
Deciding whether to pursue micro-influencers or celebrities depends on a brand’s goals, budget, and target consumer.
When the goal is trusting building and conversion than the preferable influencers are micro-influencers. And the strategy works well is the budget is for the money as you can send in nearly 15 micro influencers (there is a much higher ratio of engagement present) who can do more work than subsequently spending it on just 1 celebrity.
Discover the micro-influencers reshaping the marketing landscape. Their engagement, authenticity, and low-cost makes them a brand's advantage. Even while celebrities remain outsize players, micro-influencers are demonstrating that smaller, more engaged audiences can lead to more impactful changes.
Micro-influencers can be the best investment for brands that are building solid, trusted connections between themselves and consumers.
