People trust peers over brands. People trust other people and not brands. And by “other people”, we don’t mean mega-celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez but the so-called micro-influencers.
Micro-influencers usually have 10.000 to 100.000 followers and they are focused on niche markets (e.g. sports, beauty, fashion). Their “like rate” is 2.4%, whereas mega-celebrities top at 1.7%, a whooping 30% decrease.
Why Should I Do Influencers Marketing?
For starters, many of these influencers, micro or mega, are some kind of role model for their followers. People want to be like them and try to imitate them. Whilst they cannot afford the hyper-luxurious condo in 5th Avenue or the latest Ferrari, they can afford buying a pair of Nikes, or a designer purse, or an Audi.
They want to be identified through their role models and they instantly gain credibility once they say “I own the same yada-yada that Kim Kardashian has”. If you are the brand, you want your product to appear in the latest Instagram post of an influencer because it will actually drive traffic!
Another reason to engage, as a brand, with influencers, is because of their content. Your own, branded content that goes live through your own channels, has a look-and-feel which appeals to your audience in a very specific way. However, the influencer can (and should!) instill their own personality in the product and explore new ways of promoting your product. Encourage them to show the world what your product/campaign/brand means for them.
Also, when engaging with an influencer, it is definite you will reach new audiences who did not know about you, or they were not very familiar with your brand or even they were not aware of your social media presence.
What Are Some Best-Practices?
As discussed, micro-influencers have a great impact on their followers because they have high authority amongst their peers. Thus, if your product is highly related to their interests/industry, then the more effective your co-operation will be.
Before selecting the influencers you are going to reach out to, make sure that you don’t only focus on their followers numbers but on their content & expertise. A well-selected influencer with 2.000 followers can be much more effective compared to a 20.000 followers influencer.
Moreover, influencers are engaging everyday with their audience. They have uploaded numerous posts, know what works better and, ultimately, what type of content will attract the most interactions. Trust them to create content and you will not regret it.
Another, great way to leverage your partnership with the influencer is by indirectly engaging with their audience. The engagement schema you are going to follow should include your influencer as well. Never forget that since you are in the influencer’s channels, they are the hero of the campaign, not your product. Don’t use the influencer only as a gateway to their audience; try to make them ambassadors and persuade their audiences to become ambassadors themselves.
A great mistake we have seen taking place numerous times when it comes to influencer marketing is that brands engage with influencers only when they (the brands) have something to say. This is wrong on so many levels.
Brands ought to be always on the lookout for engagement opportunities with influencers. An honest, spontaneous engagement when the influencer has given/created the opportunity, will make them feel valued. Their content will be much more heartfelt and their audience will love it.
Also, by discovering opportunities, your brand remains relevant throughout the year and not only you have a new product launch. The more times people see you, the higher are the chances to convert.
What Should You Avoid?
Although it is a big matter of debate amongst PR agencies, we strongly recommend to inform your influencer’s audience when a post is sponsored. Being open & transparent is the best way into creating long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. A simple #sponsored or #ad can do the trick.
Influencers know their audience, the content they should put out there and how often they should put it. Our previous experience has shown that an influencer should have a 5–12% of sponsored posts in their timeline. If you are pressing your influencer to go above this threshold, then it is almost sure that the engagement with your branded content will be very low compared to their average engagement.
One more “no brainer” when it comes to influencers marketing is that you should never ask all of them to post the same content (e.g. a pre-made graphic) in their accounts. Chances are that people follow more than one of your influencers thus they will see the same content from different people. Why should they like it?
What Are Some Interesting Cases?
Do you remember when Scott Disick, husband of one of the Kardashians posted the email he received from his PR specialist? This was the case.
Have you heard about one of the most weird cases which involves Lindsey Lohan, her latest nightclub in Greece and… Turkey? Read all about it here.
Did you know that a YouTuber can help an online shop grow their monthly sales by 300%? Well, you do now.
One Last Thing…
Influencer marketing will not work on day one and it will not work miracles for your brand or your product. However, the more you are out there engaging with mega/micro-influencers, the greater the results will be.
So, start doing!
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