By now you have all heard the term “influencer”. If you’re on Instagram I’m going to assume you would follow at least one, or more likely a fair few. Some of you reading this may even know an influencer in real life! Whatever the kind of relationship you have with influencers, by the end of this blog I think you will definitely be wanting to get into contact with some and watch their magic unfold in front of your eyes.
I am going to focus on a subcategory of influencers being the micro influencer. To be classified as a micro influencer you need to have a following of around 10,000 – 100,000 followers. While this seems like a HUGE amount of followers to you and me, in the grand scheme of the Instagram and social media world it is considered a smaller following. But by honing in on the power of micro influencers you can transform their followers into your customers and spread the word about your brand.
Micro Influencers are a person that picks a particular passion or niche. They what you would call an ‘expert’ is this category and would promote and use product based on this category. This could be automotive, beauty, fashion, fitness, travel, or alcohol, as long as they pick a category and stick to it, they are considered a micro influencer.
Why is it good to work with micro influencers?
There are a few very easy answers to this question. The main and simplest is – they start a conversation around your brand. If people are talking about what you have to offer, that is a leap forward. Influencers will also give credibility to your brand, especially micro influencers as they are less likely to be endorsing something they don’t really like/believe in. Micro influencers tend to have a more tight knit community and have much more of an honest relationship with their followers than others influencers do. If you can build brand credibility by utilising a micro influencers platform you will see your sales rise. Working with micro influencers is also great for your marketing budget. You can be more flexible with your pricing than you can be with traditional advertising, you can also pay micro influencers less than you would have to pay a celebrity for their endorsement. There is also valuable data that can be collected while working with influencers too. You can see the likes, comments, shares and follows that are a result of your micro influencer posting about your product. This gives you very valuable information and allows for direct feedback from customers/people interested in the brand. You can also use this data to predict the profit return, if you can find the right influencer for your brand it will set you on a very good path.
TOP PREDICTION FOR 2023: Micro Influencers will be more effective than boosting ads on social media.
Micro influencers are also great to work with as they already have an audience established. So by fostering a strong relationship with the micro influencer of your choice, it will result in an increase in followers that your brand has. Micro influencers can also help accurately communicate your brand identity to their audience and create brand appeal while they do it. Micro influencers especially also know their audience well, so they will know the best way to market your brand towards their followers. While micro influencers usually have a target audience and following, other sets of eyes will come across their content and due to this becomes an unintended yet fruitful audience for your brand.
Where to find them?
There are various tools to help you to find influencers online, basing themselves on factors such as the number of followers, posts, SEO and the topics which the influencer focuses on, we have been using Club Collab and TheRightFit. These websites is where the influencers of that niche have their profile and specify their cost and the work that is involved.
Because influencers are not a new topic, you can google the top influencers or mum influencers and there will be plenty of articles from other blog sites that have them all laid out for you.
How to start?
When it comes to the logistics of working with influencers there are two ways to approach them. Firstly, you can offer to pay cold hard cash per post with your product/brand. Additionally, you would also be sending them your product for free or giving them some kind of perk with your brand. A second approach is to pay your influencer with free products in exchange for a specific number of posts. This is called a contra deal. This kind of approach works best when you’re teamed up with a micro influencer rather than a macro influencer as micro influencers are less likely to require cash payment to endorse your product/brand.
Figuring out which influencer you would like to build a relationship with can be tricky, but the best way to start is by putting out feelers in a few different directions. The worst that can happen is that you find multiple influencers that are happy to work with you and this will just increase brand awareness and profit for your business. But before you start counting the stacks, you have to put some time into creating a lasting and genuine relationship with these people. Show your interest in them as a creator/influencer by leaving comments, sending DM’s and engaging with their content regularly. Influencers are more likely to get on board with you if they feel there is a connection rather than if they are simply being used. So with this being said, make sure you like the content they produce or you may find it difficult to engage.
When talking with influencers make sure you have done your homework, don’t be vague when asking them questions and speaking with them – connect on a human level and let them know how they can benefit from working with you. Always lead with how they can win by teaming up with you.
I’ve laid out this Influencer Outreach email/message template to help you get the conversation started:
Hi [FIRST NAME],
I’m getting in touch because there is a really exciting opportunity that has come up and because you [INSERT INFORMATION ABOUT WHY THEY ARE A GOOD FIT FOR THE PARTNERSHIP] we wanted to reach out and see if this would be of interest to you?
I’ve been a long-time follower of yours and have seriously loved how candidly you speak to your audience and the connection and engagement you have with them. [INSERT SPECIFIC FACT ABOUT THEM TO SHOW THAT THIS PITCH IS TAILORED TO THEM AND YOU ARE A GENUINE FOLLOWER.]
I’d love to tell you a little bit about the opportunity as well as about our brand! [INSERT OPPORTUNITY/BRAND INFO]
[Make sure to outline the specifics of the opportunity including what deliverables you are asking for and what they will receive in exchange for this content]
Let me know if this is of interest! Can’t wait to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME].
So now go out into the beautiful world of influencers and see how you can make some awesome connections and increase your brand profitability and awareness! Good luck!
If you need some help in sourcing and creating an influencer strategy, please email Chrissy at chrissy@creativelittlesoul.com.au and did you know, that Chrissy is an influencer too? We can help connect you to other influencers in our network, just reach out and get in touch.