Micro-influencers and why brands should now turn to them
Influencer marketing is a billion-dollar business. More brands have turned to social media influencers to market their products and services and getting huge ROI metrics in return. According to Mediakix, a United States-based Influencer Marketing Agency, marketers are seeking viable advertising channels to leverage the reach and efficacy of mobile and social media audiences, time spent on these devices and platforms/apps, and growth.
But who is an influencer? This is a question that most people are always asking. Influencer Marketing Hub defines them as an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience. It also adds that they’re individuals who have a following in a particular niche, which they actively engage with. The size of the following depends on the size of the niche.
The last definition also brings the question of micro-influencers. Does one need to have a million social media followers to be influential? Does someone need to be very well known to have a clout and influence to affect their followers’ purchase decision be it in fashion, technology, beauty and much more?
Micro-influencers cannot be ruled out by marketers, and brands should now consider working with them even more. Micro-influencers are not all about numbers but are described as what many people would consider ‘’every day social media users” that brands can use to promote specific products or services on social media. Those products can range from a new website, mobile application, clothing or even food just to name a few.
Why are micro-influencers important?
Micro-influencing has now become an option for many marketers. Until recently, top marketers were only associating influencer marketing with high profile YouTube vloggers or Twitter users. These days, we’re are however increasingly seeing them turning to micro-influencers, people who are actually using the brand’s products and services.
This is largely because more and more companies, especially tech brands are experiencing the power of micro-influencers. As a result, marketers in the tech space are embracing them to front their largely scaled advertising campaigns and endorse their products.
Surveys also suggest that people actually trust advice and recommendation from other people they know and trust.
For the tech industry, micro-influencers provide steady engagement levels because they have an in-depth knowledge and experience in of the relevant technology niche a certain company specializes in e.g. software or mobile devices. They are regular social media users who publish genuine content about the things they love. They have engaging fans who trust anything they recommend.
Micro-influencers are able to cut through the kind of authenticity that brands need with engagement rates hitting up to 60% higher than working with celebrities.
Big tech giants are already leveraging the genuine content that micro-influencers produce and share with their followers on social media or blogs. Some of these brands include Spotify, Adobe and even IBM. In fact, for IBM, uses its own employees to share work-related content on their social channels. The company runs an online hub that allows its staff to easily share material or promotions on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to help with the company’s marketing and sales.
Well, in a world where people are tired of advertising and celebrity endorsements, micro-influencers are now the people brands should turn to.
By Nixon Kanali
Tech editor
Africa Business Communities
