Instagram is the world’s third most-used social media platform, with 2 billion active monthly users. The presence of great content, renowned brands, famous creators, reputed influencers, and a massive audience has completely changed Instagram’s marketing dynamics. In the dynamic era of digital marketing, influencer marketing has become a significant tool for brands to market their products and services and increase sales. Earlier companies used to approach celebrities and other high-profile creators with huge followings on Instagram, but the present era is dominated by micro-influencers with less follower count. Micro-influencers are the “Real Kings” of the social media world and have forced marketers to reshape their Instagram marketing strategies. With the shift in the marketing landscape and awareness about influencer marketing, brands are increasingly recognizing the unparalleled advantages of micro-influencers in increasing genuine engagement. In this “The Rise of Micro-Influencers,” we will shed light on who are micro-influencers, why are they rising, and the benefits of collaborating with them to increase brand awareness and conversions.
Who are Micro-Influencers?
Micro-influencers are niche experts, social media individuals with 1000 – 1,00,000 genuine followers. Unlike high-profile influencers, these creators are not that famous but have a community of dedicated and loyal followers who engage deeply with their content. Although they have fewer followers than celebrities, their followers are highly engaging and have strong connections with the influencer. Due to their expertise and knowledge, the audience perceives them as trustworthy and authentic. Moreover, if you are planning to buy Instagram views, combining it with influencer marketing is a great strategy, as you will receive not only purchased likes but also organic ones, which can take your profile to the next level.
The Rise of Micro-Influencers
In the current realm of Instagram marketing – the rise of micro-influencers has captured attention. Despite having less number of followers, they hold the power to compete with high-profile influencers and reshape the Instagram marketing world. In this new era of micro-influencer marketing, followers are just a number. The less but real, highly engaged, and niche-specific followers are the biggest power of the micro-influencers. As their followers are more loyal and trust micro-influencers, they hold more power to influence buying decisions, leading to a high return on investment for brands. This power has changed the mindset of businesses and marketers to promote their products and services. With their niche-specific audience, they can bring relevant plus targeted engagement for the brands, which can increase their sales. As they can foster meaningful connections, they cultivate a sense of community, which can convert into long-term relationships and bring high ROI. In a nutshell, the rise of micro-influencers is driven by the need for authenticity and a desire for more targeted engagement.
Benefits of Working with Micro-Influencers
For brands and businesses, working with micro-influencers is the ideal Instagram marketing strategy at present due to a range of benefits. Have a look at some major benefits of working with Micro-Influencers.
Reach Highly Targeted Audience
Micro-influencers are experts in specific niches, which implies they have a niche-specific targeted audience that is interested in that field. For example, a travel influencer has people who love to travel and often indulge in hotel bookings, flight bookings, etc, a beauty influencer has followers who are interested in makeup and beauty products, etc. They help you reach out to your potential audience, who are genuinely interested in your products and services.
Get High Engagement
Compared to celebrities and big influencers, the audience of these micro-influencers is more engaging due to their interest in the specific niche. The influencers get genuine likes, comments, and shares on every story, post, reel, or video they share on Instagram. When you promote your products and services with their help, their audience will engage deeply with your content also and may make positive decisions. This is because such an audience will engage in brand endorsements just like the other posts on the influencer’s profile, leading to more brand awareness.
Cost Effective
Influencers charge a high amount for brand endorsements, whereas micro-influencers can do your work for a much lower amount. These influencers either charge low fees or accept collaborations in exchange for products and services. This is a more budget-friendly approach, especially for brands with low marketing budgets.
Authenticity and Credibility
Due to the targeted approach, industry expertise, and genuine interactions, micro-influencers have authentic connections with their followers. Their audience sees them as credible figures in the market and believes in their suggestions and advice. This is because they are experts in their niche and share relevant content, which is opposite to that of big influencers who promote things for financial gain only. Their approach of maintaining a balance of organic, relevant content, and promotional content resonates with their followers.
High ROI and Conversions
Due to the presence of highly engaging followers who interact and engage with the promotional content just like other relevant content, a brand receives more conversions. When conversions are more, the ROI is also high. Besides that, due to their strong influence on the followers, the conversions increase, and less cost for endorsements leads to low investment, which ultimately leads to a high Return on investment (ROI)
How to Find the Right Micro-Influencers?
To ride on the wave of success by collaborating with micro-influencers, choosing the right ones is crucial. Follow the steps below to find a micro-influencer to help you reach a targeted audience, increase brand awareness, boost engagement, increase conversions, and ultimately get high ROI.
- Identify your Target Audience
- Set clear marketing objectives like increasing brand awareness, engagement, followers, or conversions
- Find the potential influencers specialized in your niche and resonate with your target audience
- Conduct proper social media research and check their engagement metrics
- Reach out to them and ask for collaboration or partnership
- Negotiate collaboration terms and price
- Finalize the deal and nurture the relationship further
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that micro-influencers are the future of Instagram marketing. They hold the power to help you reach your targeted audience in the most genuine, cost-effective, and engaging way. Their small but engaging followers resonate with your content, engage with it, and ultimately make buying decisions. The existence of micro-influencers, who have the potential to influence their dedicated followers, positively influences their purchasing decisions. They have that authority and authenticity that encourage followers to buy. If you are a new brand, purchasing some followers and investing in influencer marketing are the two most effective strategies to bring engagement.
