In today’s fast-paced internet culture, businesses are constantly on the lookout for ways to communicate with their target markets more successfully. Microinfluencers—people who have a smaller but highly active audience—are increasingly being looked at.
In fact, in Influence.co’s 2024 survey, 79% of marketers affirm that microinfluencers (who have 10,000 to 100,000 followers) offer better engagement rates than their macro counterparts.
Why Micro Influencers Are Better?
Among other types of influencers who have large followers, micro-influencers tend to have the strongest relationships with their followers. Try to think. When an influencer gets one of their content viral, their followers increase a lot.
When that happen? It is because of that one content and some other two to three other contents that probably make people to get to follow them.
As influencers gain more followers, their engagement drops—they interact less, feel less personal, and people may trust them less.
- Their audience becomes more general, so their content shifts from niche and community-focused to something broader.
- They start promoting more brands, which can make their recommendations feel less genuine. Followers might question if they truly believe in what they’re endorsing.
Micro-influencers might not go overly viral and gain ‘follower spikes’ like major influencers, and that’s an advantage.
Let’s talk about their engagement levels. They are more steady and meaningful because their followers view their content as relatable and more natural.
Meanwhile, influencers who got a massive amount of followers due to going viral for one content follow out of curiosity.
So, when they post another piece of content, the audience may not choose to engage because they are less likely to be relatable.
Due to this, micro-influencers have:
- Higher level of engagement
- Likely to be genuine and authentic
- Followers tend to trust them
- Have a niche audience
Not only that, since they have fewer followers, they receive less money from sponsored posts or collaborations.
Thus, their payment is found to be more affordable for brands with a limited budget and a need to make a big marketing splash.
Micro Influencer Followers: They Aren’t Too Small Nor Too Big
The microinfluencer’s audience is typically between 10,000 and 100,000. While it’s smaller, it could work to your advantage.
What it means is that the influencer has a faithful, close following, and endorsements have credibility.
Their online persona develops a tighter, more individual relationship with their viewers than wide influencers with an extremely large following base.
Where and How to Identify Micro Influencers?
Just like other influencers, microinfluencers can be found on all social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Other than these platforms, influencer platforms (e.g., Upfluence, Influence.co, and AspireIQ) are where you can filter through microinfluencers based on follower base, niche, and engagement ratio.
Microinfluencers do not necessarily have 10,000 to 100,000 followers. It can be less than 10,000 or more than 100,000.
Finding true microinfluencers can be a little tricky since not all influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers are actually microinfluencers.
Here is how to find them:
- They have a large engagement rate of 3-6% (higher than macro influencers). However, in some niches like beauty, skincare, fitness, health, parenting, fashion, pets, travel, tech, finance, and gaming, it can exceed 6% and reach 8-10% or higher.
- Check for comments. Are they lengthy, real or genuine? Or are they just too generic with a lack of depth? If they are discussions, asking questions, sharing experience and thoughtful comments, then it is genuine.
- Check for their followers; are they real?
- They have more shares and saves (bookmark)
Actionable Steps for Working with Micro Influencers
When working with microinfluencers, the first step is to have clear objectives. You need to know what you want to achieve from the collaboration, either brand recognition, sales, or product launches. Having clear goals will help guide the process and allow you to measure success better.
Then, it’s time to thoroughly select the right potential influencers. While it can be tempting to focus on the number of followers, this shouldn’t be your single consideration. Instead, look at the authenticity of posts and the demographics of fans. Ensure that they have a similar set of values as your brand, because doing so will have you a genuine collaboration with them.
Lastly, create genuine relationships with the influencers whom you choose to work with. Aim for long-term collaborations with influencers who share your brand’s passion.
Micro influencers offer a strong, genuine, and affordable way to make your brand known. Through identifying the right influencers and creating genuine partnerships, businesses can create authentic connections with their audience and achieve long-term success.
Want to find the right micro influencers for your brand?
