If you have a small business, you may not have the budget to collaborate with a one million+ subscriber influencer. One solution is to collaborate with micro-influencers instead. This post will tell you what micro-influencers are, why they're essential, and where to find them.
What Are Micro-Influencers?
As you know, influencers are people who are highly trusted on social media and who often promote products through influencer marketing. When most people think of an influencer, they may imagine someone with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of followers. But there are smaller influencer accounts as well.
While there are different ideas as to what constitutes what influencer level you are, generally, it’s defined like this.
• Mega Influencer: 1 million+ followers.
• Macro Influencer: 100,000-1 million followers.
• Micro-Influencer: 1,000-100,000 followers.
• Nano Influencer: Under 1,000 followers.
In this context, micro-influencers have between 1,000 and 100,000 followers, which is a broad spectrum. One could break them into more categories; for example, a smaller micro-influencer has 1,000-10,000 followers, a medium-sized micro-influencer has 10,000-50,000 followers, and a larger micro-influencer has 50,000-100,000.
Some people also define a micro influencer as having between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. Again, the numbers aren't absolute, but all you need to know is that a micro-influencer has a large following but nowhere near the following of the people on top.
Why Should You Pursue Micro-Influencers?
Many businesses want to be on top, and therefore, they try to go after mega or macro influencers. But this is not necessarily the best strategy, depending on your business. Here are some reasons why.
It’s Less Competitive
Many, many businesses want to collaborate with a mega influencer. Because of this, it may take a long time before the influencer gets around to you. In addition, you may get out-bidded by other people, which leads us to our next point.
It’s Cheaper
The cost of working with an influencer depends on the account, but on average, working with a macro or mega influencer can be expensive. We’re talking thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re a startup business, you may not have that much money. And if you can swing it, you may not want to take that much of a risk.
The cost of working with micro-influencers can range between a few hundred and a few thousand. Smaller accounts, such as those in the 1,000-10,000 range, will probably charge less, while accounts between 10,000 and 100,000 will usually charge more.
More Devoted Fans
While micro influencers' fanbases are not as large, they are arguably more dedicated. There are a few reasons for this. First, smaller accounts tend to interact with their fans more, while larger accounts usually put up a barrier between them and the fans.
Second, smaller accounts tend to be dedicated to more specific niches, meaning that the fans will be more dedicated.
Finally, when it comes to larger accounts, many people follow them just because of algorithmic recommendations and to conform to everyone else. Meanwhile, someone may deliberately seek out a micro-influencer account to follow them.
How to Find Micro-Influencers
Here are some ways you can find micro-influencers.
Look to Your Fans
If your business already has followers, why not look at them? See if there are any with a decent number of followers, and then reach out.
Many of your followers would love to work with you. They can post photos of themselves trying your products, and you can share them. Everyone wins. That being said, be sure to pay them unless they insist on doing it for free!
Hashtag and Keyword Hunting
Search Instagram using hashtags and keywords related to your business’s niche. Then, see what comes up. Click an interesting image or video, and then check the account that posted it. Look at their follower amount and see if they do influencer deals.
Another way you can keyword hunt is to do a Google search. Type in "micro-influencers," followed by your niche. You may find articles that compile all the influencers in your niche, making it easy to reach out.
Use Influencer Databases
Hunting via hashtags and keywords can net you some hidden gems. However, this takes a lot of time. If you want to save time, go with the influencer database route.
Influencer databases have information about influencers, both mega and micro, making it easy to search for and contact them.
That said, some of these databases do cost some money to use, but the price may be worth it. When you’re a small business, time is money, and searching on your own can be a waste of time.
How to Reach Out
Once you've found an influencer, what should you do next? Here are some ways to strike a good collaboration.
Show Support
Follow the influencer and like their content. Comment as well. This shows that you have a genuine interest in their posts, and also helps to build more brand recognition.
Reach out Through Message or Email
Message them on Instagram, or see if there's any contact information in their bio. Some people will put a "For business inquiries, contact me at…" message in their bio, followed by an email or another place you must go.
State Your Intentions
Send an enthusiastic email stating why you've contacted the person, telling a little bit about your brand, and talking money. Don't meander too much, but also don't sound cold and corporate unless that's what the influencer prefers. You can get an idea of the influencer’s style by looking at some of their posts.
Creative Freedom
Give the influencer plenty of creative freedom and set a reasonable deadline. If you let the creator do what they want, you may find that they get more Reels views than if you put too many restrictions. That being said, there may be some rules if you don't want them to go against your principles or company values.
And with that, you now know what micro-influencers are and how to reach out to them. Good luck!