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Micro-influencers in 2021: 8 Things Brands Should Know

A smartphone with a plant on it next to a pink background provides insights for brands about micro-influencers in 2021.

Working with influencers is one of the best marketing methods in the modern age. However, one trend that you should keep up with in influencer marketing is the presence of micro-influencers.

When influencer marketing was just emerging, we were all focused on huge followers. Now, we have a better understanding of them, giving us the chance to understand micro-influencers and how we can have mutually beneficial relationships with them.

On that note, here are eight things that brands should know if they’re planning on investing in micro-influencers in the coming year.

Perfect For DTC’s And Small Businesses

When working with influencers, you might feel that you have to connect with big names in the industry. However, if you have a startup or a small business, it can be challenging to get influencers to promote your product or services, but that’s because you might be thinking of connecting with big-name influencers.

Micro-influencers are people who have between one thousand to a hundred thousand followers on their socials. They may not be getting big numbers, but it doesn’t mean that their numbers are anything to scoff at.

For startups and small businesses with a limited budget, micro-influencers are an excellent choice that will still help spread the word about your business.

Can Drive High Audience Engagement

When brands look for influencers to partner with and don’t know anything about influencer marketing, they focus too much on the number of followers. Although the number of followers is an essential metric, focusing on them alone isn’t enough. You have to look at other metrics outside of follower count as well.

One reliable way to measure the competence of an influencer is through their engagement rate. A lot of micro-influencers trump more significant influencers in engagement rates. The more people follow you, the fewer people engage with your posts. Thus, if you work with a micro-influencer, you have a higher chance of engaging with the content you make with them.

Boosts Conversion Rates

Aside from having a better engagement rate, micro-influencers are also excellent at boosting conversion rates. Since they’re closer to their audience and they have a smaller number of followers, they have a more genuine voice than the more prominent names in the industry. Thus, when they recommend a product, their followers are more likely to try it out for themselves based on their recommendation.

Milani Cosmetics is one brand that has done an excellent job at partnering with micro-influencers. Uncovering new and engaging influencers is core to beauty brands looking to champion diversity and engagement with their audience and with Pixlee, the Milani Cosmetics team has been able to find up and coming influencers who are interested in partnering with the brand to grow together. In doing so, Milani Cosmetics is building lasting partnerships with their community.

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Besides that, many micro-influencers have a more specific niche that they focus on, which means that their audience will be more niche. If they fit the target audience for your product or service, you’re going to get an even better conversion rate when working with said micro-influencer.

More Affordable Collaboration

Many micro-influencers are more amenable to working with smaller brands simply in exchange for complimentary product. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should take advantage of that. Instead, you have to make it a mutually affordable and beneficial collaboration between both of you.

Micro-influencers will help you reach a significant number of people, and you can still pay them their due without going over your marketing budget. 

You’ll be able to reach a significant number of people who are more engaged and trust your chosen influencer more.

It Lets You Tap Your Target Audience

Working with significant influencers means that you reach a lot of people. However, due to their general fame, it becomes more difficult to segment people who follow them. This issue implies that it will be harder for you to invest in them because you aren’t sure whether your product will sell well with their audience.

Any marketer will tell you that you shouldn’t be selling to the general public but a niche audience. With more prominent influencers, the bigger they are, the harder it is to nail down the audience.

It’s a lot easier with micro-influencers to understand who their audience is and whether or not they fit with your brand. Your targeting will be more precise and accurate by working with micro-influencers that directly influence your niche.

Give Influencers Creative Freedom

When you’re working with a micro-influencer, you have to give them as much freedom as possible. That’s because micro-influencers’ biggest strengths are that they seem more genuine than their bigger counterparts. Thus, when they come out with a brand that’s giving them a script to read, it’s a lot less enticing for their audience.

That’s why when working with a micro-influencer, make sure that you give them some creative freedom. Don’t stick to old-school, commercial-type scripts.

You can give some guidelines of what not to do when they’re mentioning your brand if you need to have some control over their content.

It Makes Your Brand Authentic And Trustworthy

When you work with smaller influencers, no matter how big or small your brand is, it makes you feel more trustworthy to people. That’s because when you work with a micro-influencer, their audience can feel as though you’re reaching out to people that are much closer to them than when you connect with celebrities.

Since smaller influencers feel more authentic, the side effect is that your brand will also feel more accurate when they mention you. It helps you create a better rapport with a newer set of audiences and create a stronger connection between you and your current supporters.

Build Long-term Relationships

The best thing about working with a micro-influencer is that you create a long-term relationship with them. It’s a lot harder to develop a relationship with larger influencers simply because they already have a vast network. With a micro-influencer, you have more of a connection with them.

Aside from that, the Internet is a fast-paced environment. They can also grow at a faster rate than you’d expect. That’s why working with micro-influencers can feel like an investment into a working relationship for future partnerships as well.

The Brand Responsibility

Micro-influencers are powerful but underrated ways that you can connect with a broader audience. You can get more attention for your brand and get more sales from them as well. Aside from that, they’re also a more affordable marketing investment.

Given all of these benefits, working with micro-influencers should be a part of your next marketing campaign.

Jake Rheude is the Director of Marketing for Red Stag Fulfillment, a provider of 3PL services designed for retailers who ship large or heavy parcels, (10+ pounds). Red Stag was developed when the owners of an online business couldn’t find a high-quality third-party fulfillment partner to handle the warehousing, picking, and packing processes for their business. They made the decision to build their ideal 3PL fulfillment partner.

Special thanks to our friends at Pixlee for their insights on this topic.
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