Brands at large are beginning to embrace the concept of influencer marketing and it is primarily because of its ability to drive a higher return on investment. The majority of marketers have begun to agree upon the power of influencer marketing in terms of generating both, quality traffic and customers. This is where micro-influencers and macro-influencers emerge.
There is a twist in the picture.
Unlike previous times where marketers leveraged the power of influence with celebrities, the focus today is shifting to micro-influencers. In today’s competitive environment it is very hard for brands to assess which is better – a micro-influencer or a macro-influencer and if your brand is planning to launch an influencer marketing campaign it is important to be conscious about their attributes.
To give a bird’s eye view, while selecting an influencer, your brand should assess the performance on parameters like – the quality of content produced, engagement rate, authenticity, audience demographics, and reach. The dilemma can be daunting, whether to go with a macro-influencer who would have a charge a considerable amount but would have a massive reach or a micro-influencer, who is affordable and has a higher engagement but a limited reach.
Without bias, we would help you give a clear picture to help you understand which type is best for your influencer campaign. One of the most prominent differences between the two is that of engagement rate which is significantly more with micro-influencers as against macro-influencers.
As per a study by SocialPubli, micro-influencers generate 7x more engagement than the average macro-influencers. The key to their success lies with their followers, who have a genuine interest in the content generated by them. This furthermore implies, that their followers are more likely to engage with the content posted by them, even if it is apparent that it is sponsored.
The same study also revealed that influencers with either equal or less than 1000 followers drive engagement on their posts 8% of the time as against influencers with over 10 million followers, driving engagement only 1.6 % of the time.
Micro-Influencers:
They are the ones having a smaller share of followers (ranging between 1000 to 100,000) but have proved to drive higher audience engagement rates when compared to macro-influencers. This inevitably implies, them not only having a personal relationship with their followers but also having followers who manifest a genuine interest in their content. The benefit of this phenomenon is to generate more genuine support for the sponsored content.
- Cost-effective marketing campaign.
- Enable your brand partner with several micro-influencers simultaneously.
- Reach out to a new niche audience.
- Lead to a high conversion rate.
With this in mind, it is also important to know the loopholes of investing in influencer marketing. They could be your brand having lower visibility and reach along with less control over the influencer’s content in terms of consistency and legitimacy.
In summation, collaborating with a micro-influencer would help your brand reach out to a consumer at a personal level and target a specific audience. To optimize from the smaller investment, your brand can invest in a pool of several relevant micro-influencers who drive higher engagement. In the end, it makes the total cost of partnering with a micro-influencer more affordable.
Macro-Influencers:
A macro-influencer is characterized as having a large following (over 100,000). This number was something that could only be scored by celebrities but with the ever-increasing possibilities on social media, new online personalities are evolving as macro-influencers. Although it is true that working with macro-influencers requires significant investment, there exist several benefits attached to them:
- Access to a wider range of audience, which implies more reach.
- Time is managed well in the absence of micromanaging a larger number of influencers.
- Increased professionalism
- Helps mitigate the risk of fake followers and boosts engagement.
Just as the case with micro-influencers, there exists problems when choosing to partner with macro-influencers. The disadvantages range from high investment to that of lack of consumer credibility towards celebrities’ voices.
This ultimately should lead you to question the ultimate goal of your influencer marketing campaign. Is it to gain maximum reach, or have more engagement on the posts? In the case of the former concern, going with the choice of a micro-influencer would be the best choice. And if the primary concern for your brand is to build authenticity, going with the choice of micro-influencers is highly recommended.
This is because micro-influencers work on the basis of building trust and authenticity. Several surveys have been conducted and they all tout the same fact: Respondents prefer purchasing a product promoted by an influencer who is not perceived as a celebrity. The underlying consumer psychology is to make purchasing choices based on word-of-mouth or referrals made by close friends, distant friends, and influencers.
Either micro-influencer or macro-influencers, the key idea is to make them understand that they should put forward a personal message on behalf of your brand and not act as a spokesperson for the brand. Above all, the focus should be more on what is the perceived persona of the influencer and how the audience responds or interacts with his or her posts.
How Bold Creators Club can help you
There is no one secret approach while seeking the right type of influencer. As your brand might have different campaign objectives, the most suitable type of influencer for you would vary. The best tip for your brand when selecting influencers is to transcend the idea of the number of followers the influencer has. Instead, focus on how the influencer in question can drive its followers to engage with the content as this reflects upon the genuine interest in the prospects to be. With your audience clearly defined, our influencer marketing team can help you finally start seeking out the influencers who will help you reach your goals and connect with your target market.
