MICRO-INFLUENCERS CAN MEAN MEGA-ENGAGEMENT. SITTING BETWEEN 3,000 AND 50,000 FOLLOWERS, THEY’RE USUALLY CENTRED AROUND A PASSION POINT AND CAN BE FOUND IN ALMOST ANY SECTOR.

They’re more cost-effective and are still an area of untapped potential for brands, especially on their blogs and Instagram accounts (and increasingly podcasts). They can deliver over double the engagement rate of macro-influencers and celebrities and can generate 10 times the efficiencies. It is not follower size that matters; it’s the high-quality engagement they regularly receive that makes them so attractive.

1. THEY’RE CELEBRITIES IN THEIR NICHE

The internet thrives on super-tribes and subcultures, where people can seek, bond and buzz over shared interests – no matter what their demographic is ‘on paper’. That’s where obsessions still have cult-scale, where engagement still feels real and sincere, and little fires become beacons. Super-shareability sometimes comes with smallness.

So many of these communities are thriving, and you’d only discover them if you knew to look. Who knew that origami was a little-big thing? Google knew. You just had to know to ask. And who knew that ASMR was a little-big thing?

Find the super-energetic niche and forge a real brand connection. Borrow some of that energy: they have an audience leaning in, listening to what they have to say, being influenced by them.

2. VICARIOUS EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Micro-influencers can help brands break out from the corporate veneer* by telling their story in a more real, authentic way.  They don’t have the same restrictions that you have as a brand – and that’s a great thing.

It’s part of the deal. With micro-influencers, you’re usually riding the wave of their passions, so don’t kill it with control-freakery. Giving creative licence is one of the things you actually want…but with brands that are used to being fenced-off with style books and brand guidelines you can easily smother the love. Variety – and authenticity – comes with freedom of expression and allowing them to interpret your brand in their world. The payoff is worth it.

*Do you need some help breaking free too? Blink twice for yes.

3. THEY CAN TAKE YOU TO BOLD NEW TERRITORY

How many different ways can you, and do you, tell your own story? The ‘our product is great; you should buy it’ message could get same-y for anyone who isn’t a super-fan. So on platforms like social media and blogs – where the algorithms’ appetites are insatiable for fresh content and engagement – you have to stay fresh to stay visible. Thinking your way laterally into where your product can intersect with eccentric, ridiculous or distinctive subject areas give you fresh territory (where your competitors are unlikely to be). Imagine your story refracted into many different areas you’d never thought of treading yourself.

4. THEY KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE (BETTER THAN YOU)

Micro-influencers punch above their weight. They engage and respond to their followers when they comment, they ask for their opinions and feedback. As they are highly protective of their audience, and passionate about the integrity of their feed, they’ve actively cultivated a receptive audience. Their audience trust them, take their advice and are less likely to suffer ad fatigue. Multiply that by many and you have far more clout than one hit with a macro influencer.

MICRO-INFLUENCERS: JUST ONE PART OF DIGITAL PR

We’re all about digital PR – earned media, social, influence. It’s omni-channel brand building. On steroids. Micro-influencers are just one strand of activity that contributes to the bigger picture; your ‘digital footprint’.

It’s your digital ‘footprint’, the culmination of all the places you’re talked about – both in and out of your control – that adds up to what your brands are ‘known for’. This means it can happen not only in earned media, but social, forums, specialist sites, dark social, in person.

There is an implicit focus on digital channels: the stories are enduring and findable beyond their publish date, and there are few brands whose audiences aren’t present and active online in some way. Plus it’s far more measurable than ever before. Find out more about our digital PR approach and influencer marketing services.

4 Reasons Why Micro-Influencers Punch Above Their Weight