A step-by-step guide to working with influencers with small followings and big impact.

Barney Packer is the founder and director of Modern Classic Digital, a UK-based digital PR agency.

Staying ahead of the competition is both a challenge and an objective for every business. As brands strive to connect with their target audience, traditional marketing tactics often fall short in the face of ever-evolving consumer preferences along with the ever-growing presence of social media platforms. So how do brands make the most of their presence in the digital world to stay ahead of competitors? Enter micro-influencers, the game-changers of social media and influencer marketing. 

So, if you want to make your brand shine online and learn about the huge range of benefits that micro-influencers offer, then read on.

What are micro-influencers and why are they important?

We define micro-influencers as anyone with 3,000 to 10,000 followers and an engagement rate (the average ratio of content likes to followers) above 3%. This methodology always makes clients feel confident in their choice to activate several smaller influencers instead of one big one.

Additionally, as micro-influencers usually have an industry focus (such as beauty, fashion, fitness or food), then they are ideal for collaboration as the influencer’s followers will be interested in your product – assuming it is directly related to their focus. 

It’s also crucial to remember that all gifted and sponsored partnerships need to clearly state that they are a form of advertising in the post; you could come into issues with advertising standards otherwise!

Benefits of working with micro-influencers

Working with micro-influencers in e-commerce comes with a multitude of benefits. Let’s explore some of the key advantages that micro-influencers bring to the table.

1. Authenticity and trust: Micro-influencers have built a loyal following by being authentic and genuine in their content. Their audience trusts their recommendations and views them as reliable sources of information. 
2. Social proof: Micro-influencers create social proof for your brand. When their followers see them using and endorsing your products, it creates a sense of credibility and legitimacy. This social proof can be a powerful motivator for potential customers, encouraging them to try your products or services.
3. Cost-effectiveness: Working with micro-influencers is more cost-effective compared to macro-influencers. Micro-influencers are often willing to collaborate in exchange for free products or a small fee, making them a great option for brands operating on a limited budget. 

A real-life look at a micro-influencer campaign

Modern Classic Digital activated micro-influencers for our client who is a UK coffee specialist. Our campaign achieved nearly 6,000 interactions from just three influencers, with a total following of 24k. That means we placed our client in front of 25% of the influencer’s followers and also generated huge buzz around their product, which we know from the overwhelmingly positive comment sections. Best part? It was a month-long campaign that can be repeated on a monthly basis. Here’s how we ran our campaign:

Influencer discovery: We shortlisted a range of micro-influencers who had an interest in coffee – particularly being able to turn a bean into a silky smooth espresso!

To find micro-influencers, go to Instagram, find a leading well-known influencer and look at their suggested accounts (tap the icon of a person with a plus sign next to them). From there, you can progressively discover influencers with a lower following that fits the profile of a micro-influencer. Repeat the process to find more accounts like them and check their comment sections for even more potential collaborators. It takes time, but it’s important to get this stage right. 

Approval: We ask the client to review the shortlist and pick their favourite influencers. This is always a great moment because the client gets to look through a range of hand-picked content, imagining their content at the centre of it all. 

Outreach and brief: Approved influencers are reached out to with a brief and a scope of work to agree to. This includes what we would like the influencer to publish (static image/reel/story frames etc), and when we would like them to post. It’s never too specific as we believe that allowing creativity always makes for better content.

Activate campaign: The content is created, approved and pushed live. It’s then our job to monitor likes, shares and comments on all posts. We also ask influencers to stagger their posts so that we maximise the client’s online presence — usually activating one influencer a week. It keeps the campaign in the spotlight for longer instead of being one forgetful splash; another big benefit of micro-influencers over macro.

Report and analysis: We gather data, store the content on a client-facing server, and create the campaign report. When compiling the report, consider campaign engagement rate, client profile insights, comment positivity and cost per engagement (cost of campaign/total engagements = CPE).

Micro-influencers are a hugely valuable form of influencer marketing. They drive fantastic results, get much more value than a big-budget influencer, and create genuinely interesting content. So if you’re a brand wanting people to know about your product, then consider micro-influencers; there’s a whole audience out there waiting for you.