Many influencers live most of their lives prioritizing their online presence to cultivate enough followers to, well… influence, but what about those of us who don’t have the time, resources, or will to attain such lofty social media goals?
Well, we can always strive to become micro influencers. In fact, there are some statistics doing the rounds that position it as a preferable endeavor, and we’re going to show you how you can achieve it in 4 simple steps.
According to a study carried out by Shopify, most marketers prefer to work with micro influencers than the big name influencers that dominate our socials, and this is a trend that’s forecasted to continue.
So, how can you get in on the action while the going’s good?
Read on and all will be revealed!
What Is A Micro Influencer?
Micro influencers do the same things as regular influencers but without the bazillion followers. These smaller-scale online personalities typically have followers ranging from 1000 to 25,000 engaged people.
More often than not, they have more of a precise MO, showing expertise in only one, or perhaps two, niches.
Why Should You Become A Micro Influencer?
In the early days of influencer marketing, the general principle was that people were more likely to take recommendations on products and services from people they were acquainted with and trusted.
Initially, we didn’t know that these online celebs were being paid crazy bucks to promote the wares in question… but we cottoned on eventually.
The jig was up, and the sacred bond of trust between regular Joe and super influencer was compromised, but there was a way businesses could rekindle these broken relationships… by digging beneath the glitz and glamour and doing business with lesser-known names with expertise in a given niche.
As “normies” with a decent following, they’re the perfect conduit to sell through and generate trusting relationships with an audience.
Micro influencers are the ultimate marketing tool, so you can do very well in this field of work, and perhaps best of all, as you’ll b passionate about your niche, you won’t be “selling your soul”.
You can be honest, pick and choose who to work with, and keep things super relevant and helpful to your audience!
How To Make It As A Micro Influencer: A Step-By-Step Guide
One of the best things about micro influencing is that you don’t need an army of followers, just a few dedicated souls who are willing to interact with you. Brands are realizing that stacked audiences don’t matter if 90% of them are completely passive.
An engaged audience that likes and comments on your posts and has a genuine interest in the niche is a much richer consumer pool. There are, however, some essential things you must do if you want to make it as a micro influencer.
Step 1: Settling On A Niche
Okay, so we’ve established that brands are hungry for a more modestly sized, engaged audience, but to get that, you have to be an authentic voice in the field.
In other words, you have to find your niche and build your audience by gaining and sharing expertise or coming up with a novel angle on the niche that hasn’t been done before.
Take Emily Hopkins, for example. Although she does have a respectable amount of knowledge on the topic, she managed to conquer the highly saturated guitar pedal influencer pool by playing her harp through the pedals instead of guitars or synths.
This is what we mean by a novel approach. But what should your niche be?
Well, it should be something you unapologetically nerd out over. It doesn’t have to be your all-time favorite thing in the world, but you should have a keen interest in and a willingness to study it.
You might also want to consider the market saturation in any given niche. Are there thousands of people already doing it well?
Could you break into the scene with an interesting approach à la Emily, or would it be best to choose another area of focus?
Step 2: Keep Content Relevant
Once you’ve settled on your niche, get to work establishing yourself as an authority on the subject. You can only do this by keeping your content relevant.
Don’t spread yourself too thin by promoting tenuously related products and brands. Stay true to your mission!
If you keep your content focused, you’ll gain a loyal following much quicker than you would by trying to appeal to a wider audience composed of discrete demographics.
You should also do whatever it takes to come across organically, meaning you should never be too pushy with your endorsements, and you should always try to speak with an air of honesty, ensuring your audience that they’re your number one priority.
Step 3: Approaching Relevant Brands
If you absolutely nail steps 1 and 2, you may be lucky enough that fantastic brands reach out to you, but this is a rarity. Don’t take it as a failure if you have to do the reaching, as this is the most common path to success in this industry.
You should now make contact with 3 or 4 brands you and your audience are interested in. Sticking with a handful of relevant brands means you can focus on creating high-quality content guaranteed to generate audience engagement.
Being too broad with your brand leanings can inspire disinterest and may cause loyalty issues with certain companies.
It’s important that you have principles when making your selections. Nothing builds trust between you and your audience quicker than turning down an opportunity to work with a brand due to steadfast internal moral obligations.
Step 4: Create & Tag Targeted Content For Your Brand Partners
Now’s the time to deliver your content, making sure to tag your partnered brands in your posts so your audience knows where they can find more info and buy products/services. Don’t go OTT with your tagging, though.
Remember, your ultimate goal is to create a culture of trust, and excessive tagging comes off as pushy. Only ever tag brands if they’re relevant to the post; don’t just become an online billboard.
You are a complex, intelligent person that also just so happens to be the ultimate marketing tool!
Final Thoughts
Micro influencer marketing has already irrevocably changed the advertising landscape, but this strategy and profession is only just getting started!
The modestly-sized, dedicated audience of micro influencers is the most loyal and engaged demographic, making you the most valuable weapon in a brand’s arsenal.
If you are looking to get started and learn. check out our article on Wealthy Affiliates. What you learn here will help you whether you choose to blog, youtube, TikTok, or whichever platform and style you choose.