Influencer marketing was rated the fastest-growing customer acquisition channel, and can also be one of the cheapest if the right strategies are utilised (Zheng, 2018). According to Zheng (2018) 59% of marketers are planning to increase their influencer marketing budgets over the next 12 months.
What makes an influencer a content amplifier?
The most effective metrics for determining influence is engagement (Patel, 2018). For example, an influencer with an engaged audience list of 2000 can be more help that an influencer with 10,000 social media connections they don’t engage with.
Rayson (2015) identified points of focus to utilise influencer marketing to obtain the most added value for the brand. The influencer should:
- Have a respect for your work and your content
- Have a passion about the areas you are focused in
- Have an audience that is interested in the content you are writing about
- Have an engaged audience, which means a high level of replies and retweets or an active blog following
Rayson (2015) studied the impact of social media shares by influencers that had an average of more than 2 on a blog post (See Figure 1). The results showed posts that were shared by 5 individuals with a retweet rate of higher than two received nearly 300% more social media shares.
Figure 1. Average shares per post by number of people sharing with a retweet average of above 2 (Rayson, 2015).
Micro vs Macro: Who’s right for your influencer campaign?
1. Engagement
Micro-influencers have much better engagement rates than macro-influencers (Barker, 2018). Though micro-influencers have fewer followers than macro-influencers, their followers are individuals who have a genuine interest in their content. Therefore, followers are more likely to engage with the content they post, even when it’s sponsored. Markerly’s (2016) study found that the engagement rate of influencers decreases as the number of followers increases.
Macro-Influencer @samanthamariaoffical. 567.1k followers, 20,660 likes (Data collected: 18/03/19)
Micro-Influencer @barefootcacker. 1832 followers, 566 likes (Data collected: 18/03/19)
2. Reach
Macro-influencers have a greater reach compared to micro-influencers; although micro-influencers have a significant following, their reach is nothing like that of macro-influencers (Barker, 2018).
There are a few differences in what people consider ‘macro’. According to Gottbrecht (2016), macro refers to individuals with 10,000 – 1 million followers, and micro refers to 500 – 10,000 followers. As their popularity increases, the number of followers a macro-influencer has may equate to over a million. Macro-influencers have the ability to promote a brand’s marketing message to a large audience with a single post.
3. Affordability
Despite the high level of reach macro-influencers offer, the cost of working with them makes them less accessible, especially for start-ups and small businesses with limited budgets (Barker, 2018).
Celebrity endorsement will generally require much higher payment than micro-influencers. One piece of content from a celebrity influencer could cost anywhere from £2000 – £50000, depending on their status and follower count (Hatton, 2018). Endorsements now make up approximately 25% of the Kardashians’ income, with Hatton (2018) estimating the Kardashians being paid £500,000 per post. Influencer posts now contain hashtags such as #ad, #gifted, #sponsored to maintain transparency in their content.
The cost to acquire a micro-influencer is based on more than just reach; higher engagement rates, better quality content, and more relevant audiences are all factors that warrant higher rates. Number of followers should NOT be the only consideration in choosing an influencer — especially with micro-influencers (Lee, 2016).
Figure 2. Micro-influencers cost graph in relation to following on Instagram (Lee, 2016).
Lee’s (2016) data shows 84% of micro-influencers charge less than $250 per branded Instagram post and 97% charge less than $500.
4. Relevance
A benefit of working with micro-influencers is their ability to connect with a highly-relevant audience; this could improve the cost-effectiveness and performance of the campaign significantly (Barker, 2018).
Micro-influencers are usually subject matter experts, so even though they have a smaller audience, followers are actually interested in the subjects. In terms of macro-influencers, in many cases, influencers can be seen promoting products or services completely unrelated to their niche.
5. Trust and Authenticity
According to TapInfluence (2018), the ROI of influencer marketing is 11 x higher than that of traditional advertising. This is due to consumers preferring to learn about products and services from relatable individuals rather than brands; therefore they are more likely to trust promotions and recommendations from an individual.
According to Collective Bias (2016), only 3% of consumers would consider buying a product endorsed by a celebrity, whereas 30% would consider purchasing a product endorsed by a non-celebrity influencer.
Conclusion:
The cost-effectiveness of working with micro-influencers makes up for what the influencer lacks in reach. This approach ensures the brand reaches a more relevant audience, with more authentic content. Furthermore, the content will be more likely to reach an audience which will engage with said content.
References:
Barker, S (2018) ‘How to get the most bang for your buck with influencer marketing’, Barker [online] Available at: https://shanebarker.com/blog/macro-vs-micro-influencer-marketing-campaign/ [Accessed: 18 Mar 2019]
Collective Bias (2016) ‘Peer have influence over consumers, celebrities don’t’, Collective Bias [online] Available at: https://www.collectivebias.com/blog/blog-2016-03-non-celebrity-influencers-drive-store-purchases [Accessed: 18 Mar 2019]
Gottbrecht, L (2016) ‘The three types of influencers all marketers should know’, Mavrck [online] https://www.mavrck.co/the-three-types-of-influencers-all-marketers-should-know-infographic/ [Accessed: 17 Mar 2019]
Hatton, G (2018) ‘Micro influencers vs macro influencers’, Social Media Today [online] Available at: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/micro-influencers-vs-macro-influencers/516896/ [Accessed: 17 Mar 2019]
Lee, K (2016) ‘How much does micro-influencer marketing cost’, Industry Insights [online] Available at: https://influence.bloglovin.com/how-much-does-micro-influencer-marketing-cost-8bace128ca75 [Accessed: 18 Mar 2019]
Markerly (2016) ‘Does influencer size matter’, Markerly [online] Available at: http://markerly.com/blog/instagram-marketing-does-influencer-size-matter/[Accessed: 16 Mar 2019]
Patel, N (2018) ‘How to create content that influencers will link to’, All-In-One [online] Available at: https://neilpatel.com/blog/how-to-create-content-that-influencers-will-link-to/ [Accessed: 18 Mar 2019]
Rayson, S (2015) ‘How to find influencers to amplify your content marketing’, Buzzsum [online] Available at: https://buzzsumo.com/blog/how-to-find-influencers-to-amplify-your-content-marketing/ [Accessed: 17 Mar 2019]
TapInfluence (2018) ‘Sales Effect Study’, Tap Influence [online] Available at: https://www.tapinfluence.com/tp_resource/nielsen-case-study/[Accessed: 17 Mar 2019]
Zheng, D (2018) ‘How to reach out to influencers so that they can’t say no’, The Daily Egg [online] Available at: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/influencers-that-cant-say-no/ [Accessed: 16 Mar 2019]
Bibliography:
Chaffey, D; Smith, P.R (2017) Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimising and Integrating Online Marketing, Routledge, New York: Abingdon, 5th edition
Fuchs, C (2014) Social Media: A Critical Introduction, SAGE: London