If we were talking about influencer marketing a few years ago, the only image that would come to our mind was of celebrities and established bloggers promoting something. But now things have changed. Businesses have started looking for micro-influencers on any micro-influencer platform. Micro-influencers have up the ante of the influencer marketing industry. With more than $10 billion worth, its future seems bright.
Every other person uses social media. YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch have emerged as a hub for micro-influencers. If your brand has not used micro-influencers' power to promote your brand yet, then you're literally living under a rock.
The brands still make a lot of mistakes while hiring micro-influencers that cost them ROIs. Want to avoid such issues? Here’re some mistakes that you could avoid making while finding micro-influencers.
1. Not Having a Proper Plan of Action
Micro-influencers are those who have followers from 1000-100,000. Though there isn't any particular no. of followers, it's a rough estimation. Influencer marketing is booming like anything in these past couple of years. It has changed the way of communication along with the brand and its target audience. It has changed the graph of sales.
Recent research said that more than 75% of brands find influencer marketing better than the others and also it has got better results. More traffic, and ultimately huge sales. Amidst, all of this, brands often make mistakes in either targeting one type of influencer or choosing the right micro-influencer platform. Be it a micro-influencer or big influencer, they don't know whom to choose and how to go live with these influencers.
As the name suggests, micro-influencers are not so famous, but they have a loyal audience, built from scratch. They are often considered an expert in their particular niche. Even with the less following, they get greater ROI. So, when your brand targets any micro-influencer, he must have a genuine audience. If you're having a barter system with at least 10-20 micro-influencers, try to go live with them on the same day. Your goal must be to create a name for your brand. Your brand name should be there in your target audience's mind.
The average engagement of micro-influencers having 1000-5000 followers is likely to be 4.5%-5%. So, now you know how micro-influencers can help you a lot.
2. Going for No. of Followers Rather Than the Results
Choosing the right micro-influencer after the planning is one of the most crucial challenges of influencer marketing. People often misunderstand a high no. of followers with great engagement. Not every influencer with a huge no. of followers is likely to bring sales for your brand. Followers do matter, but not more than the content or the reach. People nowadays can easily buy fake followers.
You don't want to grow your brand on micro-influencer platforms, where influencers with fake followers are earning fame, right? They do not know if your brand exists or not, nor do they interact with the content the other person posts. When people follow you organically, then there are high chances that they are interested in your business and they will engage in your content as well.
There's an easy way to know whether the influencers you are choosing for your brand have genuine followers or not. Fake followers won't interact, and hence even if the person has 20k followers, there will be hardly 200 likes in the post. That's why, it's said to focus on the engagement these influencers bring, other than their no. of followers.
3. Not Working With Micro-Influencers Who Actively Interact With Followers
Researching completely before actually closing the deal with an influencer is a must thing. You can see if the interaction in the post reels does justice to the number of followers they have. Even though, if the views on the reels are quite a lot, and the followers don't actually interact with the content, then you might want to have someone better. Views matter a lot. The reels can skyrocket any influence's career, and also any brand sale graph.
But for that, your influencer along with views needs action. No matter how many people are scrolling through the reel, they must stop, click and take action. This will either make them end up buying your product or nonetheless, it increases your brand visibility with time. Many times, people do click on the post, but not for the product but for the influencer itself. So for both, your brand as well as the influencer, you should present your brand/product, so that it highlights your brand more.
If you're going to work with someone, who has already worked with someone from your niche, your competitor. Then, it is best to track how their post did, when posted. It's up to you, how creative you can get, to outstand your brand. Keep a regular track of all these basic things, it will help you a long way, to know which influencer to go with.
4. Not Following the Right Procedure
One of the major mistakes brands makes after successfully getting on board any influencer is that they think their work is done there. They don't want to put effort and actually discuss with the influencer how to actually take things forward.
It's after the influencer actually posts something valuable and the brand is filled with queries. And if so, you are not present to handle your consumers well. Then, it can create a very bad image for your brand. You have to be available to your consumers. Though it is quite impossible to reply to all of the DMS. The genuine ones, with actual queries and constructive comments, must be attended to for the overall growth of your business, brand.
If you communicate with your audience respectfully initially and will be there without breaking the communication chain. Then they are likely to come back and not ghost you every time you tell them your prices.
5. Creating Hurdles in the Creativity of the Influencers
Every influencer who has made their name in the industry, or is trying to make a name, has got something. Something unique for which their followers follow them. They contribute to the industry with their style, in presenting videos. Some with memes, some with humor, and some with classy fashionable styles. Each one of them is a king/ queen of their own niche.
So when you collaborate with an influencer, you shouldn't ever be in between their creativity. You should include them, their creative team with your idea, and the process of how you want your brand to be showcased.
The Key Takeaway
Mistakes are brutal and influencer marketing is not an exception. Make sure you know what's right to avoid issues while hiring micro-influencers. It doesn't matter if you are choosing a Youtube, Instagram, or Twitch micro-influencer, choosing a micro-influencer platform such as https://socialbook.io/plans makes things easier. So choose wisely and avoid the mistakes that could make things complicated while finding micro-influencers.
In the realm of influencer marketing, micro influencers have managed to attract quite a lot of attention with their authenticity, which has made them the most preferred out of the millions of influencers that we see at present.
Brands, small and large are hiring the best influencer marketing agency in India to promote their values; and are investing their money in micro influencers when they have the budget to reach out to influencers with a huge follower base.
A micro influencer is the one with a dedicated follower base between 2000 and 50000 followers.
These micro influencers target a particular niche and hold expertise n the same, which makes them different from the other categories of influencers.
Here are some reasons why micro influencers are high in demand:#1: Micro influencers are credibleMicro influencers are not like power influencers, they are regular people like us, and they share their personal experiences in the form of recommendations, reviews likes and dislikes.
These influencers are believable and more relatable.#2: Micro influencers reflect authenticity Micro influencers generate organic, high-quality, out of the box content for brands, which drives a good ROI for them.
