Should you use micro or macro influencers?

Influencer marketing is the hottest thing out there right now as we all know. But as influencer increases, so do their prices.

Does your influencer necessarily have to be a macro influencer to have any benefit to your brand?

The answer is: absolutely not.

Both types of influencers are very useful to your business and marketing strategy. However, there are a number of reasons that micro influencers may actually be the best way to go:

There is a high number of these influencers around

Micro influencers actually represent the majority of influencers – they are normal people like you and I, who run blogs, vlogs or social media channels with a number of loyal followers that are interested in their content and opinions.

As there are more of them, they are easier to contact and more willing to work with small companies because they themselves are building their brand.

25% – 50% engagement per post

Their engagement rate is high, they have a follower count ranging from 500 to 10000 and they engage with their audience on a one-to-one basis, respond to comments and have built their readers/subscribers trust by being themselves and being honest.

They cost less but their voice is valuable

They are less expensive to work with due to their lower number of followers but because their engagement rate is usually high, their audience (your target audience) will be influenced by their review or sponsored content about your brand and products. Their views are trusted and they will often express their opinions with their own tone of voice and personality which their followers know and love.

The higher the follower count, the lower the engagement

Macro influencers have anywhere between 10000 and 1 million followers – and it’s been found that influencers with these kind of numbers of followers have a much lower engagement rate than smaller influencers (5% to 25% engagement per post). The post will reach a higher number of people, yes. But how much is that worth in comparison to engagement and conversation on that post?

A micro influencer is likely to fit in better with your brand

It’s so important to find the right influencers to work with. If your brand doesn’t fit in with their style and personality, sponsored content won’t work well because the tone of voice would feel false and it may shake their followers’ trust in them and their authenticity.

Whatever your business, you should be able to find a micro influencer who will fit well with your brand and be able to authentically influence their followers into learning about you and maybe becoming your customers.

We estimate that the chance of this is higher than you might think! Never underestimate the power of word of mouth.