Micro-Influencer is a buzz word right now.
Finding and connecting with influencers, in fact, has become a business of its own.
Influencers have become that effective as a marketing channel.
Influencers can help you expand your brand, sell products and much more. They become an advocate for your stuff.
But they can be expensive.
You don’t, however, only have to engage the Big Dogs. There are now plenty of options for smaller players.
Enter the micro-influencer.
What’s A Micro-Influencer?
According to MediaKix, micro-influencers are defined as accounts with anywhere from 10,000-50,000 followers.
A micro-influencer is someone with a social media following that’s larger than a normal person’s but smaller than a celebrity’s. They use that following to promote products — either for money or just because they like them.
Why Work With Influencers?
A short list:
- Product launches – getting the word out to an engaged audience about a new product.
- Extending your reach – building social media presence.
- Reviews – influencers write reviews that many others look to when making decisions, and they’re better than normal reviews, with videos, etc.
- User Generated Content (UCG) – the best kind, when it’s featuring your product, and the UCG of influencers, like Reviews, is generally higher quality, backed by the authority of the influencer.
- Evergreen Content – wherever it resides, whether Instagram, Facebook or elsewhere, this content, once generated, lives on, becoming a never-ending source for customer engagement.
- Building your Brand off Amazon – vital for future expansion and even the eventual sale of your business.
Working with influencers can be less expensive at the end of the day, and more effective, than just about any other form of marketing.
Word of mouth is still the best method of promotion.
Where Do You Start?
Lots of questions in this area.
- How do I find influencers?
- What do I look for?
- Once I find them, how do I engage?
- How much do I pay them (or do you)?
For starters, when using this method you want to look for influencers meeting the above criteria. These smaller, or micro-influencers, are generally the ones that will do reviews or promote in exchange for free products.
To engage you can start the dialog by sending a message on whatever platform you’re connecting on. Look at other conversation threads, and reach out to them with something personal that is clearly coming from a human, and specifically one who’s paying attention and is interested in THEM.
You might pay them with product, or give them money to purchase the product, or make them an affiliate (affiliate link) so they can earn commissions for purchases of products they recommend. When they’re a smaller influencer it is much more likely you’ll be able to work out an exchange of this sort rather than needing to pay them directly.
Is This For Me?
If you’re established as an Amazon seller, and/or have an established product, this is a definite. This method is one of the best methods for gaining exposure and social proof for your products.
We did a whole video training on this very subject:
Watch that and get more details on how you can take advantage of this superior marketing avenue. And as always, let us know if you have any questions.
To your success,
Marc Jepsen
COO ManageByStats
