“Influencer” is among the most popular searches in recent years. According to Statista, the global influencer marketing market reached 21.1 billion US dollars in 2023, a threefold increase from 2019. The Influencer Marketing Hub believes that it will be worth approximately $24 billion by the end of 2024.
It comes as no surprise that brands are actively looking for potential influencers. You have arrived at the right place if you are as well. In this article, we won’t talk about celebrity influencers like the Kadashians or Rihanna. We’ll show you how to find micro-influencers – the smaller but no less powerful base.
Let’s dive in!
What are Micro-influencers?
Micro-influencers are social media stars that have 10,000 to 100,000 followers. This audience size might seem small at first glance, especially compared to larger influencers who reach millions of followers through their posts. However, around 77% of brands work with micro-influencers. So, there must be reasons for this.
The most crucial factor is micro-influencers’ ability to develop deeper connections with their followers. Research states that they have the highest engagement rate of any sort of creator (6%).
However, micro-influencers are vast, accounting for 47.3% of all creators. To ensure you find the right partners for your brands, consider the following factors:
- Niche and audience: Look for micro-influencers who work on a relevant niche and have a related engaged audience.
- Content style and aesthetics: Identify influencers whose content style (e.g., photography, humor, storytelling) resonates with your brand image and messaging.
- Engagement rate: The follower count is simply a ticket to round one. To choose the ideal partners, you must investigate their engagement rates (e.g., likes, comments, and shares).
- Location (optional): For local-focused goals, prioritize micro-influencers who focuses on your city or surrounding area.
4 Strategies to Find Micro-Influencers
Once you’ve set clear criteria for your potential micro-influencers, it’s time for hunting. However, finding the right creators is not easy at all. According to Econsultancy, around 73% of marketers believe this is the most difficult aspect of the influencer partnering process.
But fear not! We’ve helped you identify the most possible methods for an effective approach. Check them out!
Leverage Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok and Twitter) are goldmines for discovering micro-influencers. They allow you to target the ones that align with your brand the most. This method is cost-effective yet time-consuming. It requires manual work regarding searching, filtering, examining, etc. So, here are our tips:
- Hashtag research
Leverage the power of hashtags to find suitable micro-influencers. You should use hashtags that are relevant to your niche to identify who consistently creates high-quality content.
We did an Instagram hashtag search: #yogalife. Amazingly, there are over 15.6 million posts about this topic. Scrolling down through the endless posts, we found some micro-influencers who might be a good fit, Erin Helm – a yoga teacher, is one of them.
- Location tagging
Sometimes, you need to use location tagging for geographically targeted campaigns. This way, you can reach social media influencers with a localized audience, perfect for promoting your local businesses or service-based offerings.
For instance, when we searched for hashtag #texasfoodblogger on Instagram, there were 17,236 results. One of them is a post by the “stxfoodie” of Eva. She’s a food tour in Texas with 38.6K followers.
- Social listening tools
Social listening tools (e.g., Brandwatch or Spout Social) help you track brand mentions across social media. They’ll reveal influencers who mentioned you with an @ in their posts. These partners might already be organically discussing your products or services.
So, if you found influencers who are passionate about your brand, why not nurture those relationships? This organic approach often leads to more authentic and impactful influencer campaigns. Plus, it saves you a lot of time.
Utilize Influencer Marketing Platforms:
Are you a blind explorer? Then, influencer marketing platforms can help you become a strategic hunter.
You don’t need to wade through endless social media profiles to find ideal partners. You’ll use sophisticated filters instead. These tools will refine your search by demographics, location, niche categories (e.g., beauty, travel, fitness), etc.
Unlike relying solely on follower count, they’ll give you data on engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares). With this approach, you can examine and choose ideal influencers whose audience perfectly overlaps with your target market.
There are diverse influencer marketing platforms in the market, so it’s crucial to conduct a thorough evaluation before making any commitments. Typically, look into their targeting capabilities, analytics tools, and the quality of influencers within their database to see whether they align with your needs. Plus, choose a platform that offers the most affordable pricing plans.
Explore Industry Blogs and Communities
Social media and influencer platforms offer valuable tools for hunting the best micro-influencers. However, let’s take a quick break from them and enter the world of industry blogs and communities.
These places are passionate hubs for niche expertise. In other words, micro-influencers might gather here to share insights for a common interest.
Let’s say you’re promoting a new line of natural skincare products. You can tap into beauty blogs and online forums to find ideal collaborators. They’re often knowledgeable individuals who actively discuss product recommendations, DIY beauty recipes, sustainable practices, etc.
What we value most about the blogs and communities is that they create a space for organic relationship building. It means you can actively participate in discussions and connect with collaborators on a more personal level.
For instance, you can share informative blog posts about natural skincare ingredients on relevant and discuss with passionate individuals who are interested.
When joining these communities and forums, you should assess influencers’ content quality and audience engagement beyond follower count.
Look for those who consistently create high-quality content and actively engage with others. Once you’ve identified potential partners, take the conversation beyond the comments section. You can send them an email or direct message to expect further collaborations.
Attend Industry Events and Conferences
Let’s take the collaboration to the next level! Here comes the power of handshakes and genuine conversations in industry events.
Yes, you can leave the digital profiles behind and meet micro-influencers in person. You can witness firsthand how they present themselves and connect with others. Based on your observance of their speaking style and stage presence, you might have better insights beyond follower count and online engagement metrics.
Besides, remember that attending industry events is a perfect way to connect with micro-influencers within your niche. The connection is on a deeper level. There are no impersonal outreach emails. Instead, you can talk face-to-face with them. This can create a foundation for a more successful and long-term partnership.
Beneficial as it is, you can’t join a certain event or workshop without preparation. So, here are crucial tactics:
– Do pre-event research. It’s better to find events or conferences that align with your industry. For instance, if you work in the Beauty field, you can join Cosmoprof North America, Premiere Orlando- Beauty Show, Makeup Show NYC, etc.
Before registering, you should review the event agenda, identify speakers, and research potential influencer partners.
– Focus on quality interactions. These events often have thousands of attendees. It’s not a good idea to collect a stack of business cards. Instead, you should prioritize in-depth conversations with a few potential partners who are genuinely interested in your brands and products.
– Ask for further discussions after the event. Well, a few hours at the event is not enough for the whole collaboration. You need to keep in touch with them after that. It could involve sending emails or chatting through social media channels to discuss your expectations further.
How to Reach Out to Potential Micro-Influencers
So, you’ve identified talented micro-influencers perfectly aligned with your brand. What to do next? Well, CONNECT!
Keep scrolling to learn the step-by-step guide for reaching out to potential micro-influencers.
Craft a Personalized Outreach Message
This is the first impression you make, so take time to understand the influencer before hitting “send”. You need to know the type of content they create, their style, and audience. If possible, dive deep into how they interacted with similar brands in the past. These types of information will make your newsletter more personal, resulting in a better effect.
Regarding the self-introduction, make it concise and impressive. Remember to explain how your brand is relevant to the influencer’s niche. Plus, say how their content interests you. You can mention a specific post or aspect of their work that speaks to you and your brand. This shows you’ve actually been paying attention.
Then, express your genuine interest in working with them. Briefly describe the type of collaboration that you expect. For example, it could be about product reviews, joint videos, podcast episodes, social media giveaways, etc. This clarity sets the stage for a meaningful collaboration that benefits both parties.
Note: Be mindful of time zone differences when sending emails or messages to influencers.
Highlight Collaboration Benefits
When reaching out to micro-influencers, outlining the benefits of partnering with you is crucial. It shows you value their time and influence.
Now, consider what might be most enticing to the influencer. For US-based influencers, some practical benefits might be listed as follows:
- Free products/services:
It’s better to tailor the product offerings to their niche and audience. For example, you can offer a curated selection of jewelry for a fashion influencer or tech accessories for a tech influencer.
Micro-influencers also love being the first to try something new. So, you can offer them exclusive access to upcoming launches for reviews or content creation.
Additionally, consider sending subscription boxes (if applicable). This way, influencers can consistently experience your products and keep their audience engaged with long-term reviews.
- Commissions:
Another popular benefit is offering competitive commissions. Well, influencers will earn something if they do it well.
We recommend researching industry standards for your niche to see what others offer. As you provide a commission structure, be clear and upfront about how it is calculated. Will it be a fixed rate or a percentage of sales? Is there a tiered structure based on performance??
Additionally, consider offering additional incentives to motivate influencers much further. Typically, brands issue bonuses when influencers exceed sales milestones or drive significant traffic to your website.
- Discount codes
This is another benefit that most influencers love. You can offer discount codes for influencers to use themselves. Otherwise, give discounts so they can offer them to their friends and followers.
- Non-monetary incentives
Besides these monetary-based benefits, you can offer micro-influencers brand exposure and growth opportunities.
Regarding brand exposure, consider giving them shoutouts or interviewing them for your blog. You can also develop creative content campaigns together. This could involve limited-edition product lines featuring their designs or exclusive discount codes for their followers.
Growth opportunities are varied. You can offer them educational resources (e.g., workshops. online courses). Inviting them to conferences, trade shows, or networking events is another great idea.
Transparency and Open Communication
Finally, ensure transparency and open communication. These elements are key to a successful and lasting collaboration. So, what should brands do?
Be transparent about the program:
– Clearly outline the campaign goals with the influencers. What do you hope to achieve with the partnership? Is it about brand awareness, increased website traffic, or driving sales? What do you expect from the influencers?
– Explain how you’ll be compensating the influencer. As we’ve said earlier, tell them the details of the main benefits and any additional incentives
– Set a clear timeline for the content creation, campaign duration, and overall collaboration
Encourage open communication
– Encourage the influencer to ask questions and speak about their issues
– Sometimes, they may have valuable insights on how to present your brand best. So, encourage them to share ideas throughout the collaboration
– Be receptive to their feedback and promptly address any issues that may arise.
Pros Tips for Finding Micro-Influencers
Last but not least, explore extra tips to take your hunting to the next level. These methods focus on the resources within your brand. Let’s see what they are!
Run Micro-Influencer Contests
Contests entice everyone, including micro-influencers. So, use this strategy to tap into the power of user-generated content and identify relevant influencers who are already fans of your brand or product.
You can design the contest to encourage content related to your brand, such as creative photos, videos, or reviews.
Then, get a lot of people to know about the contest by sharing it on your website, social media, emails, etc. Make sure to use clear contest guidelines and highlight the chance to become your partner.
Contest needs to have prize! So, offer attractive prizes that appeal to your target audience. Consider offering them discounts, exclusive access to new products, cash rewards, etc.
Finally, set criteria to define winners. Our tip is not just to focus on follower count. Look for entries with high engagement (likes, comments, shares) and relevant content that aligns with your brand image.
Note: You need to set a reasonable contest duration. Consider your goal and resources to strike a balance between a shorter contest, which might generate rapid buzz, and a longer one, which encourages more entries.
Partner with Existing Brand Advocates:
This strategy focuses on customers who are already passionate about your brand and regularly engage with your content on social media. Here’s how to find them:
– Track social media mentions. As we’ve mentioned earlier, you can use social listening technologies or track branded hashtags to find consumers who are naturally posting positive content about your company.
– Analyze consumer reviews and feedback. Many customers might express enthusiasm and share their experiences with your brand. Reach out to see if they’re interested in a more formal collaboration.
– Launch a referral program. Many businesses utilize this method to encourage existing customers to recommend their brand to their networks. This might help you identify more relevant micro-influencers in their circles.
Utilize Employee Advocacy Programs:
Well, no need to dive further. Your employees can be powerful micro-influencers. So, why not incentivize them to promote your brands within their networks?
You can create a brand ambassador program. Here, you can train them on your brand messaging and social media guidelines.
Offering incentives is a must! You need to clearly discuss their benefits when joining the program and successfully share creative content. For instance, you can offer them gift cards, bonuses, or recognition within the company.
Besides, you need to give them extra resources and support. Though your employees know your company the best, they still need detailed training and guidelines to understand the promotion campaigns.
FAQs
- How much does it cost to hire a micro-influencer?
The cost of hiring a micro-influencer varies depending on many factors, such as the exact follower base, engagement rate, content type, campaign duration, social media platform, etc. For instance, while the price per post of a micro TikTok influencer is about $25–$125, that of a Youtube micro-influencer is $200–$5,000.
- How do you discover micro-influencers?
There are diverse ways to find micro-influencers. You can use hashtags and influencer search tools, join an influencer marketing agency or platforms, or attend industry events to find them. Running contests or exploring your customer/employee base is another effective approach.
- How do I find the best micro-influencers?
Remember not to focus totally on follower counts to decide the best micro – influencers. Don’t be fooled by fake followers! You need to examine other factors as well. Some crucial ones include authenticity, content quality, engagement rate, type of influencers, relevance to your brand, and transparency.
Conclusion
We’ve walked you through a detailed guide to finding micro-influencers. In short, influencers operate on multiple platforms and industries. Since they’re vast, having a clear plan for approaching them is critical. And we hope this article is helpful.
Ultimately, brands aim to build a relationship with prospective influencers that’s not just profitable but meaningful and enduring. Thus, carefully consider your target audience, your campaign objectives, and of course, your budget. This way, you can expand your reach to the most perfect fit for your brands, yielding better marketing results.
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