The high competition in the eCommerce industry has driven many professionals to resort to multiple marketing strategies to attract customers attention and increase sales. One of the most prominent trends in the marketing industry right now is influencer marketing.
While top influencers are often inaccessible and too expensive for smaller brands, micro-influencers can easily become a part of your marketing plan and bring increased profit to your business.
If you are doubtful about engaging micro-influencers in your online promotions, the following reasons will further explain why investing in this marketing strategy will be your gateway to success.
1. Micro-Influencers are a Part of the Ruling Industry
Social media has become an inevitable part of life and in turn, has opened many doors for business.
According to Forbes, an account with over a million followers can earn up to $50,000 for a single sponsored post (depending on its engagement). This reinforces the importance of investing money in influencer marketing. While paying $50,000 for a single post is unreachable to smaller brands, micro-influencers (usually from 3,000 to 10,000 followers) promise higher engagement and better access at a fraction of the cost.
Two separate studies by HelloSociety and Markerly even found that influencers with smaller followings tend to have much higher engagement rates than influencers with tens of thousands of followers. The reason why is that when an influencer gets too popular, they attract people who aren't that much engaged and loyal.
To put it simply, micro-influencers are a great tool for boosting your eCommerce sales because:
- they’re affordable for smaller businesses,
- they increase post engagement,
- they help you find your place under the social media spotlight,
- they are already successful on social media and can help you be successful, too.
With that said, there Is no doubt that partnering with a micro-influencer can lead to great social media marketing, and increased sales.
2. Micro-Influencers Include a Personal Story
Your potential customers are constantly being presented with ads trying to convince them to buy something. The average person is served over 1,700 banner ads per month but only half of them are ever viewed. The general consumer is becoming tired of being inundated with the same traditional advertising content as seen in places such as television and billboards.
Even if you try to include some personal stories in these conventional ads, they always look staged and that makes it harder to get the audience to trust you.
However, micro-influencers can make what is actually an ad seem like a real-life example. They can benefit your promotion because they usually include a personal story,which makes your product or services more reliable and relatable.
In addition, the audience can relate themselves to the influencer’s story, recognize their own problem or struggle, and rely on personal experiences when deciding whether to make a purchase.
Take influencer Natalie Kay (@sustainablychic) as an example. In this sponsored post paid for by Woobamboo, besides including the important facts about the product, she also adds a personal touch.
This personal element makes the whole post look far more realistic. Her engaged followers, who likely trust and rely on her influence, might just consider getting a bamboo toothbrush themselves.
Therefore, micro-influencers can help you:
- make an ad more realistic and personal
- reach a bigger audience
- connect with potential customers on a more personal level
It is a winning formula which can increase your sales.
3. Micro-Influencers Have an Established Connection with the Audience
It has become quite obvious that trust and close relationship with the audience is critical to influence purchasing decisions. People are more trusting of a company when they have received a recommendation from a close friend or acquaintance.
Micro-influencers have fostered connection with their audience, and here’s how:
- Bonding over time
By closely following an influencer for a certain amount of time, followers get the feeling that they know that person and in turn, are more likely to trust his or her judgment.
- Trust
People following micro-influencers begin to build trust with that person. Even though they’ve never met them, they still feel like they know the micro-influencer and are a part of their life. This is exactly why consumers can relate to them, their thoughts, and experiences which impact people's opinions and purchase decisions.
- Feedback
While famous influencers don’t have time to respond to people's comments or use professional social media managers to do this, micro-influencers usually communicate with other users by themselves. They read comments, direct messages, and questions. They invest their time and energy into responding to followers and thanking them for their support. It makes their bond with their audience even stronger.
Therefore, micro-influencers are already connected with their audience and have a strong bond with their followers. Once you include a micro-influencer in your own marketing strategy, you get a piece of that cake yourself.
4. Micro-Influencers Immediately Lead Audience to Your Business
Another way for you to create a successful marketing strategy using micro-influencers is to have them lead your target audience directly to your eCommerce website or a landing page which will, in turn, lead to an increase in sales.
All you have to do is give the selected influencers the links required to promote your business. Partner up with a micro-influencer and use one (or more) of the following strategies:
- Link in Bio
Ask the influencer to include a direct link to your eCommerce website or a special-offer landing page in their bio. In addition, have them make a post in which they’ll call their followers to check out that link. This strategy is well-known and is often used by influencers for marketing purposes. Check out how this micro-influencer promotes her blog in the bio.
- Call-to-Action
Get inspired by famous brands like J. Crew and add a CTA. Come up with a catchy and intriguing call-to-action then have it promoted by a micro-influencer. This will increase the engagement rate and boost your sales.
- Promotions and discounts
You can also use micro-influencers to offer discounts and promotions directly. This has become an effective tactic for many brands.
Encourage the micro-influencer to include a promo code in their post or a discount which will inevitably drive the attention of many because they have the recommendation of their trusting influencer AND an opportunity to save money.
To sum it up, all you have to do is provide a link leading to something you wish for the audience to see, and have it promoted by the influencer. By including direct links and call-to-action in their posts, influencers will increase the engagement rate. Even if initially the consumer wasn’t interested in buying any products, they may just click the link out of curiosity and end up purchasing your product or service.
5. Micro-Influencers Validate Your Brand
Your brand requires validation and credibility to have more people engage with it, intending to get loyal customers. Most of the people who intend on purchasing something online, engaging with a business for the first time, need some type of confirmation or evidence that the business in question can be trusted.
This is why most potential customers first conduct research of their own to ensure they won’t be tricked into buying something of poor quality. Here is a little look into their process:
- Read Reviews
Your potential customers will read and analyze reviews left by previous customers to ensure that they are positive.
- Find Reviews
They’ll find different sources of information to see how your business ranks in comparison to its competitors.
- Read Blog Posts
Potential customers will use blogs as sources of information about your business.
In other words, before making a purchase, many potential customers read reviews, blog posts, and evaluations from various sources. If you don’t have many thriving reviews, you can count on micro-influencers.
It can only take a few posts by micro-influencers to validate your business.
Experts even states that micro-influencers are considered more credible, believable, and knowledgeable than an average person.
Therefore, you need to team up with an influencer who:
- believes in your brand
- actually finds it valuable
- will make a sincere statement about it
- will recommend your brand honestly
Their followers and your potential customers will recognize the sincerity and that will give them that extra push in the right direction, and encourage them to become your customer.
Conclusion
If you decide to team up with micro-influencers, keep in mind that a single post will not obtain as much result as continuous cooperation. Like any other marketing strategy, this takes work, but you will realize that there are many benefits in building long-term relationships with these brand advocates.
Bring your brand closer to your target audience and connect with them on a more personal level by having a micro-influencer as your mediator. Once they have turned people's attention to your product, it all comes down to your business to prove their boasts and statements right.
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