Author: Franz Malten Buemann

Influencer marketing has become more integral to marketing campaigns as brands try to reach audiences on platforms geared toward community building and creating content than companies. When you think of influencer marketing, you probably think of influencers with large followings collaborating with brands; however, smaller influencers (also called micro-influencers) are gaining traction among marketers.

HubSpot recently surveyed 1,200 global marketers and found that 64% of marketers listed micro-influencers among the creators they worked with throughout 2022. 53% of marketers said they plan on working with micro-influencers in 2023. So, why are marketers shifting their focus toward micro-influencers, and should you do the same? To answer these questions, here are four data-driven reasons to work with micro-influencers on your next campaign.

What are micro-influencers?
Our survey defined micro-influencers as creators and influencers with a follower/subscriber count ranging from 10,000 to 99,999. Micro-influencers are very well known within their niche and have a close relationship with their followers, resulting in high engagement.
Why Companies Should Work with Micro-Influencers
Here are four reasons your company should consider working with micro-influencers.
1. Micro-influencers have excellent engagement rates.
Our survey found that 33% of marketers reported having the most success with micro-influencers compared to nano, macro, and mega-influencers. As I said before, micro-influencers have very high engagement, so it’s no surprise that a third of our respondents reported great success working with them.
Micro-influencers boast high engagement because it’s easier to connect with and build a bond with fewer followers versus millions of followers.
A recent study by Later x Forh shows that the fewer followers an influencer has on Instagram, the higher their engagement rate. Instagram users with less than 1000 followers also receive likes from up to 8% of total followers, while users with 10 million+ followers receive only 1.7%.
2. They are more cost-effective than macro-influencers.
According to Shopify, micro-influencers with 5,000 to 30,000 followers charge between $73 and $318 per social media post. Specifically, Shopify says businesses can expect to pay micro-influencers around the following prices:

$172 for an Instagram post
$219 for an Instagram video
$73 for an Instagram story
$318 for a Facebook post
$908 for a YouTube video

This is less than influencers with more than 500,000 followers. These influencers typically charge between $2,085 and $3,318 per post. For these influencers, companies can expect to pay:

$2,085 for an Instagram post
$3,318 for an Instagram video
$721 for an Instagram story
$2,400 for a Facebook post
$3,857 for a YouTube video

If you’re a smaller business looking to tap into a more targeted audience online without exceeding your budget, micro-influencers would be a worthy investment.
3. They account for almost half of all influencers.
Micro-influencers with 5,000 to 20,000 followers account for 47.3 percent of influencers. Mid-tier influencers make up 26.8%, and nano-influencers make up 18.74%. Macro-influencers are rare in the influencer marketing landscape.
With micro-influencers making up such a massive portion of the market, finding one who fits your niche, shares your vision, and can tap into your audience is highly possible.
4. They foster authenticity and trust within their niche.
As mentioned earlier, micro-influencers can form a close bond with their audience, which leads to higher engagement than macro-influencers. Suppose you’re able to get a micro-influencer to support your product. In that case, that influencer will likely boost your reputation and build confidence regarding your business.
5 Brands Who Collaborate with Micro-Influencers
The following brands have included micro-influencer marketing in their marketing strategy:
1. La Croix
Sparkling water brand La Croix has collaborated with multiple micro-influencers to showcase its products. To encourage influencer collaborations, the brand sends vouchers for free cases of their drinks to micro-influencers with as little as 1000 followers. For example, the following Instagram post shows micro-influencer and journalist Andrea Albers holding a can of La Croix next to a Christmas tree.

2. Daniel Wellington
Daniel Wellington is a Swedish watch brand that started its global ambassador community to foster collaborations with micro-influencers. The company’s daily #DWPickoftheday contest challenges influencers to create exciting content to be featured on the company’s main account. Micro-influencers like Melanie Vaclavikova are often featured on the company’s Instagram.

3. Asos
Online retailer Asos works with micro-influencers via its Asos Insiders program. Through the program, Asos finds influencers of all follower counts to promote its clothing and beauty products. One micro-influencer the retailer has worked with is Lauren Nicole, a fashion influencer and editor with 74.6 followers on Instagram.

4. Coca-Cola
Even huge, long-standing brands like Coca-Cola have leveraged micro-influencer marketing in campaigns. Coca-Cola’s #Cokeambassador campaign welcomes influencers to post photos and videos of themselves with Coca-Cola products.

5. Sperry
Boat shoe brand Sperry frequently collaborates with micro-influencers on its social media. Sperry will grant influencers a budget to engage their community and audience. The company also launched OpenSponsorship to connect athletes with the brand, resulting in over 6,000 athletes from 160 sports working with Sperry.

In short, micro-influencers have excellent engagement and a close bond with their followers. Leveraging micro-influencers in your next marketing campaign is an effective and budget-friendly way to tap into your target audience on social media or community-based platforms. Now that you know the benefits of micro-influencers, you’re ready to collaborate with those whose work aligns with your vision.

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Like so many founders who are facing the daunting task of learning yet another new social media platform, I was overwhelmed by the idea of starting a TikTok for my business. Coming from the world of finance, I don’t have a background in content creation, and I wouldn’t even consider myself a particularly creative person. The thought of coming up with fresh and interesting content day after day that would compete with people who literally do this for a living felt impossible.And yet, I had a hunch that my company—Tandem, an app that helps couples manage their shared finances—could connect with new users on the platform. As a D2C mobile app, we’ve seen that the best way to acquire users is when they’re already on their phones and therefore have the highest intent. And with a target market of 25-35 year olds, I knew that a good chunk of that phone time was now spent on TikTok. (For some context, TikTok users in the U.S. spent an average of 25.6 hours per month on the app as of January 2022, and the majority of those users are 34 or younger.)So, I took the leap and launched Tandem’s TikTok account in August 2022. Within just a few weeks, the account had amassed over 13,000 followers and over 1 million organic impressions and, months later, that number keeps on growing. It’s been so successful that I recently added a second account—@missmoneymichelle—to become a finance influencer in my own right and bypass expensive influencer marketing for my brand. In just a few weeks, I gained over 17,000 followers.Better than followers, though, are the business results. While I’ve been mindful of not pushing Tandem too hard in the early days, instead opting to bring value and build a trusting relationship with my followers before I start selling to them, I’ve already seen some videos translate into new website visitors and app users. I also know that in the long run, having our own audience is crucial in a world where digital advertising is increasingly expensive. Plus, learning from the content that most connects with people will inform Tandem’s product roadmap as we consider new offerings to help couples master their finances together.Of course, I’ve been doing all of this while also running my business. For any other founders who feel like TikTok is a mystery or that they simply don’t have time for it, here’s the exact schedule and strategy I’ve used to build up our accounts so quickly.I learned from other successful TikTokersI should start by saying I didn’t plot out a successful strategy all on my own. To kick off my TikTok journey, I spent a few weeks immersed in the Secret Socials course, which helped me learn the ins and outs of the algorithm and best practices for making engaging short form video.One of my key learnings was that each video needs to have an initial “hook.” Essentially, the TikTok algorithm pays attention to engagement metrics like how long users are watching your videos, likes, comments, and shares to determine what to share more widely. But you’re not going to get traction on any of those metrics if people don’t watch your video long enough to even figure out what it’s about. Those first few seconds are crucial, and I learned to talk quickly, add a headline with text on screen, and be a bit dramatic with my titles to really catch a viewer’s attention. (For instance, “three things that saved me $1,000 that no one knows about,” is much more eye-catching than “three money-saving tips.”)I also learned how to use TikTok’s data to inform my content. Using the app’s search bar, you can browse topics related to your niche, and then filter by recent, most liked videos. I’ll look up everything from generic “finance” videos to more specific topics like “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday,” scroll through what’s working for other creators, and then consider how I can put my own spin on that topic to jump on a trend and create something valuable for my audience.Michelle used TikTok’s filter function to grow on the platformI used a series to help me experiment and gain tractionIn addition to following TikTok best practices, the strategy that’s most helped my profiles grow is striking a delicate balance between quantity, consistency, and quality. Quantity is important because, in order to grow a following quickly, you need to give yourself as many chances to go viral as possible. I decided to aim for posting three times a day, seven days a week, so I could rapidly understand what’s working and what flops. Consistency, in both type of content and frequency, is important so that people know what to expect from you. If someone lands on your profile and sees 20-30 videos on a topic they’re interested in, versus a few disjointed posts, they’re much more likely to follow your profile. I found that launching with a series—in my case, financial tips for couples under the umbrella of “Things Power Couples Do”—helped me keep that consistency early on. @use_tandem Power couples get a shared email address for all of their combined stuff #couplesfinance #couplestok #financetips #bettertogether #powercouple ♬ SynthWave Blade Runner – 21bff51528b0485e8f0fed49572d930a.png Finally, to grow an engaged following, it’s essential to put out quality content that provides real value. I’ve had a few purely funny or entertaining videos go viral, but they’ve rarely translated to followers or new users. Meanwhile, I’ve found that the most successful videos are when I share unique tips that have made a real impact in my relationship, such as creating a shared email address or getting on each others’ insurance as domestic partners.Now that my accounts are more established, I use a five-video series to experiment with new topics, especially ones that are more time bound. For instance, I created a short series about winning the lottery when the major Powerball was happening, and one about Travel Tuesday deals during Black Friday weekend. Creating a few videos for each topic allows me to try slightly different hooks and cover more information without any one video getting too long. Usually at least one or two within a series will go viral, but I can rarely predict which, so it’s crucial to try multiple approaches.I created a schedule and looked for shortcutsContent creation can take up a lot of your time if you let it—and as a founder, I don’t have a lot of it. I’ve found the best way to consistently post at my ideal frequency is to batch my content creation efforts. Typically, I reserve Monday afternoons for brainstorming and ideation. I’ll look at trending TikTok data and metrics from my own posts to see what type of content is performing well. I’ll also think about upcoming holidays or current events. Then, I’ll list out all of the topics I want to cover that week and what the hooks will be. Sometimes I’ll loosely script out a video, and other times I’ll plan on just talking on the fly, depending on the topic. Then, on Tuesdays, I spend 4-5 hours doing my filming for the week. This is doable because I’ve found a few key shortcuts to be more efficient. For one, I’ll always use the green screen feature, which allows me to drop in any background I’d like. This helps create some variety even if I’m filming all of my videos in the same place, and also means I can create from anywhere if I need to be out and about on filming day. (I’ve definitely recorded videos from my car!.) I also invested in a mini microphone to ensure high-quality sound no matter where I’m filming. And a final weird hack: I wear big sunglasses in all my videos so I don’t feel pressure to do my makeup. It saves me time and has become part of the brand look. I also try to edit on Tuesdays so I’ll have a full lineup of finalized videos to post throughout the week. I typically spend at least a few hours making edits to ensure the posts are engaging, including things like cutting out dead space and adding in captions.I’m not going to lie—TikTok is still overwhelming to me sometimes. Consistently putting out new content isn’t easy, and it requires showing up even when I’m not feeling it. Plus, since TikTok is always changing, I can’t just find what works and stick with it. I have to constantly be paying attention to the data along with what’s working for other creators, experimenting, and iterating. But, with some simple strategies and a schedule I can follow week after week, I’ve found a way to make TikTok work for me. And the result—a deep, ongoing connection to my audience—makes the effort more than worth it.

Before I tell you all about the awesome ways to use marketing calendars and planners to boost your marketing strategy – how about we play a quick game? I’ll give you a 100%-real existing holiday, and you try to guess the date when it is celebrated. If you answer correctly – consider you’ve had yourself […]

Coordinating your marketing activities and tying them back to your business goals helps maximizes profit and amplifies your chances for success. In a nutshell – that’s the job of your business’s marketing strategy. Irrespective of the marketing strategy you employ, email marketing is a key channel for overall success. It consistently delivers an impressive ROI,…
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Is there a way to automate adding in new retailers onto a retailer map on a website? We get form submissions from new retailer accounts, (we have many retailers), and manually entering them into the website takes 2-5 mins each, and we have 267 to input. Could Zapier or something similar help with this? Thank you submitted by /u/achew-beccah [link] [comments]

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