Micro-influencers are taking the influencer marketing industry by storm. But if somehow they’ve passed you by, they are influencers that usually focus on a particular niche and have anywhere between 5,000 and 50,000 followers.
So why do so many brands want to work with micro-influencers as opposed to mega-influencers that have a much larger audience? This question boils down to arguably the most important metric when it comes to measuring influencer marketing: engagement. Engagement is at the core of what makes a successful influencer in terms of their ability to entice a reaction from their audience.
Now there’s another question at hand, which is why do micro-influencers generally get more engagement on their content than other types of influencers. Thankfully, we’re going to share everything you need to know about not only why micro-influencers tend to drive greater engagement, but also what things brands need to consider when opting for micro-influencers within their influencer marketing campaigns.
Niche, niche, niche
When an influencer focuses on producing content around a particular niche, it makes it easier for followers to know what to expect from that creator. This enables micro-influencers to get a higher percentage of post engagement than other, mainly larger, influencers, as followers are more likely to want to interact with the content if they’re already interested in the niche.
These niches vary a lot. Some examples on what type of variations there are out there could be a content creator devoting their entire channel to nail-art and sharing the latest nail trends; while others create content while travelling the world, sharing tips on places to visit; and some love sharing recipes on how to master the perfect chopped salad. Side note: there are some weird ones out there as well, maybe the name Dr. Pimple Popper sounds familiar to you? She specialises in pimple squeezing (yes, you read that right) and her devoted audience loves her content. Influencers who find their niche and target audience eventually tend to grow a following of people who show higher levels of engagement, as they know what they’re signing up for and what type of content to expect from their new favourite influencer.
If we compare this with mega-influencers that have millions of followers – these followers are likely to be interested in a much broader variety of subjects, and the mega-influencer is likely posting about a wider range of topics and niches. This makes it almost impossible for every post to resonate with every follower as there will be some that the follower has absolutely no interest in.
High engagement rates from micro-influencers flag as more appealing to social media algorithms compared to an influencer with 2 million followers who might only receive a thousand or so likes per post; while the number of likes itself might be similar or even the same, the relative engagement level of the smaller audience is higher. Now, we’re not hating on large influencers, but it’s important to understand that the reality of driving higher engagement on social media is often based on influencers putting all of their eggs into one basket – or niche – and cultivating that curated audience.
More interactions with audiences
Micro-influencers tend to be more attentive to their followers, whether that’s actively replying to comments and DMs, or listening to feedback around what kind of content the influencer should produce. Audiences are therefore more inclined to engage with the influencer to actually get advice from a person that they deem to be an expert, or to direct the content they see in thei