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 their feed.

These consistent interactions are also possible for the simple fact that the micro-influencer has a manageable number of followers, never reaching the point where it would be almost impossible to keep track of all their interactions. Assuming that the micro-influencer grows bigger in the future, this could become a different story, but micro-influencers for the most part try to interact with their audiences as much as possible. Not only will this keep the followers engaged and coming back for more content, they’ll develop strong relationships and higher levels of trust, two things that are invaluable to any creator.

Authentic and genuine

Who wouldn’t want to like and engage with people that are authentic and genuine? When it comes to consumers nowadays, they want to take advice from people that they can relate to, which is often the case with micro-influencers.

A perfect example of an influencer who grew from micro to mega, and managed to remain authentic while doing so, is 25-year old Swedish instagrammer Matilda Djerf. Her instagram currently has 2.7 million followers from all over the world and despite having a massive following, she’s also the CEO and creator of the very successful fashion brand Djerf Avenue. With her fluffy bangs and girl-next-door kind of vibe, Matilda began posting photos of her outfits and sharing snippets of her everyday life on Instagram and, eventually, her channel took off and gained huge popularity. Today, people from all over the world mimic Matilda’s lifestyle and document it on social media, attempting to romanticize their lives just like she does.

Looking back at Matilda’s content from a few years ago, it hasn’t changed much despite her followers increasing massively. Matilda gives off a friendly vibe and her life doesn’t seem too out of reach for someone hoping to attain something similar. People know what they’ll get when they go on Matilda’s page and they trust her recommendations immensely.

Micro-influencers value having traits of relatability and authenticity so that their followers can trust them. As a result of this trust, followers can feel at ease when consuming the micro-influencers content both passively and actively. When it comes to audiences relating with influencers that resemble a part of themselves, it creates engagement in an organic way, which can also lead to repeated interactions with the micro-influencer.

Tune in and listen to our interview with Matilda where we talk about how her brand leveraged their influencer marketing expertise to grow the powerhouse brand Djerf Avenue is today.

Bigger isn’t always better

Hopefully, you’ll have figured out why bigger isn’t always better by now. It’s easy to have the impression that large follower counts equate to more and/or better engagement, but the reality is that micro-influencers lead the way when it comes to acquiring higher engagement rates that are also organic and typically of better quality.

We’ve managed campaigns with micro-influencers for almost a decade now, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you’d like to know more about how we can help you reach your influencer marketing goals.