The influencers that most of us know and love can also be considered “macro-influencers.” Typically, macro-influencers are accounts that have over 500,000 followers on their respective social media platforms.

This elite group is oftentimes made up of celebrities, popular companies or people that have made large impacts on the community to gain their following.

While the large followings of macro-influencers may be tempting, micro-influencers can be much more lucrative for small businesses. Striking a deal with someone with millions of followers will never be easy, and more often than not, they won’t be interested in your product or service.

What are micro-influencers?

Micro-influencers are influencers that have a very passionate following of roughly 10,000-50,000. They are popular amongst a niche community based on geographic location or industry.

Micro-influencers build communities around certain product groups or hobbies to strike deals with companies showcasing their product. This is beneficial for all parties involved!

The influencer benefits by receiving products to ‘test run’ and share their feedback with their community. More often than not, this will be paid promotion via the company whose product or business is being highlighted.

The influencer’s followers will benefit from seeing a demonstration of a product or service and learning more about it to determine if they should purchase it.

Finally, the business will profit because they are bringing recognition to their product in a community that already has an interest in the industry.

Industry-based micro-influencers

Industry-based means these influencers are interested in certain products within their niche industry. For example, a fly fisherman with 25,000 followers posts twice a week. One of his posts is a highlight video of what he has caught and the other video is always a sponsored product.

This influencer would be interested in getting sponsored by premium fly fishing lures companies, fly fishing pole companies and any other company within the industry.

The key factor for companies looking to sponsor this influencer is that their followers are already interested in the products, they just may not know about them.

This strategy of finding industry-based micro-influencers has proven to be very lucrative for small business growth. By simply making a deal with an influencer, a business can get large amounts of exposure for a product or service without creating an expensive marketing campaign.

That being said, the more marketing the better when looking to grow a business. Partnering with influencers in tandem with a strong marketing campaign can help businesses achieve rapid growth!

Location-based micro-influencers

Location-based micro-influencers are precisely what they sound like. These are influencers who love to review and share information about their local businesses.

Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar business that sells teaching supplies or a small lawn power-washing business, they love providing their community with great recommendations.

Like industry-based influencers, they have grown a community of followers living in the same general area. Their followers truly enjoy supporting local businesses and are always looking for an opportunity to do so.

Striking a deal with a location-based influencer can significantly increase traffic to a local business.

Finding and approaching the right micro-influencers

When it comes down to it, finding the right micro-influencer just takes a little time. It is important to weigh all of your options when looking to make a decision.

Which influencer will bring the most positive attention to your product? Which influencer will provide the most engagement to your business’s social media page? Which influencer will you want to continue working with in the future?

A business must get to know a micro-influencer before interacting with them. A business should learn what an influencer’s followers like and dislike, how they react to paid promotion and what potential impacts it can have on their business.

This can be achieved by following them and commenting on their posts before approaching them with a sponsorship deal.

Conclusion

While the follower count of celebrities, large businesses and other influencers may be tempting, the best way to grow a small business while utilizing social media influencers is through micro-influencers.

It is important to find micro-influencers that are loved by the community they’ve built while bringing positive engagement to a business. It may take some time to find the perfect fit, but when it happens, it provides valuable exposure leading to the future success of the business!