All for one or one for all? One of the key questions when considering an influencer marketing strategy is whether to count on a single influential figure over a large audience or to have a large group of more modest influencers.
After identifying the audience influencers it's time to select those that are more appropriate. Our experience in this field, and the testimonies of our clients, leads us to bet more on identifying a group of niche micro-influencers that are truly unique and relevant to the target audience. Why choose a group of (niche) micro-influencers? Here's a list of arguments in favour of this option:
- Generally, these people have a certain authority in their specialized field. They are people with a community around them and very unique to that niche, which means they have a high level of authentic relevance for their audience. Link your brand to a relevant figure in the sector instead of linking to someone with a more general profile.
- They are people who have a close relationship with their audience, which generates an authentic relationship of influence over these people. Those more modest communities favour these closer and more trusting relationships. With audiences of hundreds of thousands or millions of people it's almost impossible to get this kind of relationship.
- Micro-influencers also allow you to reach different segments within a niche and to be more relevant and unique to each of these groups.
- The exclusivity that a niche micro-influencer can provide is difficult to achieve with macro-influencers that are usually linked to more than one brand and to diverse industries.
- Budget is another important argument: allocate your investment among several micro-influencers with more limited individual reach but with greater influence and relevance than the celebrities will work in your favour with respect to the final ROI.
As you can see, these five reasons are great arguments for deciding on a group of niche influencers instead of one big mass influencer.
However, it's not enough to simply identify a group of micro-influencers and decide that you want your brand to work with them. The next step is to start creating a relationship with these micro-influencers. At this point, the group of influencers has become your target audience. Yes, your target audience is now the influencers and not the final consumers. Let us explain.
Why micro-influencers are a new target audience for your brand
After identifying the micro-influencers you want to link your brand to, you should connect with them through the appropriate channels and start your relationship organically so you can later start work on influencer marketing activities.
The group of niche influencers that you have selected has become a new target for your brand. Your goal is to generate influence through this group of micro-influencers and so you need to understand this new target audience in depth:
- What are the optimal channels to reach these influencers. Where are they most active and where are there more possibilities to start creating a relationship with them.
- What is the most resonant content amongst them to help create relevant organic relationships around topics that interest them.
- What are their behaviours and personalities like, so you can adapt your message to best engage with them.
As our colleague Carlos Serra said a few weeks ago during the webinar "Reinventing the concept of influencers for your marketing strategy": "Influencer marketing is not the engagement that an individual with large social audiences generates, but rather the creation of influence in a niche by generating trust in a large group of specific influential individuals in that sector." And he added: "Don't think of influencers as a tool through which you can reach the market that interests you, but more as a market in themselves."
If you agree with us, and want to work with a group of micro-influencers that are really relevant to your brand, request an Audiense Insights demo and our team will show you how our platform can, not only help you identify those influencers, but also understand them in depth and all this in a matter of hours!
