Why Micro influencers are the future of influencer marketing
In today's fast-paced and competitive market, brands need to consider utilising influencer marketing alongside paid media to drive brand awareness and increase sales. According to Rakuten, over 80% of brands use some form of affiliate marketing, including influencer marketing, while Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 67% of brands plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets.
Paid Media vs. Influencer Marketing
This blog article will discuss the fundamentals of paid media and influencer marketing, compare the two, and highlight why brands are seeing better returns with influencer marketing, particularly when partnering with micro influencers.
Paid media involves brands purchasing advertising space on television, radio, websites, or social media to increase brand visibility. It offers brands control and flexibility in their media presence, but consumers tend to place more credibility in product recommendations from influencers with a dedicated and carefully curated social media following.
Influencer marketing involves brands paying influencers to promote their products through branded content or sponsored posts on social media. Influencers are seen as industry experts by their audience, and their recommendations hold higher value than product recommendations from brands through paid media. This trust and loyalty developed over time by influencers is a significant factor in their effectiveness.
While paid media requires extensive expertise to effectively create and optimise content, influencer marketing is usually led by the influencer's expertise in developing and providing the most effective content to their niche audience. Brands can also benefit from the content influencers produce by repurposing it across various marketing channels, including social media profiles, newsletters, and paid media.
Micro influencers the future of influencer marketing
Micro and nano influencers, who have smaller but more intimate followings, often have better engagement and conversion rates than larger macro influencers. By partnering with the right micro influencers, brands can reach new and relevant audiences and increase sales more effectively than with paid media.
In conclusion, influencer marketing, particularly with micro influencers, is a powerful tool for brands to build trust and credibility, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. It is a cost-effective alternative to paid media, which can offer complete control and flexibility in promoting products and services, but may lack the authenticity and influence of influencer marketing.
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Measuring the ROI of influencer marketing can be done using several metrics such as impressions, engagement, follower growth, and sales. However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to measuring ROI, and the chosen metrics should depend on the campaign objectives.
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Compared to paid media marketing, influencer marketing aims to establish a personal connection with potential customers by presenting recommendations as coming from a friend rather than a paid advertisement. In addition, influencer marketing provides more personalization options, and it can target extremely niche audiences interested in specific types of content.
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Paid media marketing refers to any marketing effort where you pay someone else to place your company's name, products, or links in a specific location. On the other hand, influencer marketing is a type of paid marketing because you are paying the influencer to create content that promotes your products.
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Influencer marketing can drive sales by leveraging the connection that an audience has with an influencer. Because of this connection, an influencer's recommendation will feel more personal, leading to increased brand awareness and potential sales. Additionally, influencer marketing can target extremely niche groups of people who are interested in your products.
