Micro-Influencers are taking the world by storm! Well, maybe not the world, but definitely social media. If you’re a business owner or content creator, you may have heard of the term micro-influencer. Simply put, a micro-influencer is an individual who has a smaller but highly engaged social media following, typically between 10k ~40-50k. They usually have a tight niche and are often experts in their areas. They know the importance of building community online over just getting more and more followers by any means necessary.

Micro-influencers are defined solely by the number of followers they have. There are many tiers of influencers. Under micro are nano-influencers and brand ambassadors. Nano-influencers have under 10k, and brand ambassadors usually create user-generated content (UGC) for brands they like! Above micro-influencers are mid-tier, macro, and celebrity. We have a whole section on our site if you have more questions about the different tiers of influencers here- but for now, let’s focus on micro-influencers.

Micro-influencers are essential to the influencer marketing landscape for a few key reasons. Their highly engaged follower bases lead to meaningful relationships between content creator and their audience. The audiences feel like they know the influencer and often interact with them in comments and DMs. These interactions lead to this extraordinary level of trust. This level of trust allows brands to feel confident that the micro-influencer will represent their product or service well to their following base, leading to authentic and compelling brand partnerships. Bigger isn’t always better, and micro-influencers understand this better than anyone.

Working with micro-influencers is a great way to reach a highly engaged, loyal audience within your desired niche. Their personal connection with their audience means that the influencer knows what resonates with their followers. They create content they know will do well because they have a more intimate relationship with their audience. You may see micro-influencers (and other tiers) going directly to their followers to learn about what they’d like to see by adding a question box or asking in a caption- and the best part is that people are receptive!

If you’re a business owner and thinking of starting a collaboration with a micro-influencer, here are five reasons we think that’s a great idea!

Engagement- When working with micro-influencers, you may realize that they have high levels of engagement lead- often higher than those with more significant followings because the algorithm can be tricky. Just because someone has many followers doesn’t mean people actually see their content. Higher engagement rates lead to increased brand awareness and trust passed back to the brand.
Cost- Micro-influencers typically have lower rates than more prominent influencers meaning smaller brands or businesses with smaller marketing budgets can still work with influencers within their budget while paying a fair rate to the micro-influencer.
Follower Base- Micro-influencers’ niched audiences allow brands with a specific audience or small market segment in mind to find someone to represent their brand more effectively.
Voice- Micro-influencers have an authentic, relatable voice that resonates with consumers better than some influencers who are more prominent and don’t interact with their audiences in the same way.
UGC- Micro-influencers can help brands create UGC to use on their social profiles. This can further promote products and services beyond the influencer’s page.

More About Influencer Marketing:

The Power of Micro-Influencers: How Small Followings Can Make a Big Impact

The Impact of Social Media Algorithms on Influencer Marketing

How to Measure the Success of Brand Campaigns