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If you are a small to medium business with a budget to incorporate influencers into your marketing strategy, it can go a long way! The best way to get started is by taking on a PR company or freelancer to contact influencers on your behalf and organise everything. Check out my advice around influencer marketing and how to make it work for you:

Go Micro

Micro-influencers are social media creators with between 3,000 and 100,000 followers. For small businesses, it is advisable to go with the smaller end of that number to keep costs down and reach a niche audience. Pick a micro-influencer who promotes products and services that align with your brand’s values and suit your brand’s personality. You need to trust they represent your brand well and are trustworthy.

By picking a micro-influencer you can build a nice relationship with them as they, and you, grow in popularity. Check out comments and likes rather than the overall followers for an idea of how engaged followers are. Engagement is key!

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Expect Great Things

Micro-influencers with an engaged audience can help your brand immensely. When they share themselves using your product and gain interest, you can expect your link to be clicked on multiple times. The more micro-influencers you can get on board at once, the greater your brand’s visibility. Ideally, this will lead to sales (don’t forget to have a goal in mind when you are planning your campaign) – however, if it doesn’t lead to sales immediately, you can measure the success by clicks on your product pages (pageviews), followers gained and brand exposure. To keep them, make sure you have a great marketing strategy in place to leverage the exposure!

How to approach a Micro-influencer

If you have admired a growing influencer’s work, ensure to interact with them on social media and give them support. Build a relationship with them in private messages or DMs. If you are a hands-off type of business on social media then it’s worth employing a short-term PR company or freelancer to reach out to people with whom they have built relationships. If you decide to use micro-influencers, having a budget to use a number of them at once can hugely benefit your reach and sales.

The micro-influencer must in some way relate to your business and industry – for example – if you are a sustainable clothing shop with clothes for women aged 40+, pick an influencer who is in this age bracket with a passion for minimal and sustainable living.

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What can I expect a Micro-Influencer to do?

Depending on how much they are paid, a micro-influencer will do an agreed blog, post on social media or a short video/reel. You will need to provide a contract stating the terms of your work along with an agreed payment. This should be signed before any copy or photography is shared.

You then provide copy, photographs or videography (if necessary) and explain what you expect from the post. They will need to approve, add or change what you have given them. There should be a timeframe to allow for at least two change requests. If you have tasked the micro-influencer with creating a video/reel or post themselves, give them a brief of what’s expected and allow for two change requests on your part.

Cost of a Micro-Influencer

The cost of a micro-influencer can vary widely and depends on the individual. If you have a great and fast-growing business, and if a creative is looking to grow their brand, they may do it for free. However, you should never expect them to do it for free and always have a budget in mind that you are willing to pay.

Unfortunately, there is no guidance on pricing and a lack of transparency around pricing. If you contact a micro-influencer through an agency, expect to pay higher rates as the agency will need to be compensated.

This article has a great breakdown of pricing for America but it can be useful for budgeting before you contact an influence – Influencer Marketing Rates.

Have you reached out to influencers to work with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and how much you were charged at info@ciaramorgan.com.