The Rise of Micro-Influencers and Community-Driven Marketing

Social media has absolutely changed the face of how we engage with entertainment and brands. Ten years ago, I might have asked a friend or a co-worker if they caught the latest episode of whatever television show we were all watching at the time. Today, I’m as likely to ask them if they saw the latest YouTube upload from an individual person. I get just as excited about a video essay drop as I get about a new television show (well, streaming show – who watches television anymore?). We’re all experiencing these changes and as marketers, we need to take notice of what they mean for consumers, for companies, and for us. So let’s look at the rise of micro-influencers and community-driven marketing.?

What Is Community-Driven Marketing?

Community-driven marketing is all about building an audience around your brand – a community if you will. While the term may be new, it’s something we’ve been doing in advertising for years. One of the best examples of this is Apple, whose most ardent users make the brand part of their identity as they bring the company’s devices into every aspect of life. However, Apple isn’t alone. In the 1980’s, whether you wore Nike or Reebok said something about who you were and who your friends were.

Community-driven marketing, however, focuses less on building the community around the brand and more on working with influencers to access their communities. These are people who have built up following and engagement on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. By partnering with these influencers, brands instantly gain the benefits of their communication with their audience and the trust they build over time.?

What Are Micro-Influencers?

While the term implies that these are influencers with a small audience, there’s more to a micro-influencer than audience size. Platforms host thousands of users who have a small reach (we’re talking between 1,000 and 100,000 followers). These small creators may be starting out or they haven’t found the hook that will help them build a larger following. These are not micro-influencers.?

Micro-influencers are content creators whose audiences are small because the interest they fit within its niche. Many of these creators have been working at their craft for years and most have found a hook that brings in and keeps an audience. They aren’t small because of talent and skill, but because there is a smaller audience for what they do. These influencers include fashion influencers who focus on a specific style, food influencers who focus on certain ethnic cuisines, or travel bloggers who only travel to certain regions or engage in specific types of vacations.?

Micro-influencers don’t have broad appeal because fewer people are interested in the topics they cover. However, those audiences tend to display higher engagement and loyalty because this influencer is covering an aspect of their interest no one else (or few) is delving into.?

How Micro-Influencers Work for Brands

Micro-influencers can become brand advocates if you work with the influencers to build that trust. AG1 and Magic Spoon are both examples of brands that have turned influencers into advocates. The influencers they sponsor don’t just deliver a tagline. They demonstrate how the product is useful to them and in turn, how it is useful to their audience. This connection between influencer experience and consumer experience builds trust and encourages brand loyalty.?

Are You Ready to Put Influencers to Work for Your Brand?

Let Curis Digital help you build and strengthen your social media presence. Contact us today to learn more about our digital marketing strategies for home care agencies.