08 Feb Major Key: Micro-Influencer Marketing

There is a subtle shift underway in the world of influencer marketing, which involves companies moving away from aligning with people considered to be major influencers on social media, and moving toward those seen as much less popular, in terms of their followings and the potential they might exert on behalf of such companies.

Traditionally, influencer marketing has prescribed that a company should align itself with social media stars who had huge followings, and could therefore potentially sway many of them toward purchasing products offered by the company. More and more however, many companies are now seeing the value of collaborating with micro-influencers, who usually have far fewer followers, but may be able to reach a more focused audience through tailored storytelling.

What’s behind the shift

Marketing managers and executives have determined through research, surveys, and other feedback methods, that generation Z consumers who represent the first generation to be enslaved by electronic devices, have simply become disillusioned with the polished, glossy representation of reality TV stars and social media stars.

Instead, they prefer to consume more genuine experiences, and to be led by personalities having a more unique and personal point of view, with a deeper story to tell. In effect, the shift toward micro-influencers is happening because there has been a corresponding shift in consumer perspectives, and having identified that trend, many companies have accordingly hitched their wagons to this new horse.

Rather than relying on the social media star power of a single individual, marketing executives now see the value of working with several social media influencers who can combine their own perspectives with the message being disseminated by the company. The storytelling advantages provided by these micro-influencer individuals on social media are more deeply personal, yet still in alignment with company marketing objectives, and thus resonate more truly with Generation Z consumers. Collaborating with several micro-influencers also allows for a certain amount of flexibility in the ultimate message being conveyed to a targeted audience.

Micro-influencer ROI

Business being a bottom-line entity, the logical question about the success of micro-influencers centers around what kind of return is yielded by shifting toward this kind of marketing strategy. This is where it gets a little tricky. While the success of specific campaigns can certainly be measured in hard numbers, many marketers feel that doesn’t tell the whole story, and prefer to view micro-influencer storytelling in a broader, longer-term context. Tapping into the collective psyche of a generation can be a very elusive goal to achieve, but it is becoming increasingly clear that micro-influencers may have the potential to do just that.