How to Find Micro-Influencers that Will Guarantee Results

Last year, the influencer market was worth $13.8 billion compared to $9.7 billion in 2020. By the end of this year, this figure is predicted to rise to $16.4 billion. Pretty impressive, right? 

Increasing numbers of brands are realizing the benefits of collaborating with influencers on their marketing campaigns. But they are also realizing that this doesn’t necessarily mean collaborating with the top dogs in the influencer world. In fact, more often than not, you can launch a much more successful campaign by collaborating with a micro-influencer, especially if you are targeting a niche audience. These types of influencers  are often able to generate much higher levels of awareness, trust, and engagement. 

With this in mind, we have created this guide on how to find micro-influencers that are a good fit for your brand and that are capable of generating the results you need from your campaigns. 

What is a micro-influencer?

Before we discuss how to find micro-influencers for your brand, let’s look at a quick definition. 

The definition of a micro-inflluencer may vary depending on the country and market. However, they usually have between 10K and 100K followers and they tend to work in more niche markets, such as fashion or photography (compared to celebrity and mega-influencers who tend to target a much broader market). Due to their reduced following, it’s easier of them to maintain higher rates of engagement than influencers with larger audiences. This makes it much easier to create specialized relevant sponsorships.

Because their audience is more specialized, these types of influencers are best suited to brands that are looking to generate more focused leads. This is mainly because their audience is already expecting to receive targeted marketing messages within their niche. For example, if you sell food mixers, then a foodie micro-influencer who posts about recipes and baking could be a great option.

Benefits of collaborating with micro-influencers

Because of their smaller audience, micro-influencers tend to generate higher levels of engagement than other types of influencers because they are able to maintain more personal interactions and connect more frequently with their followers.  

As a result of this, brands that work with micro-influencers often report the following benefits:

• You get a high return on your investment as micro-influencers already have established relationships with their followers. Their followers are loyal and trust their recommendations and this degree of social proof can be transmitted to your own brand. It also makes it easier for you to establish authentic connections with your target audience, provided you find the right micro-influencers for your brand.
• Micro-influencers aren’t celebrities, which means they are much less intimidating and their followers find them much easier to relate to.
• Micro-influencer campaigns tend to generate higher engagement levels and better marketing performance metrics. They also tend to have highly targeted audiences which makes them a great fit for sharing content aimed at a specific vertical. 
• Working with micro-influencers improves your chances of participating in social conversations at a much more intimate level. 
• They’re cost-effective as they make a targeted impact for a lower fee than celebrity or mega-influencers.

Tips to help you find the best micro-influencers

Ok, now it’s time to get to the heart of it: how to find micro-influencers that will generate the results you need from your campaigns.

Look for quality content

The first important tip is to make sure you look for micro-influencers who regularly post quality content. This is far more important than looking at their audience size as you want to collaborate with a micro-influencer with a reputation for providing added value with their posts.

Look out for the following factors: 

• Diversity: Do they post content in a range of formats? (Photos, videos, blog copies, etc.)
• Frequency: How often do they post content? (The best micro-influencers post at least once a day)
• Engagement: Are they quick to respond to comments and shares from their followers?
• Mood: Are they positive and uplifting? Do you want your brand to be associated with the content they usually share?

You also need to make sure they are the right fit for your brand on a personal level. Do they share the same values as you? Do they work in the same niche area of the market? Would they do a good job representing your brand?

Finding the right micro-influencers takes time. Be sure to look through each candidate’s profile and do your research. Try to understand how they connect with their audience, and if this aligns with the expectations of your campaign.

Use related hashtags

Hashtags can be a great way to find the right micro-influencers for your campaigns. Do a few hashtag searches on your chosen platforms with specific keywords that align with your brand. This will make it much easier to find a micro-influencer that is already well-established in your niche market. 

Use an influencer marketing platform

Finally, perhaps the best way to find micro-influencers is by using an influencer marketing platform, a highly valuable tool that makes the whole process so much easier. 

Influencer marketing platforms help you centralize each stage of the influencer process. Using a centralized platform like Influencity will not only save you valuable time, but you will also get access to the right influencer tools to make sure your posts are performing at an optimum level. Plus, you’ll get access to an influencer database that makes it easy to search for profiles by audience size, hashtags, and niche. Tools like this make it much easier to find the right micro-influencers that will guarantee results. 

With Influencity, you get a full spectrum of influencer marketing tools and features that help you find the right influencers and track the performance of your influencer analytics so that you can be sure your campaign is a success, and you get the biggest return on your investment.