Think big with inbound marketing by building a network of micro-influencers

Who’s the better celebrity to advertise a pop-culture brand? Tom Cruise or Matt Smith?

Tom has the wider global audience, more films than Matt Smith and a larger global fanbase. He can reach out to you, your nephew, your mum and your aunt all at once.

Matt Smith on the other hand is probably still best known for his turn as eccentric time-travelling alien, Doctor Who (unless you’ve seen him in the awful Terminator Genisys).

Tom Cruise is a no brainer, right? Not necessarily. Though the pint-sized scientologist (pint-sizentologist?) is one of Hollywood’s most decorated and celebrated actors, he’d cost millions more to hire than Matt Smith.

Tom also doesn’t really fit into any category, either. Romantic films? Check. Teen comedies? You bet. Fast-paced action thrillers? Of course. Tom Cruise is as much Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt as he is Jack Reacher or Jerry Maguire.

Matt Smith is likely far more affordable than Tom Cruise. He’s also able to reach out to a highly-concentrated market of sci-fi and pop-culture lovers, not just for his portrayal of Doctor Who but by also appearing in other cult films and TV shows (such as the awful Terminator Genisys – in case we hadn’t mentioned).

Matt Smith also lent his likeness to video games and appeared in spin-off series such as The Sarah Jane Adventures. He also takes the time to schmooze with the very fans who idolise him at international comic conventions and more.

An influencer marketing strategy could make all the difference to your brand's reach. Attract the right audience by working with influential individuals in your industry. To learn more, read our blog 'How can influencer marketing help to grow your business?'

Under the influence

Suddenly, it looks like you’re likely to get more bang for your buck and a better ROI partnering with Matt over Tom thanks to his highly-targeted audience and personable nature when reaching out to them.

That same principle applies when you’re looking to partner with influencers to raise your profile and attract new audiences on social media and other channels.

Influencer marketing is still a relatively recent phenomenon that a lot of brands think will launch them into the stratosphere if they make the right connections.

Place a product next to Kim Kardashian on Instagram and my sales will go through the roof. If I give Zoella some of my fashion to wear on a YouTube video then I can retire, surely? If Piers Morgan retweets my… well, you get the idea.

While the basic premise is sound (and why wouldn’t it be? Advertisers have been doing it on TV for years), influencer marketing isn’t as easy as that.

Selena Gomez, for instance, charges an astonishing £435,000+ for a single Instagram post while a Tumblr blog allowing social media influencers to anonymously post how much they have earned from deals involving household brands (as well as some horror stories) is also gaining viral attention.

The truth is influencers can charge whatever they feel they’re worth for brand endorsements, especially at a time when 90% of customers trust peer recommendations while 33% trust ads, according to Nielsen.

The rules have also – again – been updated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) to make sure brands are explicitly clear when they sponsor an influencer and that it’s their responsibility to make sure the influencer is made aware of what’s expected of them.

Size doesn’t always matter…

That can make influencer marketing sound like it’s a bit more trouble than it’s worth, but that’s simply not the case.

70% of teenage YouTube subscribers for instance trust influencer opinions over traditional celebrities while, on average, businesses generate $6.50 for every $1 invested in influencer marketing.

There’s a lot of information out there that supports the benefits of influencer marketing as part of your inbound marketing campaign.

The key to a successful campaign, though, lies in thinking smaller and partnering with a network of micro-influencers instead of someone who commands millions of followers.

Micro-influencers can be a lot more cost-effective than a Kardashian or a Gomez, can get you more targeted recognition, stronger market interaction and better returns.

How, though? It’s essential not to be distracted by follower figures when it comes to assessing potential influencers, focusing on engagement and the audience they cultivate rather than what may be perceived as a wide reach.

Quality over quantity

An influencer with an engaged audience of 50,000 that interacts with people can be vastly more beneficial than a rising internet ‘celebrity’ with 5 million followers; the majority of which could be bots or people who simply aren’t relevant to your business and its core message.

Smaller micro-influencers can also be more dedicated to their craft and speak to people on a highly personal level; every marketer and business owner’s dream. According to Google research, 40% of millennials say that their favourite YouTuber understands them better than their friends.

That’s attention that money can’t buy. Building up a network of smaller micro-influencers can also help you to reach out to more targeted audiences at staggered times instead of sponsoring a single, expensive influencer on a one-off consistent basis.

The best inbound marketing campaigns are those where the business has spent a large amount of time researching its audience to identify people’s personalities, trends, likes and dislikes on an individual level to reach out to them and build relationships with the market on a personal level.

Throwing money at a generic influencer not only betrays that strategy, but it can also insult your audience’s intelligence. Being smart and partnering with a network of micro-influencers they respect and engage with will not only put you in front of new target markets, but also passes some of that respect over to your business.

An influencer marketing strategy could make all the difference to your brand's reach. Attract the right audience by working with influential individuals in your industry. To learn more, read our blog 'How can influencer marketing help to grow your business?'