Over the past five years, influencer marketing has become one of the biggest trends in marketing across all kinds of industries. An influencer’s endorsement of a product is a huge motivator for their highly engaged, often fanatical audience. However, brands have recently started to question the value of the strategy, as the price for working with top influencers has risen astronomically, and the results have proven unreliable. This means it can be risky, as a large investment in a digital superstar may not always pay off.

Increasingly, brands are turning to micro-influencers with the aim of reaching a wider audience by working with many smaller influencers instead of one big name. There are many benefits; for example, these up-and-coming content creators are keen to prove themselves and easy to work with, as they want to impress. Their audiences are untapped, as they may not have worked with brands before, and they’re open to more creative ideas.

Here are seven ways to use the power of micro-influencers to grow your ecommerce brand.

1. Promote Posts

By asking micro-influencers to like, share and comment on your brand’s social media posts, you can amplify the reach of your marketing campaign. This will drive social engagement on your posts and create conversation around your products, raising awareness and familiarity with your brand.

2. Create Content

To reach the followers of your micro-influencer, commission them to create original branded media content for your campaign, such as a bespoke videos and images. This can be shared both on your and the influencer’s social platforms for maximum reach. The result is that you are not only promoting your brand, but providing quality content for your audience, which can be used in additional marketing campaign.

3. Tell Stories

Invite micro-influencers to tell stories that involve your brand or represent its values. This is a bottom-up approach, as it allows you to surface great stories from real people and use those stories to communicate the brand’s message. This gives your brand a very authentic and relatable feel, which makes it easy to build stronger relationship with customers.

4. Build Community

Building an online community creates a loyal and engaged network of inter-connected customers, where your brand is at the center of the conversation. By introducing micro-influencers and thought leaders to the community, you can provide value for its members using their expertise and ability to inspire.

5. Discount Codes

Provide micro-influencers with their own tracked discount codes and they will can help introduce new customers to your brand. Incentivize them to spread the code far and wide by rewarding them with a percentage of sales. This benefits the micro-influencer, as they can offer their followers something useful and make a profit for themselves.

6. Product Launches

Involve micro-influencers in the marketing plan for your next product launch to create a strong buzz at a pre-planned time. This allows you to amplify your existing marketing activities. The strategy could include giving them discount offers to use for a limited time on the new product, having them create themed images and videos, and posting product reviews.

7. Customer Referrals

The most valuable thing a micro-influencer can offer is their endorsement. When someone influential and respected gives a recommendation, their followers pay attention. Incentivize influencers who refer new customers to you through a tracked referral and rewards system, and everyone involved will benefit.

Have you involved micro-influencers in marketing campaigns for your e-commerce brand? Share your tips and let us know if you’ve tried out any of our suggestions.

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