By: Taylor Golemme
Influencer marketing has become one of the most impactful and important sectors of a business, especially in this past decade. Whether you choose to align yourself with mega-influencers, macro-influencers, or micro-influencers, there are many proven benefits of getting involved with influencer marketing. Influencers, no matter what level, are deemed as authentic and relatable, making them the best option for marketing practices and representing a brand.
Depending on your brand, there are many successful paths that can be taken in regard to using influencers. Mega-influencers, sometimes referred to as social media celebrities, are the highest ranked influencers based on followings of typically 1m+. If a company’s goal is massive reach through their advertisements, a mega-influencer would be the most effective option as their services provide the fastest way to grab the attention of a large audience. Christiano Ronaldo’s work as a mega-influencer with Nike showed the potential of this form of influencer marketing. According to Forbes, his work alone with Nike increased revenue by $474 million in media value in one year. Companies that have a larger budget dedicated to their influencer marketing will be more inclined to use this tactic as it is highly beneficial and increases global awareness of the brand.
Macro-influencers, the mid-tier, give a healthy balance between their engagement levels, reach, and influence overall. This level of influencers is able to have a large audience, similar to mega-influencers, but gains traction in niche markets and product segments. Macro-influencers are also typically professionals as they have experience with working alongside various brands. Coca Cola, one of the largest beverage companies in the world, have used macro-influencers in the past. As reported by MediaKix, Coca Cola utilized six different influencers with a following of over 100k and successfully integrated various areas of interests, such as: travel, food, sports, and fashion. This tactic was able to connect the consumers in the European market and mimic the success typically seen in North American advertising. By businesses putting trust and investing into macro-influencers, the ROI and engagement will potentially exceed expectations.
While micro-influencers may not be the most well-known, they do have high potential for brands. This is the level where influencers and their audience have some of the most interactions. The content created by micro-influencers is typically tailored to their audience and is deemed the most authentic. This convincing content could provide brands an incredible opportunity to get a loyal customer base and a long-lasting following. Their continuous growth as an influencer working with brands could also provide the opportunity to move up to a mega-influencer with time. This would be very helpful towards the brand’s image as they would be deemed as reliable and loyal to those that they work with. Audible is a great example of using micro-influencers, especially with their work alongside Jesse Driftwood, which can be seen here. His delivery as an influencer was deemed authentic and reliable as he promoted Audible through simple, niche content. It reached a large engagement rate without Audible having to allocate significant funds for the campaign.
When using influencers, choosing a variety from all three-tiers is key. By experimenting and testing multiple levels of influencers, a company will be able to determine where their success comes from. In turn, a brand will be able to make the most out of influencer marketing and understand how using a variety of influencer types can be a game changer.