The influencers a brand works with are integral to the success of their campaigns. They serve as the face of your brand and should represent your core values.

Choosing influencers is an important job that should not be taken lightly. While some brands elect to partner with mega influencers and celebrities, many brands choose to hire slightly smaller influencers for their campaigns: micro-influencers.

In this blog post, we will go over what micro-influencers are, how to find micro-influencers, and whether or not you should use them for influencer marketing campaigns. Let’s get started!

Disclosure: This content may contain a few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).

What is a Micro-Influencer?

A micro-influencer is a social media influencer within the following range of 10,000 to 50,000. Micro-influencers have the second lowest following of all five influencer levels. Let’s take a look at the classifications for each level:

Influencer Level Following Range
Mega-Influencer Over 1 Million
Macro-Influencer 500,000 – 1 Million
Mid-Tier Influencer 50,000 – 500,000
Micro-Influencer 10,000 – 50,000
Nano-Influencer Less than 10,000

Micro-influencers can be classified by their high engagement rates, loyal follower base, and lower prices in comparison to larger influencers.

Because of this, they are very attractive to brands as potential partners for campaigns. But, it is important to acknowledge that they may not be the perfect option for every brand. Let’s look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of hiring micro-influencers!

Pros and Cons of Hiring Micro-Influencers

These are some of the advantages of hiring micro-influencers:

1. High Engagement Rates

Many micro-influencers have high engagement rates compared to higher-level influencers. Due to their smaller following, a higher percentage of those individuals actively engage with their content.

Although larger influencers get more likes and impressions on their posts, micro-influencers get more likes and impressions relative to their follower count.

2. Loyal Audience in a Specific Niche

One thing that makes micro-influencers attractive to brands is that they typically fall within a specific niche that their followers are interested in. Whether their niche is travel, fashion, fitness, etc., brands have the ability to target a specific audience that is interested in products within that niche.

Micro-influencers also typically have a loyal audience that responds positively to brand partnerships.

3. Cost-Efficient

Some brands may get more bang for their buck by hiring micro-influencers for a campaign. Sometimes hiring a group of micro-influencers can be more cost-efficient than hiring one macro- or mega-influencer.

This is because that group of influencers, with their high engagement rates and loyal audiences, allows brands to target the exact audience they want while achieving amazing results.

Now that we have gone over the pros of hiring micro-influencers, we must acknowledge that there are also some cons. Here are the main disadvantages of hiring micro-influencers:

1. Limited Reach

Although micro-influencers have high engagement rates and a dedicated audience, it is still a fact that larger influencers have a much wider reach. If a brand is wanting to reach a large, general audience, influencers in a higher influencer level would be a better choice.

2. Potentially Inexperienced

Compared to the larger influencers on social media platforms, some micro-influencers may be inexperienced when it comes to brand partnerships.

While this doesn’t mean they aren’t efficient and reliable partners for brands, it is something to keep in mind. Some brands feel safer with an influencer with an established reputation as a reliable partner.

3. Chance of Fake Followers

Because some social media influencers are still getting started in the field, there is a chance that they have bought followers to get a head start. While this is definitely a rare occurrence, it is something brands should be aware of.

If you see an influencer with suspiciously low engagement rates and only a few likes and comments, there’s a possibility that their followers could be fake.

How to Find Micro-Influencers

Now that we have gone over what a micro-influencer is and whether or not you should hire them, you’re probably wondering how to find micro-influencers. Here are the most common and effective ways to find them:

1. Use an Influencer Marketing Platform

Some brands elect to hire an influencer marketing agency to help them find influencers. Many agencies have ample resources and even social intelligence platforms that can help with the search process.

With influencer marketing agencies, brands have the opportunity to tell them exactly what size influencer they are looking for and how they want to achieve their campaign goals. Then, the agency can do their job and a lot of the stress is taken off of the brands’ shoulders.

2. Search Hashtags and Tagged Posts

Brands can also find micro-influencers right on social media platforms. One way to find them is through hashtags. The best way to do this is to search hashtags within your specific niche.

For example, if your brand is in the travel industry, some great hashtags to search would be things like #travelblogger, #travelinspo, #travelwithme, and other related ones.

Some more generic ones to search for could be ones like #microinfluencer and #contentcreator to find influencers who are trying to market themselves to brands.

Another option is to look for influencers that have tagged your brand in a post in the past. If you find any, you already know that they’re interested in your brand! Because of this, it is very likely that they would be excited at the idea of a partnership.

3. Use an Influencer Search Tool

Another great way to find micro-influencers is to utilize a search tool. Influencer search tools help brands find the perfect influencers for their campaign by providing relevant social media metrics and audience data.

Many of the platforms are well-organized, high quality, and some are even free! For a few great options, check out our blog post on the best free influencer marketing software and tools here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is a micro-influencer?
A: A micro-influencer is a social media influencer within the following range of 10,000 to 50,000. The other influencer levels include nano influencers, mid-tier influencers, macro-influencers, and mega-influencers.

Q2: How much do micro-influencers charge?
A: Micro-influencers can charge between $100 and $500 per post depending on which side of the following range they are on.

Q3: How can I find micro-influencers?
A: There are multiple ways you can find micro-influencers. These include using influencer marketing platforms, searching hashtags, looking at influencers who have tagged your brand in posts, and using search tools.

Q4: What tools should I use to find micro-influencers?
A: There are many great tools you can use to find micro-influencers, some of them are even free! Check out our blog post on the best free influencer marketing software for a few great tools.

Q5: Are micro-influencers good for influencer marketing campaigns?
A: Micro-influencers are a great option for influencer marketing campaigns because of their high engagement, loyal audience, and lower cost.

Q6: Should a brand hire micro- or nano-influencers for a campaign?
A: Micro- and nano-influencers represent the influencers with the smallest following Micro-influencers have 10k to 50k followers while nano influencers have under 10k followers.

They can both be beneficial in campaigns because their audiences are typically dedicated and engaging. But, micro-influencers may be a better option to hire for campaigns because they are more experienced and still do have a fairly strong following.

Q7: How many followers should an influencer have for brand partnerships?
A: Brands can hire any size influencer for partnerships. But, depending on their campaign goals and desired audience, they should choose an influencer that allows them to achieve those things.

For example, smaller brands hoping to build a loyal customer base may benefit from hiring micro-influencers because of their smaller but dedicated following.

Q8: Which influencers are the most expensive?
A: Mega-influencers, influencers with more than one million followers, cost the most to hire for influencer marketing campaigns. They usually charge more than $20,000 per post, with some of the more famous influencers even charging $1 Million.

Final Thoughts

So, should you consider using micro-influencers for your next campaign? Definitely.

But if you ultimately decide that a larger influencer would better suit your brand, that’s completely fine. It’s important for brands to find influencers that check all of the boxes, but make sure you are not overlooking micro-influencers in this search. Because, for many brands, micro-influencers are the missing puzzle piece in a successful campaign.

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