In the vast and diverse world of marketing, there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all approach, and when it comes to developing your brand’s influencer marketing strategy, that adage couldn’t be truer. The modern era of influencer marketing can be traced back 20 years to 2004, when independent content creators first began affecting consumer perception. In 2006, Ted Murphy launched PayPerPost, the first marketplace that matched bloggers with brands. Not long after, social media platforms emerged, and the rest isn't just history–it’s also our current reality.
Join the (amp) team as we deep-dive into the history of influencer marketing, the pros and cons of micro and macro influencer strategy, and the key metrics your brand should be targeting regardless of the influencer approach you adopt. If you’re curious about choosing the right influencer for your brand, we’re here to help you clarify your campaign goals.
The Evolution of Influencer Marketing: Micro vs. Macro Influencers
The social media landscape has evolved drastically over the past decade, ushering in the rise of influencer marketing. In the beginning, this testimonial-style advertising was driven heavily by celebrities and other macro influencers with large digital followings. As social platforms exploded in popularity and became some of the top online sites utilized by consumers each day, macro influencers began to lose their sparkle. Brands shifted their focus to more targeted, authentic engagement, and thus the surge of niche micro influencers was born.
Pros and Cons of Micro and Macro Influencers
Choosing the right influencer for your brand should be a thoughtful process unique to your company’s values, goals, and needs. In all honesty, there’s no right or wrong path here: Macro and micro trendsetters offer key benefits, a fact that’s leading some ad teams to develop a hybrid micro and macro influencer strategy so they can capture the best of both worlds.
Influencer Metrics That Actually Matter
It’s no secret that the days of obsession over follower count are gone; today’s sophisticated marketers are tuned into social influencer metrics that truly measure influence and impact. After you’ve decided between micro and macro influencer strategy and chosen the right influencer for your brand, it’s time to dive deeper and consider these metrics:
This critical metric calculates the activity level of your social media audience. While micro influencers draw niche audiences with impressively high engagement in ranges of seven to 20 percent, macro influencers tend to have a wider, more diverse audience but lower engagement rates around five percent.
Your influencer ROI is a comparison of your cost per engagement, which can vary greatly depending on the level of influencer you choose. For example, a micro influencer may charge $1,000 for a post that generates 5,000 engagements, which costs your brand $0.20 per engagement, while macro influencers might charge $10,000 for a post that generates 30,000 engagements, or $0.33 per engagement.
This performance metric tells you how many members of your audience signed up for email lists, downloaded an app, or made a purchase. Micro influencers often generate higher conversion rates due to higher levels of trust and authenticity, while macro influencers who address a variety of topics in their content may not always resonate with your target audience.
Your best-fit micro or macro influencers aren’t necessarily decided by the current size of your brand or customer base. Instead, the decision boils down to alignment with specific campaign objectives, and here’s why: Different campaigns, even within the same brand, may have significantly different demographic, reach, and conversion goals, which means each campaign should leverage the influencer marketing strategy that would provide the best results. As you lean into the development of your next campaign, considering these key factors will help you align your needs and goals with the type of social media influencer that would be most beneficial.
What is this campaign’s primary goal? Most campaigns have goals of reach, visibility, engagement, authority, or conversion, but which one is taking center stage? If prioritizing a larger reach is your aim, macro influencers are your solution. If building meaningful connections with a more engaged audience is important, micro is the way to go.
Who is your target audience? Because micro influencers often have niche followings, they’re ideal for campaigns targeting a specific buyer; macro influencers appeal to a broader range of people and are great resources for expanding your brand awareness or authority. In fact, macro influencers are fantastic at achieving quick brand awareness and mass market reach.
What is the overall tone of my campaign? If forming an authentic connection with shoppers is high on your campaign’s priority list, micro influencers are well known for their ability to generate high-trust recommendations and relatable content. Due to the larger reach of macro influencers, they often convey a more commercial tone.
Am I searching for a long-term influencer partnership? Thanks to their smaller followings, micro influencers are more likely to want an ongoing collaboration with your brand, which can be great for maintaining continuity as your brand and the influencer’s platform grows. On the other hand, one-off campaigns could benefit from the larger reach of a macro influencer.
What’s my campaign budget? As we discussed above, micro and macro partnerships come at varying costs. Explore your current campaign budget to see which type of influencer best fits your financial needs.
Combine Micro and Macro Influencer Strategy: The Hybrid Approach
If you’re waiting for our (amp) team to make a micro versus macro influencer recommendation, here it is: Build a hybrid strategy. Both types of influencers carry massive benefits, and marketers are recognizing that working within a hybrid-style influencer marketing strategy is often the most beneficial for their brands precisely because it leverages the best of both worlds: Macro influencers give them mass visibility and reach, while micro influencers earn authentic, targeted engagement and conversions.
If you’re having difficulty deciding how to create a tailored, hybrid influencer campaign for your brand,
reach out to our team here at (amp). Many brands are now taking a hybrid approach and leveraging the best of both strategies, and you could be one of them.
Our media experts have decades of
experience helping brands make the most of every media dollar and create social strategies that make them matter more.
Reach out today to get started crafting a tailored, effective influencer strategy for your brand.