How to Run A Successful Micro-Influencer Marketing Campaign?

Marketing campaign practices are evolving following the trend and technology. It includes the infamous influencer marketing that has been growing steadily over the past years. With the trend still getting hot, many businesses consider the campaign solution for their work. But is it easy to do? Unfortunately, it is not easy. 

The blue ocean of successful marketing strategy is filled with many talents rated from celebrities to micro-influencer. It is almost impossible to get a perfect person in one go. At the same time, the rising number of talent and campaigns are pretty much a risky decision. It can turn into a daunting strategy to nail. 

Who is the best one? What to do once you hire them?, How to make a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign? What kind of marketing strategy will support the campaign? Taking a new idea is not easy, especially considering that the talent works in social media for a more targeted audience. The good thing is, here are some guides to help you run the idea.  

Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy is the grounding of any campaign. Everything needs a layout that helps the business execute the strategy. In this case of marketing campaigns, businesses need to determine two main points: the goal and the market or the place to perform the successful strategy. One thing is for sure. It is something that everyone cannot put aside.  

1. Determining The Campaign Goal 

To make a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign, one needs to have a proper goal. It works as a guide. At the same time, it also turns into measurement for your strategy. You cannot call a campaign successful without reaching the goal. That is why the goal is an integral part of marketing. 

Another reason why marketing campaigns need a goal is to draw the line for your collaboration. It will be the hard line that helps both parties to run the campaign strategy. It is even more vital considering how the goal is the successful standard at the end. Thus, you know whether the money and time investment is worth it or not. 

So, what do you want from the successful micro-influencer collaboration campaign? There are four goals with their metrics. If your marketing campaign goal is to increase sales, then the metric or success rate is about sales growth and sales through a designated coupon code from the account. 

A campaign that focuses on brand awareness is successful if the strategy reaches a certain point for the campaign. You can also measure the successful meter from the rising social media mention, follower, or subscriber. The second marketing campaign goal also focuses on the social media following. 

However, the fourth marketing strategy goal is to make a successful customer retention and engagement. In this case, a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign is determined by the increasing number of repeat customers and engagement generation. As you choose the goal and metric, you will have a clear standard to call a successful strategy. 

2. Choosing The Market 

Like any other marketing strategy, they need thorough details for the market. The strategy itself is vital to make a successful execution since micro-influencer is limited under certain platforms. So, what should you do to make the campaign work best? Along with the goal, you can determine the market with three points of consideration; audience, content, and link. 

Considering how every talent has a diverse or unique charm, it means a lot to determine the goal and market. Thus, you can restrict the options and get the best talent. Another consideration regarding the successful micro-influencer campaign is the platform. Not only the talent but also the platform also has a different market that will shape your strategy.

To maintain a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign, you can start choosing the talent and platform based on the target audience. If your marketing target is gamers, you can direct the strategy to Twitch or streaming media. Meanwhile, you can also go for a younger audience in TikTok or Snapchat. Since it is different, you have to make sure the target is clear. 

It is also a great consideration to make a marketing strategy based on the content. If you want them to drive the audience to your external website, then you need an outbound link. Most of the time, the campaign uses a method that tells successful stories. It mostly proved as a successful strategy for Instagram or Snapchat. 

Lastly is the text or visual content, which tends to work on social media. A social media micro-influencer marketing campaign that centered on video mostly works in YouTube or Facebook. If you want successful photo content, the strategy can focus on Pinterest or Instagram. Meanwhile, the text content is on LinkedIn or a website.  

As you get the goal and market, make sure you prepare some media to guide the decision. In this strategy, you can give a copy that already attracts the audience's attention. It is also doable with content that your audience wants to see. And make sure you get on a platform where you have the audience. Thus you can make a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign. 

Talent Consideration 

With all of the briefing and strategy ready, you will need to find a suitable creator. It is the most vital part of the marketing strategy. You need to make sure you got everything right to make a successful strategy and campaign. To nail the step, here are some considerations when finding the talent. 

1. Content 

One thing is for sure, and you have to choose a micro-influencer who provides content that is in line with your business. If you choose an individual that has the same content scope, it will help them create better and successful content. They know what they are talking about and are seen as trustworthy sources of information. 

For example, you need a culinary-centered account to help introduce your snack business. It is a trick behind many successful marketing campaigns. It works just like an ambassador. That is why make sure you put it on the strategy. Another point to consider is consistency and regularity. You want a creator that is UpToDate and has great interaction with the follower. 

2. Follower

No matter what your goals are, a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign will always need a proper follower count. In this strategy, your option is mostly limited or based on your budget. A more established account tends to ask for a higher fee. However, looking at the follower number also helps you identify a great successful account or not. 

A good or credible account should have a great engagement rating. Try to compare the number of followers, likes, watch, and comments. If it is balanced, then it is a legit account. So, how many followers is enough? For a successful marketing strategy, at least you can choose a talent with a 10,000 to 100,000 follower range on Instagram. 

3. Influence

Influence consideration is hand in hand with the follower. Most of the time, a higher follower count means better influence on the platform. It can help you generate a successful marketing campaign strategy. But again, you can consider or see the influence meter from the talent's account post consistency, the follower likes, responds, and praises in their post. 

4. Engagement 

If you want successful marketing, then make sure the micro-influencer can help you gain engagement. The consideration itself is pretty easy to identify. You can see how active the followers in the account are. Remember to see the comment and likes carefully. Is it spam? A human comment? Or trash engagement? Choose the proper one for your campaign. 

5. Collaboration 

Collaboration is another consideration that is not always necessary. Micro-influencers tend to have a smaller number of followers or less known accounts. It decreases the chance of collaboration. It is a different story if you make a marketing campaign deal with a celebrity. Since they have collaboration, it means your market and audience will reach a wider market. 

How To Find The Talents  

Since many creators are using famous social media, you have at least three ways to find the talent. Remember to use the consideration so you can develop a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign. Here are how to find talents depending on your marketing budget and the amount of time that you want to spend. 

1. Check Your Follower 

There are times that the successful business owner has already been followed by a potential micro-influencer. It is also possible that your brand or product might already be in their post, which makes your research easier. In this case, you can simply check the follower list or use a tool like Social rank. Doing this method will save a lot of time and also get talent that already loves your brand. 

2. Manual Research 

When the budget is scarce, manual research is pretty much the best option. However, when you want to do the marketing strategy, you need to do several steps. You need to search for a profile that uses the same keyword or niche as your brand. It will help you narrow down the option and increase the chance of successful recruitment. 

Each of the platforms has slightly different ways to provide manual research. Most of them use tags or hashtags. It also helps if you can secure a successful marketing campaign with a creator near you. Thus, you can save some budget for transport. It is also doable through google search. But the strategy is always time-consuming, which is why you can opt for the next one. 

3. Through Agency

If you can splurge some money for a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign, try to search for talent through an agency. The benefit is not only about time, but it also has a chance of better recruitment. Due to the rising number of potential creators, you can find almost every marketing agency on each platform. 

It provides better help for you who develop a successful marketing strategy in a particular market. Some of them also spread across places, which means you can opt for a local agency. It helps a lot in shaving times and budget. But, remember to be clear and thorough before you deal a contract with the appointed talent. 

Hiring The Micro-Influencer 

1. Comment 

Many of the accounts are self-taught and independent, which makes hiring through comment quite possible. It is a very indirect strategy since you only leave a comment on their content. It can also look a bit unprofessional, but it does not mean the strategy won't be successful. Try it. If the person is interested in your offer, move to a more private conversation. 

2. Direct Messages

DMs offer a more private medium to talk with your target account. It is where you send a direct message to the account secretly, which makes you get all of the attention. The good news is most people check their DMs. It will help you reach the person and continue the strategy. However, you need a few tricks to ensure your DMs reach the person. 

The trick is to ensure your DMs are short, straightforward, and provide more value. In other words, the best DMs to hire are personally crafted to avoid spam-looking messages. It is necessary for your successful micro-influencer marketing campaign. You can tell your interest, your value about them, and your brief marketing strategy to make a collaboration. 

3. Email

Sending an email is considered the most traditional strategy. However, most of the time, it is successful. It is way more preferable if you are working for a more established or successful creator. The key to your marketing message email is to write an honest invitation. Mention how you find the account, and tell the offer with brief detail. 

Since email allows longer messages, you can also add some details about the marketing compensation. Try to be open and say what you want them to do. Thus, you are free to discuss the rates. They will also appreciate your more personal ending. Thus, they will be interested in making a successful marketing collaboration strategy. 

Campaign Coordination 

1. Campaign Briefing 

The first thing that you need to do when realizing a successful micro-influencer marketing campaign is sharing the briefing. It will help both parties if you can be open about the goal. It will allow them to fine-tune the post content. Some other details that you should not forget are the deadline and post timing, which are very vital for the campaign's progress. 

2. Guideline 

As much as you give them a briefing and freedom to make the post, you also need to emphasize the guideline for the marketing campaign. Underline that you are working with humans, which means every party can make human errors that turn the campaign strategy haywire. It is something that you need to avoid during the process. 

To ensure everything goes well and ends up with a successful strategy, your guideline needs to help the creator to work under a clear goal. Tell them what you want and what you don't want them to add in the post. It is also a great way to provide some copy or existence print to support the maker in doing the job. You can ask to mention a hashtag or particular detail.  

3. Fee And Compliance 

Working with a micro-influencer means you are collaborating. When you are executing the strategy, you also need to talk about the compensation. The compensation strategy that you can use is ranging from cash, discount, and free products. It is something that you need to discuss thoroughly. 

Another thing that you have to highlight is the compliance rules. Make sure both parties can comply with the related FTC rules. It will be the backbone of a successful marketing campaign. It is because there are many fraud accounts or individuals out there. Emphasizing compliance also means that both parties are under legal marketing collaboration. 

Monitoring And Result Measurement

No one wants their marketing strategy collapsed before, during, or after the campaign is going on. That is why working with micro-influencer is one of the many marketing strategies that demand constant monitoring. It also ensures every strategy goes on the right track and ends up with successful execution. 

Monitoring also marks the result. You can see whether the successful micro-influencer marketing campaign strategy is working or not by looking at the goal metric. Does it change? Does the account elevate the brand sales or engagement? What idea is working or not during the campaign? It will help you develop a better strategy next time. 

And lastly, it is time to share the result with your collaboration. You can tell how the process, the outcome, and the big news are. If you found that the campaign is successful for both parties, you can say your thanks. It is even better if you convey openness toward the next collaboration campaign strategy. 

Final Words

Marketing campaigns need thorough strategy building. It is not something everyone can put easily, which is why micro-influencer campaigns can either be successful or flop. Being careful is not enough. Every business needs to consider every piece of marketing strategy and coordination. They also need to choose the best talent and monitor the program.