_pn.png)
Influencers have always been an integral part of any public relations and marketing campaign. But there is no doubt, things are changing in the field.
Only until a few years ago strategists trusted big names, semi-gods celebrities or “mega influencers”, such as Rihanna or George Clooney, to shape their targeted audiences’ perception about their product. The vast use of social media, though, has profoundly changed the way public opinion is formulated, creating a new economy of influence, where influence seems to be achieved at a more local level.
According to related surveys, a good 62% of Americans get their news from social media. This is to be taken into account when findings say that Americans trust local news more that national, as well as information coming from their narrow circle of family and acquaintances. Even more so, as digital consumption is increased, “closed communities” with niche interests are formed within the media sphere. These communities, albeit ideal for niche marketing, are impenetrable for brand marketers; Millennials and Generation Zers are very distrustful of businesses and their marketing approaches, which they regard non-authentic and purely business-profit oriented.
Through social listening, brands have realized they needed word-of-mouth marketing through everyday consumers who are trusted by their small communities because of their authenticity, niche specialty and lack of ulterior motives. Enter micro and nano-influencers!
Experiential marketing, which resonates with Millennials’ and Gen Zers’ values, has been the key to unlock these closed groups and boost peer-to peer connections through social media activity. Micro- influencers (with a social media following of 1K to 10K) and nano-influencers (with less than 10K followers in social media) campaigns have delivered impressive results so far.
It turns out that it is not the number of followers that defines influence after all, but the depth of relationship and the interaction these influencers have with their followers. It is about the influencers’ authenticity and genuine voice and also their engaging, relatable online content; it is about offering advice to their devotees, which boosts brand awareness and engagement and – ultimately - defines their followers’ decision-making.
Modern marketing needs the micro and nano-influencers’ authentic, unfiltered voice to bring awareness, engagement and growth of business. Don’t let their name cloud your judgement: their influence on their followers is neither “micro” nor “nano”!
Further reading:
Forbes. From Nano Influencers To Instagram Entrepreneurs: 3 Hot Trends In Influencer Marketing. 2018
Comments