Should marketers ditch celebrities for micro-influencers?
Sources: Instagram/stevenonoja; Instagram/theangelinos_

Should marketers ditch celebrities for micro-influencers?

MarketingCharts staff

Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of articles from MarketingCharts, which provides up-to-the-minute data and research to marketers.

Two in five marketers and agencies report having run at least six influencer marketing campaigns last year with 16 percent saying their influencer campaigns were always on. The future of influencer marketing also looks promising as 57 percent of the almost 200 marketers and agency professionals surveyed for a report from Linqia say they expect to increase their influencer marketer budget this year.

More than two-fifths (43 percent) of those surveyed say that 11-25 percent of their digital marketing budgets will go to influencer marketing in 2020. Another 18 percent are dedicating between 26 percent and 50 percent of their budgets towards the strategy.

So, what types of influencers do marketers and agencies want to work with this year? As it turns out, the smaller the follower size (nano-influencers with 5,000 or fewer followers being the exception), the more likely respondents are to see future engagement.

Linqia Influencer Types to Work with in 2020 Mar2020

Indeed, some 77 percent say they want to work with micro-influencers (between 5,000 and 100,000 followers) in 2020. Earlier research shows why this might be the case: a study by Fullscreen and Shareablee found that micro-influencers were better than others at motivating 18-34-year-olds to try something they have recommended.

Sixty-four percent report that they would like to work with macro-influencers (100,000 to 500,000 followers) while 31 percent want to work with mega-influencers (500,000 to five million followers) and 25 percent prefer nano-influencers. In light of research showing celebrities don’t have as much influence over buying decisions as other sources, it’s perhaps not too surprising that only 22 percent of marketers say they want to work with celebrity influencers with at least five million followers this year.

When it comes to budget allocations, the rankings differ slightly. Micro-influencers still rank highest as the type likely to receive the largest budgets (6.3), but they are followed this time by macro-influencers (6.0), possibly due to the higher costs associated with such engagements. Interestingly, despite a few respondents indicating that they want to work with affiliate influencers, these influencers rank relatively high for the amount of budget to be spent.

BrainTrust

"As with most strategic questions, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the influencer question."

Michael La Kier

Vice President, Brand Development - IGA, Inc.


"Micro-influencers: trend. Macro-influencers: classic."

Lee Peterson

EVP Thought Leadership, Marketing, WD Partners


"If you think you’re reaching your intended audience with an influencer, solicit feedback to your audience to get anecdotal input on their effectiveness."

Ralph Jacobson

Global Retail & CPG Sales Strategist, IBM


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What are the benefits and drawbacks of working with micro-influencers compared to those with more social media followers? What factors should play the biggest roles in the decisions by retailers and brands to work with influencers or not?

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Michael La Kier
Member
4 years ago

As with most strategic questions, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the influencer question. Working with higher profile – and even celebrity — influencers is expensive and often the juice is not worth the squeeze. Trust, authenticity, and loyalty are typically greater with micro-influencers. Questions to help brands decide what influencers to work with include:

  • Does the influencer’s brand match yours?
  • What are the influencer’s engagement metrics?
  • Does the micro-influencer have the (engaged) followers to successfully move the needle to sell your products?

Lastly, before investing, agree on how you’re going to keep score: brand exposure and reach, increase in engagements and interactions, an increase in sales — or a combination of these.

Lee Peterson
Member
4 years ago

Like it or not, big time celebrities (macro-influencers) have always worked in marketing efforts. What I think we’re seeing now is that micro-influencers, other than in high times, are not so valuable. I don’t even think the two are related. Micro-influencers: trend. Macro-influencers: classic.

Ralph Jacobson
Member
4 years ago

If you think you’re reaching your intended audience with an influencer, solicit feedback to your audience to get anecdotal input on their effectiveness. Then leverage tools available today to get real analytics on your audience’s real-time sentiment.