Mumbai: Influencer marketing is not always about celebrities endorsing goods and services for big brands. In fact, the new way of marketing in the digital world is accessible to anyone, regardless of the business’ size.

Marketing and brand promotion are major factors, even for small businesses and start-ups. One of the most effective ways to do promotion on social media is to involve influencers. Some are still sceptical about influencer marketing as they think it’s costly, or they simply don’t know where to start or where to look for the best suitable influencer. The truth is that it’s the other way around: small businesses can actually benefit a lot from influencer marketing.

How can micro-influencers contribute?

Micro influencers are content creators with an online community of 10,000 to 100,000 followers. Their follower count might seem inadequate compared to celebrity influencers, but the dedicated social following of micro-influencers has proved to be quite effective, mainly for small businesses. Micro-influencers have a more active and focused audience. Promoting your brand or business with the suitable micro-influencer will provide adequate visibility and help improve business.

1. Micro-influencers are the right choice for promoting small-scale businesses, as they are more effective than celebrity influencers.

2. Micro-influencer campaigns are cost effective and easy to start or handle.

3. They have a strong and focused niche audience, hence, the brand gets relevant social interactions.

Why should small businesses partner with influencers?

There are many reasons for start-ups to stake their claim in the creator economy. From increasing profits to accelerating brand awareness, the possibilities are endless.

Make your brand stand-out and share your story

It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of competition or lack proper brand awareness, social media influencers can help a lot in introducing your brand or business to the market and explaining the benefits of doing business with you.

Influencers are excellent storytellers, that’s why people love their content. They can use the same storytelling skills to promote your business in a meaningful manner. People are able to retain more data when they receive it through stories. Influencers are the best option to share your brand story and make you stand-out among your competitors.

Return on marketing investment

Spending money on marketing and not acquiring increased sales is a hard time for every marketer and company. Influencer marketing, on the other hand, is a proven and effective strategy to reap the benefits of a return on marketing investment.

When you are a small business, you lack the budget to try out different marketing strategies. Hence, trying a strategy (influencer marketing) that is already proven gives you a substantial return. It’s a worth trying strategy for small businesses when there is a promised return on marketing investment, or ROI.

Brand Authenticity

Brand authenticity is the kind of trust every business desires. For small businesses, it takes time to build trust. The best way to track trust-building is to ensure that your customers see your brand or business as authentic. Choosing any influencer isn’t enough. Partnering with the right influencer who aligns with your business niche will only make the brand authentic.

People will no longer trust the influencer or brand if the endorsement seems inauthentic. Proper influencer marketing can help build third-party credibility and trust with an audience looking for resources from your market.

Visible and Cut Through the Noise

Traditional ads have become annoying for digital natives. That’s the reason most users block ads. Ad blocking makes surfing easier and more comfortable, but it’s not so comfortable for advertisers. Even if a consumer or user is interested in your product, they might never get to see the ad just because their ad blocker kicked it out or they are overloaded with content.

Influencer marketing comes into play in this scenario. If the user sees an influencer they like promoting your product, they will definitely watch it. Social media is run by the opinions of its network, which includes influencers. So if you choose an influencer who loves your product, their customers will know that the product is worth checking out. When influencers share your brand story, their network of followers will get familiar with your business, and the more their content engages, the greater your customer acquisition.

Influencer marketing is affordable, effective, and, moreover, worth the investment. You are bound to find impactful brand ambassadors and spokespersons when you start doing purposeful influencer research online.

The author of this article is My Haul Store founder & CEO Abhishek Vyas.