PR firm assists clients with micro influencer partnerships

Traditional media relations efforts are dwindling for public relations professional because there are fewer news outlets, and traditional journalists are becoming a scarcity. Small businesses have shifted their attention to where their consumers are getting their news, information and entertainment: on social media platforms and online.

Using media relations has long been a tool for small businesses because of its low cost and high return. This natural shift to citizen journalists, Instagrammers and bloggers, achieves today’s small business objective of reaching targeted customers.

Consumers have the ability to select which influencers to follow. This gives influencers a direct channel to communicate with a target audience! Clients have realized that the end consumer became more receptive to messages delivered by a personality (or friend) that they respect, trust and relate to, rather than watching an ad on TV being acted by a famous celebrity.

The new challenge is how to identify the influencer. Tracking down the contact information for the local newspaper, radio station and TV station was a fairly simple task in comparison to assembling a targeted list of key influencers with audiences that meet a small business’s marketing goals. Even so, small businesses understand collaborating with the right influencers who have a fan base that is relevant, makes digital influencer marketing the new best practice in public relations for today.

Now somebody has to cultivate the list of targeted influencers? Considerations include: size of an influencer’s audience, topic of influencer’s content, geography, engagement rates, what social channels they use, reputation, tone of voice in their content, and price.

Micro and nano influencers vs macro influencers
How do influencers work? Many busy, successful working professionals, retired residents or stay-at-home-parents who have a passion for a hobby or topic make extra money as paid micro or nano influencers in their local communities. Sometimes it’s unpaid and they simply enjoy free dinners or gifts.

On the brand side, it can be a cost-effective method to launch a product, announce a startup or store opening, and retain attention over time because it creates online publicity with local and targeted audiences. A micro-influencer is an individual with 1,000 to a million followers, though they’re usually at the small end of that spectrum. Because their accounts are small, they’re seen as more relatable by their audience, and they usually are open to genuine collaborations with brands. A nano influencer has between 1,000 and 5,000 followers. These groups consistently gain higher engagement rates than macro influencers because of their authenticity, local relationships, true connections to their followers and personal involvement in a smaller, tight-knit community. Kansas City has a large number of food and lifestyle influencers in comparison to nearby large cities like St. Louis.

What influencer success can do for a brand
Working with a micro or nano influencer, leverages the power of another person’s opinion to a targeted audience. It’s similar to the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing, online reviews and a friend’s recommendation. With all influencer outreach, content must tell a compelling story, grab the attention of the audience, show up in surprising ways and most importantly… use captivating imagery. Engagement is the most important element of influencer marketing. Examples of micro influencers working with targeted audiences might include: food Instagrammers or food bloggers, a local fashionista or wellness/fitness guru. Higher interaction between the influencer and the audience means that a connection is established and that the influencer is more relatable than a celebrity.

Another strategy is to cross topic when reaching out to influencers within a local community. For example, a shopping center might focus on lifestyle or fitness influencers rather than only reaching out to fashion-focused influencers. A restaurant might forgo an influencer event with only foodie influencers and instead focus on health and lifestyle influencers. This small, simple tactic extends the reach of the brand, opens up new audiences and allows for new story lines in the content.

Influencer marketing pitfalls
Overall, marketers must remember to demonstrate authenticity, alignment and integrity when working with influencers. People follow influencers for inspiration, information, comedy, aspiration, ideas to solve everyday challenges, and so on.

SIDE NOTE: There’s been local criticism recently in regards to local micro influencers by Kansas City’s traditional media. However, times have changed, and news is covered differently in 2019. The lines have blurred between paid, earned, owned and shared media. As a former journalist myself, I’ve watched as things have changed dramatically in the past 25 years. It’s time for us to recognize influencers as professionals who work hard at their craft. (Every industry has a few bad apples.) Public relations pros have to make room in their strategies for a variety of tactics and influencer relations is a strong tactic for my clients.

Common pitfalls to beware of:

• Despite being digital natives, young consumers value and seek out hands-on, real-life experiences to inform their purchases. As marketers, it’s important to work with the influencers to try to infuse real-life human connections into the content.
• Some influencers receive criticism for lacking transparency in disclosing sponsored posts and brand partnerships and gifts. Others are criticized for overexposing and commodifying their kids and/or family.
• Beyond close family and friends, connected consumers have mixed feelings about taking an influencer’s advice on what to buy. If the endorsement feels like an ad or too scripted, overproduced or inauthentic, consumers are turned off.
• Some brands create too many rules and regulations when establishing a relationship with an influencer which stifles the influencer’s creativity and authenticity. We work with our clients to offer counsel and make this a smooth negotiation process.

Aside from a few pitfalls that diminish authenticity and reduce the human experience, influencers have inspired almost one-fifth of American consumers to make a purchase! And as PR pros, we can’t walk away from this tactic. For small businesses, it’s sensible to partner with micro and nano influencers who can inexpensively provide another marketing platform to build a relationship with consumers through authentic, creative online content. We don’t know how short-lived this opportunity may be.