Will the rise of micro influencers reduce the significance of macro influencers

Considered as one of the most effective marketing strategies, influencer marketing is also said to drive high ROI. The social media influencers leverage the power of their reach among the followers, creating a good engagement for the brands they represent. Comprised of micro and macro, the banquet of influencers is rising. Within this rise, the growth of micro influencers over macro influencers leads to question the future prospect of the latter. 

In this article, BuzzInContent.com explores whether the significance of macro influencers would fade with the rise of micro influencers. Discussing the various reasons for the growth of micro influencers, marketers and content heads also spoke on why the market would witness an equal mix of both in the future, conveying the brand’s message effectively in their circle of followers.

A lot of brands now want to reach out to engage with micro influencers in India as they charge way less than the macro influencers. On engaging with micro influencers the brand can get larger participation of the influencers than using three or four macro influencers, in the same budget.

According to global reports, micro influencer accounts on social media boast up to a 60% increased engagement rate compared to macro influencers. They also have over a 20% higher conversion rate.

Chandni Shah, COO, Social Kinnect said, “Micro influencers don’t restrict themselves to a particular category, and this makes them more versatile and relevant to different audience segments. They are the best way to create a buzz about the brand. I see a lot more use of micro influencers in the future.”

“Category brands and niche product marketers should definitely look at partnering with micro influencers because they have an audience who would probably find that promotion more organic than macro influencers promoting it,” said Priyanka Gill, CEO and Founder, POPxo.

“With highly engaged followers, they also possess the depth of knowledge for their domain, passion and creativity on the work delivered for every brief. With the ever-changing algorithms of Facebook and Instagram where organic reach percentages are very low, it makes sense in multiple cases to go with micro influencers than macro,” shared Shradha Agarwal, COO, Grapes Digital.

“The future is private and so would our conversation be. Our circle of influence would be smaller but far more engaged and loyal. Given that, we believe micro influencers would play a key role in credibly disseminating the brand's conversation and engaging with a set of smaller yet very impactful audience,” said Samar Verma, CEO and Founder, Fork Media Group.

However, macro influencers, which also include celebrities, can help build brand awareness to the largest number of consumers, lending their celebrity cachet and voice to the brands they choose to associate with.

But for the reasons above mentioned, would this steep growth and demand among micro influencers cannibalize the opportunities of macro ones? What is their future? With the growth of micro influencers, would macro influencers lose ground?

“It's like a catch-22. I think you need both micro and macro boards to help your brand. And while there are certain advantages when it comes to macro influencers coming to reach, and I would say acceptability with the audience, micro influencer, they have carved a niche, and because of which, when they talk about the brand, it becomes authentic for the followers that are following micro influencers. So I would say an equal mix of both in the future,” said Bishwajeet Samal, Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

Both have their place within the world of influencer marketing. Factors like campaign objective, campaign budget and even the product/service in question determine whether micro or macro influencers are used. If brands are looking for reach and have the budget to pull off celebrities then macro influencers are the powerhouse accounts.

The kind of reach and credibility a macro influencer can provide is a key tool for any brand to generate awareness. In the coming time, all influencers will get desired amplification and enhance, even more, shared Yan Han, Chairperson, TopSocial India.

Shah said, “It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Macro influencers will still be extremely important when it comes to attracting the right kind of audience for your brand. If you’re looking, for example, for an aspirational influencer with tons of followers may be the need of the hour for bigger brands.”

Who among the both is more effective with the brands' message?

Both macro and micro influencers play critical roles in delivering brands’ values to their followers. Macro influencers ensure that a large set of audience is reached to maximise visibility, while micro influencers deliver targeted and relevant content to their loyal followers who place a high degree of trust in them. Depending upon the category of the brand, micro influencers’ engaging content and macro-influencers’ reach can be combined to create a winning communication strategy.

“A good way to break it down is to think about what your business needs and what narrative one needs to drive. If you’re looking to target a certain type of customer, but still want to reach the masses, then a micro influencer might be more useful than a celebrity-influencer,” said Gill.

Sometimes, a micro influencer with 10-15k followers might be directly relevant to the brand and impact their sales in a way that no macro influencer can. The sheer numbers they influence will ensure that parameters like brand awareness, reach and visibility are highly impacted.  In certain cases, brands can deliver the same reach with micro influencers by choosing multiple of them at a lower cost. But given a hero campaign of the year and the campaign objective is brand consideration and brand love, a right mix of macro and micro influencers has to be created.