#podcast Must Do 2022 - Working with Micro Influencers

Today it’s all about influence marketing and how even a small business like yours can take advantage of it.

But before I get too far in, stop thinking of influence marketing as being about naked people under Bali waterfalls spruiking slimming tea. And start thinking of influence marketing as using people with an audience you want to reach to promote your products and services.

Word of mouth is always the pot at the end of the marketing rainbow that we’re all chasing. And that is what influence marketing is. Notice I am calling “Influence Marketing” and not “Influencer Marketing.” There’s a difference here. One is about what you want access to. The other is a singular person. I want access to the influence, not the influencer.

The kind of influence I want access to is that kind that can recommend a product or service to a small circle of Mums, or small business owners, or stay at home dads or soccer coaches. Get what I mean? I want access to a micro audience of people who could use what I am selling. So that means using a micro-influencer who has access to that small circle of friends and acquaintances.

And you approach these micro influencers the same way you’d approach anyone online. Drop them a message. That’s literally it. Chat with them about what you have in mind, share your product or service with them and let them in on how you would like to partner with them to introduce what you do to their audience. It doesn’t have to be full of sucking up or praising them. These local micro influencers aren’t as high maintenance as Kylie Jenner or some reality TV show reject. They will probably be flattered that you think that they are doing something valuable. You’ll talk ideas, you’ll talk money. It’s not a hard thing to do. The most difficult thing for a small business to understand is that working with influencers isn’t booking at ad. You are buying an audience that is very niche and who this influencer is very protective of. They know how to speak to their following. They know what their audience loves. They are the person who is going to put this package together so that it resonates well with their followers. Your job is to make it clear to the influencer what the product is, how it’s used and who is the kind of person that would get the best value out of using it.

Then step back and let them do what they do.

But know that influence marketing is like any marketing. It may or may not give you the outcome you wanted. But the important thing here is that perhaps several hundred people have now heard of you who probably wouldn’t have. And that creates several hundred internal conversations that these people are having in their own heads around what they think of your product and whether it is for them – even if it isn’t for them right now.

The good news is that micro influencers are cheap, accessible and thrilled that you want to work with them. So I’ll be doubling down on accessing them this year and I think you should strongly consider it too.

To sum up the last five days of this series, 2022 will be characterised by many of the same things that last year was and a thing or two that may be very new to you. So focusing on any one is going to do you well. Focus on a few and you could be on to a winning year.

So, understand that

1. You need to create content
2. You need to start making use of AI tools
3. You need to look at doing some video
4. You need to focus in on the conversations happening around your business
5. Start looking beyond Facebook and Google ads and look at influential people