Short Essay1_Li Heyi(1155220407)

Collaboration with micro-influencers 

After the class talking about paid media, it reminds me something related to mirco-influencers marketing. More and more companies start to find some influencers that not really famous,but to some extent have their own target audience. In the age of digital marketing, it has become a popular trend for brands to partner with micro-influencers. Micro-influencers with relatively small but highly interactive fan bases, bring a unique set of advantages to brand marketing. I start to check some of the cases that all show the advantages below:

Low cost: In different platforms, influencers’ fees are quite different. Their incomes also vary depending on their influence and how the ads appear. It goes without saying that niche bloggers are cheaper, which is best for companies that want to spread the word widely or are on a tight budget.

Consumer Trust and Efficient Reach: Micro-influencers are more likely to gain consumer trust and increase marketing conversion rate due to their smaller number of followers but higher interaction rate. Moreover, micro-influencers excel in content creativity. They are typically more flexible and innovative, able to quickly adjust their content strategies according to brand needs and market trends. This flexibility and innovative capacity help brands stand out in the fiercely competitive market. Brands are also able to target audiences more precisely because they often have a loyal fan base in specific areas. It also a good test for brands that not sure about the target audience, for example some startups or some companies having a totally different product line. By partnering with a micro-influencers, brands can get direct feedback and data about their target audience, which helps make more data-driven marketing decisions.For example, Casetify, aiming to maintain its TikTok presence, launched campaigns with micro-influencers to create engaging videos. The second campaign focused on creative freedom, resulting in 28 videos that generated 4 million views at a CPM of $9.59. They get high reach with lower fees.

Product line shifts: Brands are turning to micro-influencers and more localized platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, to reach their target audience more accurately. These influencers have more accurate interactions with their fan groups, really can give a precise picture of the market in different areas. For example some international brands may have personalized product lines due to the region or the specific areas, and they find the micro-influencers to have a little range of promotion. Like Dyson wanted to expand its product line to specifically address pet cleaning problems, and launched a marketing campaign on Instagram, targeting the ideal target audience of pet owners. In this way, Dyson expanded the brand's presence in the pet space.

Lower risk and long term relationship: The risk of scandal or controversy is lower for micro netizens compared to larger netizens, which helps to protect the brand's image. Long-term relationship building with micro-influencers is a strategic approach that offers significant benefits to brands. By establishing and maintaining a good relationship with micro-influencers, brands can leverage the influencers’ growing audience and the trust their followers have in them. This long-term relationship can lead to increased brand loyalty and long-term exposure among the influencer’s followers, especially for products that are frequently used or consumed.

While partnering with micro-influencers offers numerous advantages, it also comes with potential drawbacks such as a limited reach due to smaller audiences, the risk of inauthenticity from influencers with low engagement or bought followers, increased management complexity when dealing with multiple influencers, ethical concerns regarding some influencers’ practices, and the resource-intensive nature of coordinating and monitoring these partnerships.