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Are you a Shopify business owner looking for new ways to grow your store?
There may be a method you haven't yet tried called "micro influencing."
Shopify influencer marketing could be your gateway to targeted reach, authentic engagement, and the power to elevate your Shopify store!
Join us as we delve into the world of micro influencer marketing and learn everything from reaching out to the ideal influencer to what you should know before striking a deal—plus a bonus tool you can use to hire an influencer fast—all in this post.
What Is Shopify Influencer Marketing?
Shopify influencer marketing is a specific practice of leveraging social media influencers to promote products and services sold exclusively through Shopify stores.
If you own a Shopify store, you can collaborate with individuals with established creditability and a dedicated following on platforms like:
• YouTube
• TikTok
…To reach a targeted audience and ultimately drive sales.
In general, influencer marketing on the rise. In 2022, influencer marketing topped $16 billion and continues to rise year after year.
Types of Influencers
A micro-influencer is an influencer with a follower count of at least 10,000 and up to 100,000.
Once an influencer passes 100,000, they fall into the range of a macro-influencer.
To understand that number, here is how this would break down across Instagram:
-65.39% of Instagram influencers worldwide have fewer than 10,000 followers
-27.73% of Instagram influencers have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers
-6.38% have 50,000 followers to 500,000 followers
Why Micro Influencers?
- Lower Cost
- May accept only products, or commission for posts
- Less competition with other brands
- Higher reply rate to outreach
And most importantly... engagement and audience trust
Instagram influencers with less than 10,000 followers have the highest engagement rates worldwide.
So-called "micro-influencers" have an engagement rate of around 6%, while the mid and mega-influencers have an engagement rate of less than 2%.
Benefits of Micro-Influencer Marketing
Risk Diversification
Working with 10 influencers instead of 1 gives you a bigger chance for a home-run.
Increased Brand Awareness and Trust
Reach a wider audience and improve brand visibility among potential customers, with personalized content
Targeted Reach
Connect with a specific audience who are already interested in products or services relevant to your niche. Some 36% of marketers report that influencer content performs better than brand-created content on social media.
Improved Conversion Rates
Generate greater interest and drive sales for your Shopify store. Around 21% of social media users under age 54 have bought a product due to an influencer recommendation.
Cost-Effective Marketing
It can be more cost effective than traditional advertising strategies when implemented strategically.
The average cost for a micro-influencer post on a platform like Instagram is $50-$200. Remember, micro-influencers tend to have better engagement levels, which translates into more sales.
How to Find Micro Influencers for Shopify
Follow these steps to find and work with micro-influencers for Shopify successfully.
Step 1. Calculate your budget
- Decide Your Total Spend. How much you want to allocate to a given influencer campaign
- Incorporate Product & Shipping Costs. Factor in gifted products costs can help choose which products to send. For example, low-cost products or excess inventory are great for testing
- Choose Influencer Size & Quantity. With a budget of $500 you can send out $25 worth of product to 20 influencers
Step 2. Define your micro influencer avatar
-Know your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with influencer marketing? Compare your demographics with a potential influencer to ensure it's a worthwhile investment.
-Identify niche alignment. Look for micro-influencers whose content aligns not just with your audience, but how your want your products presented.
-Engagement matters. Prioritize individuals with a highly engaged following, not just follower count. Look for comments, shares, and genuine interactions.
Step 3. Source Micro Influencer Leads
-Leverage social media platforms. Utilize various platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, searching relevant hashtags, keywords, and competitor content.
-Join online communities. Engage in relevant online communities and forums to observe potential influencers and establish connections.
-Use a platform like PartnerUp. We don't just help you find influencers by keywords & audience, but show you demographics, fake follower counts, and more.
Step 4. Craft a scalable outreach strategy.
It's important to balance reaching out in bulk, while still adding personalization for high reply-rates.
- Personalize your message. Try to avoid avoid sending generic emails. Look at what the influencer posts and shares and highlight how your brand aligns with that.
- Keep it simple. Your first goal is to get a reply, and then you can send all the details. This will also save you time.
-Highlight mutual benefit. This shouldn't just be all about you. Clearly explain how partnering with your brand benefits both them and their audience.
-Offer clear value propositions. Be upfront about your expectations. After the first outreach, jump straight in to discuss compensation, and create content guidelines that make sense.
Step 5. Create content, build relationships
- Give constructive feedback. It's ok to request changes or improvements to content - if they're receiving affiliate commission this is win-win.
- Engage with their content. Don't just ask for help; engage with the influencer you're targeting! Give positive feedback and repost if possible.
- Add incentives & next steps. If a post does well, you want to show a clear path to continued collaboration
Step 6. Track and measure success.
-Set KPIs. Start by defining your goals. Maybe you want to increase brand awareness, website traffic, or conversion rates.
-Utilize analytics tools. Use platform-specific analytics to track clicks, website visits, and engagement metrics explicitly associated with your chosen influencer's promotion. Don't leave this to chance.
-Evaluate and adapt. This data will help you decide who to continue working with, and find more people similar to.
Bonus tip: A micro-influencer discovery tool like Partnerup will come with these analytics out of the box.
What To Offer Micro-Influencers for Collaboration
What do micro-influencers want? To make these partnerships win-win, here are a few tips to help you craft your offers.
Monetary Compensation
Consider offering a fixed fee. That fee could be based on engagement rates and the influencer's reach.
Another option is performance-based pay. You could offer a specific commission on sales generated through the influencer's unique referral link or discount code.
You can also develop a tiered structure combining a fixed fee with a performance-based bonus to incentivize sales or engagement.
Product Seeding
Another popular offer for influencers is to offer free products that are relevant to the niche they're in.
This also allows them to showcase their experience and products authentically.
You can also provide exclusive discounts or early access to new merch. All of these methods can be enticing to micro-influencers.
Brand Exposure and Recognition
Exposure is a two-way street and having brand deals also gives THEM more credibility.
Reposting content is a great way to do this, whether in your social media posts, website, or email marketing campaign.
Make sure you have clearly defined your content rights up front
Co-Branding, Product Launches & Events
Co-branding opportunities like releasing a limited product edition, exclusive content, or giveaways that elevate their brand and yours.
You can also invite influencers to your branded events or product launches to enhance their experience and offer valuable content creation opportunities they can leverage.
A Few Additional Tips
Transparency and Clarity
Clearly communicate the compensation structure and content strategy you have in mind.
Leaving this to chance means more likely a sub-par outcome.
Flexibility and Negotiation
Expect the influencer to want to negotiate fees and compensation and be open to it.
Stay Compliant
Ensure all sponsored content is clearly labeled as such to comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations.
More Ways To Use Micro-Influencer Content
Create a Content Creation Team
Video content is king, producing a lot of it is hard.
Once you find good "VIP" influencers, they can become your content creation team.
Higher quality and a fraction of the cost of a single in-house person.
Repurpose Content For Ads
After seeing what posts are performing well, you can either run the same post or edit the content into an ad creative.
It's an amazing way to test more creatives and find more winners that you can scale your ads with.
Turn Your Product Into A Story
People love stories, and they hate boring products. Don't just have a micro-influencer tell people about your product.
Micro-influencers already have a storyline with their audience. Capitalize on it by adding your unique product into the mix.
Relationship Building Tips
1. Reach out with a personal touch is important! Customize your outreach
2. Follow up to ensure they are genuinely enjoying your products
3. You can also request feedback about the overall collaboration experience
4. Be patient and understanding with them, and support their growth by becoming their advocate
What Are The Best Tools for Finding Micro-Influencers?
Unfortunately, these tips are irrelevant if you don't know where to find micro-influencers for your Shopify store.
You also must, like any marketing channel, measure the results! Far too many brands miss this step.
We've created PartnerUp as an all-in-one system for everything covered in this article, including:
- Search the entire internet for influencers — with keywords for your brand
- Landing Pages to capture influencer leads
- Automated Influencer outreach, follow ups, order creation and more
- Measure ROI, sales, clicks, and other metrics from influencers.
The best part is PartnerUp is extremely affordable, up to 10 times less than similar tools.
And Today, You Can Try It Out For Free!
There's no time better than now to start leveraging influencer marketing for your Shopify brand.
We hope you found the tips above helpful, and we hope your business thrives in micro-influencing!
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