If brands put people first, there would be more authenticity and trust, engagement and persuasion, and true diversity and inclusion.
Welcome to this month’s edition of our newsletter “If Brands Put People First” where we pop up in your inbox monthly with our analysis of campaigns, advertisements, and commercials from brands that we think could make a major impact if they used real people, with real stories, to achieve real results.
In this month’s newsletter our co-founder Ryan Davis will explain the perfect creator balance for influencer campaigns.
All campaigns have different audience targets and objectives, from national awareness to citywide conversions, each requiring their own unique strategy. With this in mind it is important to craft campaigns with a unique influencer media mix of Microinfluencers, Mid-Tier Influencers, and Macroinfluencers as they each provide different outcomes.
By utilizing what we call the Creator Pyramid we can craft a unique mix of influencer types curated for each campaign based on their goals and audiences.
Now let’s break this down and take a deeper dive into what each creator type brings to the table:
Microinfluencers
Micros are creators with 2,000 to 20,000 followers. We generally think of these creators as “real people,” who are not full time content creators. This means that they are more likely to be personally connected to most of their followers and hold high degrees of trust within their communities. They also have largely local followings with shared affinities and life experiences such as careers, education, and household income.
Microinfluencers tend to drive not only positive engagements but even have higher engagement rates than influencers with more followers. If all of that isn’t enough, they also offer the lowest rates to negotiate the full rights and usages of the content to be boosted directly from their profiles through a whitelisted ads. These high-performing ads are both authentic and scalable and we see them drive conversions over and over again. Learn more about the power of microinfluencers by checking out our whitepaper.
Mid-Tier Influencers
Mid-Tiers have between 20,000 – 250,000 followers. These are influencers who have spent real time building an audience within their niche by making high-quality, authentic content that drives connection. Additionally, large parts of their audience can still be in your target regions.
While they don’t have as many followers as a Macroinfluencer, or as good engagement as a Microinfluencer, their content works well for consideration within their niches. Their content may come at a higher cost than Microinfluencers but they are often focused on continuing to build their audiences allowing for easier negotiation for whitelisted ad usage as well.
Macroinfluencers
Macros have more than 250,000 followers on one or more platforms. These creators are recognizable to a plethora of audiences and as their follower counts continue to increase they may be known to large portions of your target audience. This makes them particularly great at spreading top down messages and generating awareness. In general, the rights to repurpose and use their content in paid is prohibitively expensive, so you’re relying on their organic popularity to generate excitement. Additionally, their audiences are more focused on national or international reach, so they might not be a fit for campaigns with specific geographic requirements.
How We Can Get Creative
When building out a plan we may identify specific volumes of influencers in each tier to fit the mix-model approach, but it is also important to note the abilities for collaboration across tiers. Meta and TikTok have integrated fun and creative tools that allow these creators to collaborate effectively.
For example, envision a MacroInfluencer on TikTok, who is very well known on the platform, making a video allowing for newer microinfluencers to add to it through a feature called Stitch. This not only boosts Microinfluencers likelihood of trending but also keeps the Macroinfluencers original video relevant.
On Meta, they have built the “collaboration tag” that enables Microinfluencers to tag Mid-Tier or Macroinfluencers as partners, helping to extend their visibility and reach. Moreover, Macroinfluencers can incorporate content from Microinfluencers into their posts, and fans of Macros can further enhance Micros reach by referencing the Macro content at a grassroots level. The possibilities are endless, you just have to spend some time getting creative and understanding who your influencers are online.
Let’s Collaborate!
At People First, we take the time to understand the strategy and objectives of each client and work together to propose a mix that fits into their budget. We know that each campaign is not the same, making it critical to optimize your mix to drive results.
That’s the power of putting people first in your marketing.