Working with macro- and micro-influencers: key features and how to measure the result

Let’s talk about the specifics of communication with macro- and micro-influencers, supplement the classification with mid-bloggers, analyze which tasks are best suited for each of them. We’ll share recommendations based on 2 L’s experience in influencer marketing and an approach to evaluating campaigns with bloggers.

The specifics of macro and microblogging audience

When to use micro, midi, and macro influencers

How to work with bloggers of different scales

How to select channels for integration

What contributes to successful interaction

How to evaluate the effectiveness of a project with bloggers

The specifics of macro and microblogging audience

We work mainly in the B2C market, specializing in software, technology and gadgets, and we consider the audience of microbloggers from 1 to 60 thousand subscribers, and macro influencers with 400 thousand subscribers. You can see a serious gap in these audiences. Indeed, there is an interesting range between micro and macro, in our niche it ranges from 60-70 to 350-400 thousand subscribers. We call them midi. These are those who still fall short of large channels, but already clearly differ in coverage from micro ones.

P.S. For other topics, the boundaries may differ, for example, if we talk about beauty bloggers, all the numbers will be 2-3 times larger.

Now let’s talk about the specifics of audiences of different levels and why there has been so much talk about working with microbloggers lately. Of course, this is the case when quality comes first, not quantity. 

Microbloggers don’t have many subscribers, but there are almost no random people among them, their audience is as loyal as possible, they sincerely trust the influencer. 

There is no excess of advertising in small channels, many people engage in microblogging out of pure enthusiasm, not for the sake of money. Therefore, it may be more difficult to agree on cooperation with some of them than to join the celebrities. But if a microblogger takes on an advertising project, it will almost certainly be a very native, well-developed integration. It is important for them both to maintain the trust of subscribers and to meet the expectations of advertisers. They actively participate in content creation, testing products honestly and with full dedication. As a result, their audience accepts ads with understanding and trust. If your goal is to establish a strong emotional connection with your audience, then microblogging will be a great tool.

Midi-influencers are closer to micro than to macro in terms of audience quality and involvement in processes. They are not yet spoiled by advertisers, they will be equally attentive to the customer, the content and the interests of their subscribers. At the same time, their audience is noticeably larger than microbloggers have. 

In our experience (2L’s portfolio includes collaboration with 200+ bloggers), if you evaluate performance comprehensively in terms of traffic, CTR and engagement, midi have the best results. 

When to use micro, midi, and macro influencers

There is an opinion that microbloggers are suitable exclusively for specific products and local promotions, but this is a misconception. In fact, the blogger’s choice is determined by the product’s conformity to the nature of the author’s content, regardless of the size of his audience. In our projects, we have repeatedly attracted microbloggers to promote gadgets and user electronics of major brands, both for one-time promotions, new product announcements, and to maintain interest.

The advantage of macro influencers is, of course, coverage. It is advisable to work with them when the task is to create or raise brand awareness among a wide audience, or when you need a focus on the most diverse target audience. Later, after the announcements, we would have connected the midi microbloggers anyway — to consolidate the contact and form a closer emotional connection with the consumer.

If your advertising campaign budget is limited, go straight to micro-midi bloggers. With a balanced selection of channels, you can expect good results (more confidently than if you lay out the entire budget for 1-2 large ones). If you have a significant budget for a mass product, the optimal strategy is to combine channels of all three categories: start with exposure through large blogs, and then move on to midi and micro for a more personalized approach.

How to work with bloggers of different scales

When interacting with a microblogger, you will most likely communicate not with the influencer himself, but with his agent or manager. You should understand that such bloggers have an abundance of advertising deals, so their integrations often turn out to be formulaic, and this can lead to a lack of response from the audience.

Therefore, your brief and the scenario for integration on the macro channel should be carefully thought out.

Bloggers with an audience of millions are poorly involved in the advertising preparation process, so you (your PR manager, contractor) need to research the style and content of the blog and create a script that will seamlessly integrate into its content. It’s great if your product manages to become a solution for a specific blogger’s task and is demonstrated in action.

Developing a macro scenario will require the most effort. But there will almost certainly be no organizational problems. Bloggers’ agents know their job, they work clearly, they don’t have to be persuaded. Write out the scenario in detail: managers like to receive detailed instructions for advertising, they themselves do not seek to delve into the details of each project.

But if the macroblogger expresses a desire to personally participate in the creation of the script, do not interfere. It is better to suggest adjustments later.

How to select channels for integration

To select partners, first determine the campaign goals and budget. Then make a list of bloggers and carefully study their content to make sure that their values and tone of presentation match your brand. Pay attention to audience engagement: this is more important than the number of subscribers, which may be overestimated. As for macrobloggers, you should also pay attention to their past promotional posts/videos and how subscribers reacted to them.

Don’t forget to analyze how the blogger feels about your type of product and whether he works with your competitors.

If he works with competing brands, think carefully about the importance of integrating into his channel for you. It might be better to find an alternative, and if his support is critically important to you, try to involve him in a long-term partnership.

What contributes to successful interaction

• Developing clear briefings that take into account all the nuances avoids misunderstandings and ensures that the content meets your standards.
• Let bloggers be creative. They know their audience better and can come up with effective ideas.
• If you like the results of cooperation with a blogger, you should think about a long-term relationship. This will strengthen the loyalty of the influencer’s audience towards your brand.
• Stimulate user-generated content (UGC) by engaging bloggers and their followers through contests and gamification. UGC content demonstrates user loyalty to the product, which significantly increases the brand’s value in the eyes of the target audience.

How to evaluate the effectiveness of a project with bloggers

1. Formulate the KPI at the start. Metrics can be: coverage, views, engagement, clickability, traffic to the advertiser’s landing page, the number of participants in a contest or other activity, the tone of subscribers’ reactions, etc. The main thing is that the choice of KPIs should be based on the goals of your project. If the campaign was for recognition, you should not evaluate it by conversions to sales. A badge from a well–known brand is one thing, but the launch of a new trademark is another. In the second case, you need to split the campaign into two stages: first recognition, then sales. Each stage has its own strategy and its own metrics.
2. Do not ignore qualitative assessment methods. Ask for feedback from the bloggers you’ve worked with, and analyze the audience’s reaction. This will provide a deeper understanding of the results of the campaign, and the opportunity to identify areas for improvement in the future.
3. If a blogger’s one-time integration has failed, you should not immediately abandon cooperation. Especially if the channel was chosen deliberately, and you expected some kind of effect. There are a lot of variables: perhaps the advertising was embedded in not the most attractive content or the algorithms of the site did not play in your favor. At least two integrations should be performed before making final conclusions.

Working with bloggers, regardless of their scale, is a powerful promotion tool. To get the most out of it, it is necessary to competently build all the processes – from careful selection of channels to analysis of the results. The 2L team knows all this, knows how, and practices it. Leave a request using the button below or write to sales@2l-pr.ru, if you want to work with us.