Have you heard the term “microblogger”? I hadn’t really either until recently and I’m obsessed. I came across a really cool study done by AdWeek about how powerful microbloggers have become when it comes to influencing consumer behavior and I think it could be really impactful for businesses to take note. What exactly is a microblogger?
The official Google definition is, “a social media site to which a user makes short, frequent posts.” Think: A fashionista on Instagram, a fitness guru on Snapchat, a marketing expert on Twitter. These people have created a strong following on social media and use their platform to blog short tidbits that get shared, commented on, liked, etc. They’re the fashionable guy from Montreal, the Crossfit chick who posts about her kickass competitions, the foodie posting drool-worthy food pics. We all love to creep them. You’ve probably noticed them scrolling through your feed and haven’t given it much thought. Lauren Conrad posts about a journal she loves to use with a link in her post, Kim Kardashian Snapchats about AirBNB, your local personal trainer posts about a shake she just “swears by” with a link in the description that includes a promo code with her name on it if you order to get 20% off – brands are using microbloggers as a way to influence their target market. Let me explain even further. Case study: CocoWhite Let’s look at CocoWhite, a UK based coconut oil company that sells tubes of coconut oil for you to swish around in your mouth to whiten your teeth. Check out theirInstagram and observe what you see. Look at all those gorgeous people featured on their page. They’re all Instagram influencers who post about CocoWhite and how much they love it, likely with a code or a hashtag to get their followers to check it out. CocoWhite either pays them based on how many codes get redeemed, or sends them free product, or maybe (depending on the following) pays them to simply post. Check this out! Don’t you want to buy CocoWhite? All those gorgeous people with stunning white teeth use it! See? It works. While you’re at it, check out Teami Blends, a tea company that uses influencers to share the benefits of their tea and sell their product with promo codes. Even I almost ordered the tea after a creeping all the pictures of the fit people who say they love drinking this tea. What does this mean for me? Depending on your target market, as a small business with a small budget, you could simply send influencers who have a decent following a free sample of your product with a request to post a review. Or, you could offer them a cut of the profits that come in with their promo code. It’s a cheap, effortless way to amplify your reach and drive awareness for your product or service. Partnering with social media influencers is a smart thing to do and it can cost you next to nothing but time and maybe a bit of product. Run a contest, do a live chat, reuse the content for a guest blog post. The sky is the limit, depending on how much thought you want to put into it.
