You know the big-time influencers in your niche. They may have 100,000 social followers, or perhaps even a million or more. You know their name. Your co-workers know their name. Everyone knows their name. You can’t doubt their status.

When you use the word “influencers,” this is what most people think of.

Why Do Companies Care About Influencers So Much?

It’s simple: they hold the key to lots of sales—and those sales come fast. Their audience trusts them to a significant degree, and when they tell them to buy something, their followers don’t hesitate.

Yet, big-time influencers are often difficult to reach. Everyone wants to have a business relationship with them, and given the afore-mentioned level of trust they enjoy with their audience, they’re highly selective about the products and services they recommend.

While it’s thus nearly impossible to get through to big-time influencers on a consistent basis, Instagram (for example) generates hundreds of millions in sales through influencer marketing.

So, Why Go After Micro-Influencers?

Micro-influencers are much easier to access than their more popular counterparts but still enjoy a large-enough audience (25,000 or less) in a focused niche to help drive serious sales.

Here are some strategies to do just that:

1. Focus on Influencers Who Embody What Your Company Does

As you scroll through social media accounts, you’ll come across people who love to hike. If you sell products to outdoor enthusiasts who like hiking, you’ve found a natural connection.

The second step is to make sure they receive a good quantity of comments, likes, and shares when they post. That way, you know they’re coming to the table with an engaged audience.

2. Implore Users to Generate Content for Your Campaign

Let’s say you operate a company that conducts tours. This seems pretty straightforward and a tad boring, right? Not when you involve influencers.

For example, you might ask them to post pictures of the amazing sights they see on one of your tours. You could also offer them a free tour in exchange for their honest feedback.

User-generated content works so well because it comes across as more authentic. Compare that to a $100,000 photo shoot capturing a celebrity doing the same thing. Which would you trust more?

3. Utilize Sponsored Posts

These are logistically easy. Simply reach out to an influencer and ask him or her to create a detailed content piece about your product—but only after first-hand experience with the same. After all, it’s important to not influence these opinions in any way. You’re looking for honest feedback, not positive feedback in return for a free product.

Even if this feedback is lackluster, it can at least help you improve your product to fit your market’s needs.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, building relationships with micro-influencers doesn’t need to be difficult. Just make sure you take time to qualify each relationship first.

Does he or she seem like the perfect fit for your product? Is the audience engaged? If so, reach out. Doing so could act as the spark your business needs to catch fire.