Using Micro-Influencers to Drive Cultural Relevance in 2022

How many ads would you say you've come across just today? No, seriously take a guess! According to Forbes, the average American is estimated to see around anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day. Just think, if you watch one Youtube video, you'll see at least two ads. If you scroll through Instagram for a couple of minutes, you'll encounter ten more. And if you take a walk outside, you can easily add 30 more ads to the list. What used to be time passing by mindlessly has now turned into intentional grooming to influence your next purchase.

Brands for generations have struggled to create advertising that is relatable and culturally relevant. Out of all the ads we encounter, seeing individuals who look like me - a Black, college-educated, Gen Z woman - can seem like a long shot. In a Facebook commissioned study, only 41% of U.S. consumers feel represented in the ads they see, while 71% of consumers expect brands to promote diversity and inclusion in their online advertising.” Although it's hard work to intentionally design culturally relevant brands and content - there's a cheat code and they’re called “micro-influencers.”

Micro-influencers have a following base of between 10,000 and 50,000 followers, and a crucial part of their role involves taking their natural creativity and knowledge of cultural trends and marrying it with their undeniable influence, experiences, and ability to drive sales for brands.

With every brand, there is a constant demand to focus on incorporating diversity and inclusion into their advertising. And this is exactly where micro-influencers should become part of your strategy. Micro is the new macro. Not only are they a solution to help digital media users decipher which ads resonate with them, but they'll undoubtedly drive cultural relevance (and revenue) for your brand if you keep these three points in mind:

#1. Micro-influencers are the most authentic reflection of diverse consumers

Micro-influencers are known for seeming more trustworthy and genuine in delivery. In the strategic development phase for any campaign at SOCIALDEVIANT, we ask ourselves: Who is the target audience? Who might we be excluding? What's the driving message we want to get across? Who can help us to deliver this message authentically? And how will we include diverse experiences throughout this process?"

It’s a challenge for brands to promote without appearing too "salesy," or to incorporate diversity without being performative. As we've seen dozens of horror stories published when cultural relevance and advertising seemed forced, finding the right approach may take a while for some brands to answer naturally. In an article by Graham Spector, Sr. Content Planner at SOCIALDEVIANT, he writes, "Trust has been an ongoing issue not just between brands and consumers, but for social users everywhere. We're inundated with manipulative algorithms, the rise of "fake news" and troll accounts, and extensive media coverage warning you to be careful of what you believe at every turn."

The continued sense of trust and power to sway followers' opinions has dwindled further. Not only because of the rise of macro influencers, but also because of a wildly imbalanced ratio of organic and sincere posts in favor of sponsored, "salesy" updates from these individuals.

A Forbes article on D&I stated, "If people don't understand how your product could help them because you craft marketing messages based on assumptions about who they are, what they want and what motivates them, then they're losing out on your product's potentially life-changing benefits, and you're losing out on a sale and potential long-term customer." A micro-influencer is going to make sure you don't miss. They become that much-needed storyteller and a bridge to more inclusive creative outputs.

#2: Micro-influencers create the trends before you learn about them

There will always be a new, fresh, emerging influencer who has found a way to cultivate their unique stories and interests to an audience that is eager to listen. Micro-influencers are perfecting their niche and not only are they keeping their finger on the pulse of trends, they're creating them!

Founder and CEO of Mielle Organics, Monique Rodriguez, launched her hair care brand by self-promoting their products on social media. To propel the brand forward in such a saturated market like haircare, she strategically hired Black millennial micro-influencers to flood their accounts with product reviews, hair tutorials, and thoughtfully creative brand promotion. This built trust, expanded their reach, and led to Mielle Organics being sold nationally in Target, Walgreens, Walmart, and many more stores.

According to Twitter, "Nearly 40% of Twitter users say they've purchased as a direct result of a Tweet from an influencer." This means that micro-influencers are statistically driving sales in the right direction. For Mielle Organics, the key wasn’t to simply use diversity as Black women to tell the story, but amplifying different hair textures to magnify inclusivity and truly represent the brand’s target buyer.

#3: Generally, micro-influencers are more cost-effective

There was a study in 2019 that states, "Today, micro-influencers make up for 40% of the brand's annual influencers budget while the celebrity influencer budget is allocated at 28% - as per a survey made by Rakuten Marketing" and just a shot in the dark doesn't create this statistic. Investing in more micro-influencers for the same price as one macro-influencers or a celebrity can make all the difference when striving to drive cultural relevance.

Though labeled “micro”, engaging the right micro-influencer is like finding your golden ticket. A smaller following doesn't equate to a lack of skill or drive; it often means the complete opposite. We created an influencer plan at SOCIALDEVIANT in 2020 and discovered that influencers are highly effective in boosting social impressions which nearly always yields sales for brands.

Wrapping this up, too often diversity and inclusion gets simplified to a race-only conversation. And yes, although that's a foundational part of it, we must deeped the conversation? How do we drive cultural relevance for our brands in 2022? It may look like hiring a working-class influencer to represent class differences or hiring an influencer with unique abilities to resonate with persons with disabilities. It looks like hiring influencers with unique names to represent anyone whose name isn't easy to pronounce or a corporate dropout whose side hustle took them to new heights. These intentional influencer choices will normalize diversity for your brand and in turn, make it one rooted in cultural relevance.

Micro-influencers are your key to drive cultural relevance for your brand in an authentic way. Today and for a very long time to come, they'll have a macro impact on the advertising industry and brands worldwide. So how will you use micro-influencers to drive cultural relevance for your brand in 2022? Who said the bigger the better, anyways?