How Micro-Influencers Are Impacting Ecommerce

how social media micro-influencers impact e-commerce

Work in the e-commerce sector largely revolves around intent. While optimizing it on the basis of intent has yielded great results, we’re beginning to learn that the shopping experience is not just about going in and buying a product. 

If you are someone who already knows what you want, e-commerce is great. You just have to go online and click buy; it’s simple and hassle-free. However, there is a downside for sellers because e-commerce has failed to inspire buyers. 

What do we mean by inspire in the world of ecommerce? Well take it like this, consumers don’t usually know what they want. That is the main reason why companies market, isn’t it? Also, consumers don’t know what the market has to offer, so you need to tell them about it. Similarly, there are some things that they don’t need, but until you bring them in front of them, they won’t know they want it. 

Inspiration And Product Discovery 

Inspiration is important. Consider this, if they’re not inspired they’re likely to buy less from you. Traditional stores have always walked the fine line between intent and inspiration. When you walk down an aisle looking for an item, you have to browse through all the items on the shelves. In the process, you discover new products and purchase them, which also leads to impulse buying. We refer to this process as product discovery. 

According to a study, 80% of consumers discover products on social media. That is a big number! For context, the number was 58% in 2022. If you’re wondering if you should invest in micro-influencers, you have your answer. One in three people trust the influencer’s word over the brand’s. If an industry expert influencer claimed Spectrum Customers Service was effective, there is a greater chance you would believe the expert since you relate with them. 

Intent-based shopping can never compete with this. Any e-commerce store would want that people buy more and more products, which is impossible to achieve without putting in effort to inspire consumers. This is where micro-influencers can prove effective. 

What Are Influencers? 

Influencers are like celebrities but on the internet. They are popular, yet closer to their communities or fan base, whatever you want to call them. They share their experiences and are relatable to the people. They may also be experts in a field and share their opinions. Such influencers are known as industry leaders. 

They might be bloggers, sharing content in text form, as videos or even memes. Depending on what their niche is, their audiences vary. But, those that follow them are active consumers of the content produced. 

Influencers can be divided into two broad categories: micro-influencer and macro-influencer. The difference is the size of their following. Each is effective in its own way for marketing purposes, but micro-influencers tend to have greater engagement than macro-influencers, making them powerful drivers in persuading people to buy a product. 

Benefits Of Using Micro-Influencers 

To get the most out of influencer marketing, it is important that you choose the right person. Once you find them, you’re set. 

You get an affordable celebrity with contextual credibility and reach. Customers’ trust that would otherwise take a long time to earn, is easily achieved. Influencer marketing also grants your product a social position. In addition to this, you create authority and awareness for your brand. Since these micro-influencers are great niche experts, signing them up means you get access to the right audience. The best part, you get high-quality leads, which means a high return on investment. 

Are Platforms Effective In Influencer Marketing? 

Hands down, this award for the best influencer marketing platform goes to Instagram. According to a survey conducted by SocialPubli.com, Instagram was the favorite social media network for 61% of the influencers, followed by Facebook at 17% and Twitter at 12%. 

This is not to say that the other social media platforms are lacking behind. Facebook and Pinterest have shown significant growth as well. Facebook grew from 52% in 2020 to 70% in 2021, while Pinterest increased from 22% to 28%. 

A study found that social media referral traffic to e-commerce sites increased by 198% between 2014 and 2015, but the latest statistics tell a different story. Social media bring in only 3.2% of the traffic. 

The Shopper’s Journey On Social Media And Ecommerce Sites

With that, we can conclude that a shopper’s journey doesn’t begin with search, but rather with a scroll. As people scroll through their Instagram and Pinterest feeds, they browse through posts talking about products. They learn about a product, but it does not necessarily link back to the e-commerce platform selling it. 

The process from the top of the funnel to the last stage of sealing the deal is not linear and because of this, it is unclear where the traffic is coming from. Measuring purchase behavior thus becomes a problem. 

That is where a lot of people make mistakes. They evaluate the effectiveness of social media based on the immediate impact on revenue. We must keep in mind that this process is not as simple. 

Data compiled by Big Commerce shows that 30% of the online shoppers in the US were likely to buy a product through a social media site. Some still prefer to go through with the purchase in person. Half the consumers said that not being able to touch and try the product was the biggest drawback. Other reasons people listed include lack of physical experience, damage to fragile items in delivery, lack of interaction, the possibility of scam and fraud and delay in delivery. 

What Can You Do? 

Influencers are content creation machines on their own, but to make sure your ecommerce marketing message gets across effectively there a few things you can also do. First off, be clear about the message you want to send to your potential customers without infringing on the influencers creative headspace. If the message seems planted or bought, people do catch on. 

Also, get everything in writing and seal it in a legally-binding agreement. Just be careful! Last year saw a lot of social media influencers fail and a lot of brands affiliated with them ended up getting dragged. Research the influencers you take on board. 

Final Thoughts On Micro-Influencers In E-Commerce

Some say influencer marketing is a bubble that will burst soon, others swear it boosts sales in ecommerce and other industries. We stand by our recommendation to utilize micro-influencers to grow e-commerce sales. This social media influencer trend has a lot of scopes and can help your brand. Just be careful with your social media micro-influencer choices and do your due diligence!

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