Only 64 percent of small businesses are using social media as part of their online advertising strategy. Unlike large corporations, small businesses are less likely to have a dedicated marketing department or strategy. They’re also typically working with small budgets and fewer resources. Despite these disadvantages, working with the right influencers can boost brand awareness, increase customer base and retention, and lead to higher sales.

What Can a Creator Do for a Small Business? 

Creators use social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to communicate with and reach followers, establishing themselves as trusted experts with certain audiences. 

Micro-influencers who partner with small businesses may have smaller, but dedicated followings. Some macro influencers have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers, but small businesses often opt to partner with lesser-known Creators to reach a niche audience and establish trust in their products or services. 

Why Should Small Businesses Partner with Influencers?

Influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly popular way to attract more customers. Seventy-three percent of Gen Zers say they watch creator videos on a regular basis, and 100% of this demographic shop online. Gen Z and millennials also prefer using TikTok or Instagram over a brand’s website for performing searches to learn about products or seek out recommendations. 

Additionally, small business influencers reportedly receive up to 60 percent more engagement than macro influencers, and 44 percent of marketers love micro-influencers because working with them tends to be less expensive. In fact, 56 percent of marketers who work with influencers are partnering with micro-influencers.

How to Find the Right Influencers for Your Brand

Now that you understand the benefits of working with small business influencers, let’s take a look at how to find the right Creators to promote your brand.  

1. Work with the right influencer management platform. 

An influencer management platform gives small businesses access to influencers, providing accessible features such as a searchable Creator database that helps small businesses find influencers they want to work with. 

LTK Connect has the power to jump-start your influencer strategy. Partner with the right influencers to increase your customer base and boost brand loyalty and sales. 

2. Understand your goals for working with an influencer. 

Before working with a small business influencer, identify your overall goals. Consider questions such as:

• • Who is your ideal customer? 
  • Who do you want to reach? 
  • What type of audience does your ideal influencer have? 
  • Do you want to engage in a long-term collaboration with Creators, or are you simply looking to work with Creators on a short-term basis? 

Once you understand your long-term and short-term objectives, you can start your influencer search. 

3. Listen to your customers.

Closely monitor your social media channels to get a better understanding of your ideal audience. What problems can your products or services solve? What are your customers’ main pain points? What type of product recommendations are they looking for? 

Partnering with Creators can be highly beneficial to small businesses, since they can influence consumer purchases beyond just social media. In fact, Creators regularly sell through inventory and can help dramatically change and improve brand perception and long-term consumer behavior.

LTK works with more than 1 million brands globally, 5,000 retailers, and hundreds of thousands of Creators in more than 100 countries. Remember that at least 18% of Gen Z consumers rank the LTK app or Creator content higher than search engines for product information and recommendations. And with more than 8 million monthly shoppers in its app, this platform provides highly trackable sales and influencer marketing programs at scale for small businesses. 

Grow Your Small Business with the Right Influencers

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