Micro-influencers, authentic, knowledgeable and passionate influencers in their niche community, have the digital clout to convert conversation into action while increasing ROI for your social media campaign.

These days, your healthcare company needs to have a robust social media presence with plenty of approachable educational information, reviews and a vibrant digital community. Social media marketing is now necessary for all generations.

• Nearly two-thirds of American adults use social media
• Between 2005-2015, the rate of seniors using social media has tripled

The influx of new social media users is intrinsically linked with the necessity for online reviews and recommendations of your healthcare brand. While in the past a static digital presence was enough for patients to trust your brand, patients now believe that if your company isn’t being reviewed, discussed, or talked about online, it doesn’t appear credible. With a focus on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, any and all healthcare companies should be engaging with followers across multiple platforms.  

• 41% of people say that comments on social media would affect their specific choice of a doctor, hospital or medical facility
• Social media users’ behaviors are indeed influenced by what their peers are saying
• Someone who watches a hospital’s video on Youtube is 30% more likely to book an appointment

Utilizing trusted digital mouthpieces that can advocate for your brand is the most innovative edge of healthcare social media marketing. Enter: the micro-influencer.

Who are micro-influencers?

With only 1,000-10,000 social media followers, micro-influencers are small and mighty. They are the authentic, passionate and knowledgeable voice of their social media sphere. Not unlike the well-known pharmacist your family has trusted for years or the nutritionist at the gym whom you routinely ask for healthy eating tips, micro-influencers build relationships within their digital community. When it’s time to make decisions, their followers trust what they have to say. In healthcare, micro-influencers are expert doctors and healthcare professionals that offer peer-to-peer recommendations, inspire calls-to-action or explain educational information. They are also patients living with a specific condition whose followers consist of other patients and caregivers. No two micro-influencers are alike. However, the trait they all share is using their real voices to communicate what they truly believe.

Why do micro-influencers matter?

Trust is the bedrock of both micro-influencers and healthcare marketing. Micro-influencers provide experiential inspiration to their followers, your target audience, give an authentic voice to your campaign and increase ROI. These micro-influencers can assist in wellness campaigns, online reviews, recommendations, and feedback from current and potential patients. As social media has progressed, micro-influencers can be used and measured effectively with tangible and standard KPIs including website traffic, sales and lead generation with a focus on engagement. They are a cost-effective, tangible way to authentically influence your current and potential patients’ decisions.

Benefits of a Micro-influencer

Pre-laid foundation of trust

Whether as a patient or an expert healthcare professional, micro-influencers are knowledgeable, authoritative and energetic in their niche community. This dedication has built trust with their followers. 94% of surveyors in and out of the marketing industry found influencers more credible, believable and knowledgeable than the general population. While celebrity or influencers with larger followings influence overall trends, micro-influencers are influencing purchasing decisions. Having built and participated in their own community, followers have seen since the beginning that they have a stake in the game and choose to take their advice.   

Targets your specific and relevant audience

A micro-influencer’s well-established community aptly targets the specificity of your social media campaign. Whether it’s geographical, illness-specific or only for the 45-year-old and under knee surgery patients in southwest Michigan, pinpoint accuracy is what makes your social media campaign work for you. Using your micro-influencer’s followers and digital community meets your target audience where they already are.

Higher engagement rates than an average influencer

Due to their constant connection and conversation with their followers, micro-influencers have 60% higher campaign engagement rates. They are continually discussing, recommending to, and inspiring their followers to create 22.2 times more weekly conversations than the average consumer. Their commitment to conversation is what sets them apart from other influencers on social media.

Cost-effective and increases ROI

Campaigns using micro-influencers are 6.7 times more efficient per engagement than influencers with larger followings. Unlike larger influencers, micro-influencers are cost-efficient for your marketing budget and don’t require the expenses of enlisting a larger or celebrity influencer. Having gained their followers’ trust, micro-influencers are also more effective in their role in your campaign, doubly increasing ROI. All of the previous benefits of micro-influencers combine together to give your ROI wings.

Adding micro-influencers to your healthcare company’s social media strategy is a cost-effective way to authentically engage and market to your desired audience by being smack in the middle of the conversation. Using micro-influencers within niche communities that are relevant to your healthcare brand allows you to make the most of your company’s social media presence and keep ahead of your competition. Social media is here to stay. So, invest in building your online community and churn meaningful conversation into action for your brand.    

Excited to start using micro-influencers for your healthcare campaigns? Or simply want to learn more?

Give us a shout!

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