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    Blog by Collect Reviews

October 10, 2019

Micro Brands and Big Changes in Social Commerce

In an era with such huge consumption level as we have right now it is really difficult to hold a customer’s attention for more than several minutes. While big companies are fighting for it, small brands have already made their connection with a client. Big brands are looking for ideal consumers and are working for them. Direct-to-customer companies at the same time are successfully working with what they have.

Big-name brands are getting under more and more pressure with the development of small business sector. And it is for a reason. Statistics show that in around five years more than 75% of the American consumers will prefer micro brands to big companies.

So what is a key to success? What are micro brands? And why are they getting so popular? This article will answer these questions.

Micro brands and its origin

Micro brands apply a direct-to-customer approach and sell the product straight to the shopper. In ecommerce the meaning of a number of stores as a marker of success is lost. Brands can effectively promote themselves through the content and campaigns on social media.

The target audience for micro brands are not the ordinary people others are aimed at but more of not typical shoppers who are highly interested in a brand. Micro brands appear in the unexpected places, for instance, podcasts and streaming. They catch a moment when a consumer takes a phone to do something they really need to do and then draws their attention to their own product.

Selectivity as a main tool

Micro brands are extra concentrated on content strategies. They work with a niche demand and niche ideology and lifestyle. For example, Billie a company selling shaving cosmetics and razors for women. The main feature of this brand is its focus on female part of the population that is not concerned about their body hair and the conventional image of a woman in today’s society. At the same time, it also responds to those who is tired of spending too much money on shaving cosmetic items.

Another company on this market is Venus whose brand is about the complete opposite. Outstanding way of communication between a brand and a shopper helped Billie to strengthen the relationship with its audience and make a successful marketing campaign. Being general as big companies do is no longer effective. Referring to the exact demands and values of a small audience is what makes a profit.

Micro brands and social proof

Influencers are already involved into brands advertisement campaigns and actively participate in the process of building social proof. However, micro brands use them a bit differently. Instead of trying to knock on the door of the bloggers with enormous audience or very public figures they communicate with everyday bloggers with small but loyal subscribers, who care about their relationship with the audience.

An example of this strategy can be Zenni Optical which successfully uses social networks to build a bond with its customers. There are a lot of pictures of the customers wearing their glasses on Zenni Optical Instagram page and they post more every day. Because of that the brand is associated with something relatable and affordable. Visual content is an absolute requirement for retailers today and if it is also user-generated the attractiveness of your brand is more likely to raise.

Micro brands and feedback

Other forms of social proof such as ratings and reviews are also actively used by micro brands. Micro brands as they mostly encourage people to buy something without touching the product in real life need trust more than any other type of business. To deserve this much trust a brand needs to include social proof in its content marketing.

Reviews classified to several categories, as it is in Casper shop, for example, can also help you to maintain an image of a reliable brand. Purchasing online is about making a shopper feel safe and confident if they want to actually buy something. Therefore, micro brands also have super easy return and exchange policy so the process of making a purchase would not be that scary for a client.

4 tips based on micro brands experience you can use in your business

1. Intention matters

Work with influencers that have little audience but a great intention to be involved. Cooperate with those who will connect you with your target audience but with little costs. Product sampling campaigns can give you a source of natural and unique information, reviews on your brand you can use in the future. Concentrate on a smaller group of consumers and your brand can conquer the small area with a reliable audience. People would think you are special and only for them.

2. Build trust and do not forget about social proof

We wrote about customer’s trust and the importance of social proof. And here it is also extremely relevant to come back to. Fill your product pages with ratings and reviews, attach user-generated content, show the clients that your products are loved by others and you can be trusted.

3. Value of your goods

Micro brands are famous for offering not only high-quality items but also the value in other aspects. For instance, Curology sells skincare cosmetics but at the same time sends the articles with tips for making your daily skincare routine better. From diet to various types of skin all the materials are available on the website. Learning about the product you have is essential for a shopper. That is why, you need to sell values.

4. To get bigger does not always mean to achieve

Small companies are winning the market and to micro brands with their narrow segments of the audience this rule is also applied. E-commerce as a type of business adopts to the trends and pays attention to the small companies. As we saw, bigger does not always mean better. Thus, take into consideration the experience of little brands to build your successful one.

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Alice works on the Renewals and Account Management team at Collect Reviews. She is a professional writer and content critic. Feel free to bug her on Linkedin.