Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of niche influencer marketing. If you think that influencer marketing is all about celebrities promoting products to their huge group of followers, think again.
Because influencer marketing is huge, it delivers a far superior engagement rate to traditional marketing campaigns and usually delivers a better return on investment. Those are two huge checks in our book!
However, brands are (understandably) most keen to work with influencers who really complement their identity. Enter niche influencer marketing! This strategy is all about partnering with influencers who have a dedicated and engaged group of followers within a specific area of interest or expertise.
Unlike broader influencer marketing, which targets a wide audience, niche influencer marketing hones in on a particular segment, making the marketing efforts more targeted and effective
Consequently, niche influencers actually have – quite – the leverage when it comes to striking a deal. In fact, in a recent survey, 80% of brands said they would rather work with a micro-influencer in their specific niche than a major celebrity. The reason for this is simple: they’re totally honed in on their demographic.
If you are still not convinced why niche influencer marketing is so popular, here are a few more reasons:
Niche influencers have followers who are genuinely interested in a specific topic, whether it’s vegan cooking, drone photography, or indie gaming. This means your brand message reaches an audience that is already interested in what you offer.
These influencers often have higher engagement rates because their followers are more invested in the content. This leads to more likes, comments, and shares, which can significantly boost your brand’s visibility².
Niche influencers are seen as experts in their field. Their followers trust their opinions and recommendations, making their endorsements more impactful².
Partnering with niche influencers is often more affordable than working with celebrities or macro-influencers. This allows brands to allocate their marketing budget more efficiently while still achieving great results².
With this niche-specific idea at heart, we’ve honed in on five of, frankly, the most bizarre influencers we could find. Let’s take a look at why they are so popular.
We’re going to kick things off with what might at first appear to be a very small niche, but it is actually a pretty clever one. Brittany Minetti is primarily a TikTok influencer who produces short beauty videos. The beauty influencing niche is absolute – vast – with millions of influencers showing everything from how to curly your eyelashes to how to draw on freckles.
Brittany Minetti separates herself from the crowd of influencers by honing in on one very specific part of her beauty regime – her hair. She has beautiful golden curls and takes great pride in them. Not least, I imagine, because they make her an absolute stack of cash!
She has totally conquered the curly hair niche, being the go-to source on which products to use for the perfect ringlets, how to determine what your curl pattern is, and which new hair styling tools are great and which are just gimmicks. Her personality is magnetic, and she has a way of talking in her videos that makes you feel as though you really know her, as though she’s talking directly to you.
So, what is the cleverest thing about Brittany’s influencer business? A huge number of people have curly hair! Brittany has millions upon millions of views on TikTok and is regularly approached by brands who’ve developed shampoos, serums, or styling tools specifically for curly hair.
You’ll find quite a few slots of influencers out there, trying out the latest games, showing off their big wins, and playing new releases. On Instagram, these influencers frequently post entertaining photos, vlogs, and stories about their gaming setups, big jackpot moments, and updates about new slot games.
However, it’s a bit more (ok, a lot more) unusual to find someone who has combined their love of the casino with travel. Introducing Dasha, an Instagram micro-influencer who has combined her love of everything casino with her love of traveling. As you’d expect, she spends much of her time traveling from place to place, trying to find the best casinos.
Dasha has also cleverly intertwined her love of travel and casinos with the world of online casinos. If she decides that she wants to dive into roulette online while on her travel breaks, then instead of heading down to the casino to create content, she will film herself playing online. By filming herself playing online roulette from different locations, she creates engaging and dynamic content reflecting her lavish lifestyle and her love for casino games.
You see, Dasha’s small but loyal following is a sought-after group for casinos that operate in multiple countries. Because of the fact that Dasha moves around often, she must use casinos that can be accessed from different countries. For example, the website ‘slots.lv’ targets customers in the USA and Canada but doesn’t restrict players from other countries (as long as there isn’t a gambling ban in place). This means it’s easy to use, even when you’re on the move.
So, not only can Dasha truthfully endorse online casinos that she can play from her hotel room, but she can also recommend glitzy and glamorous brick-and-mortar casinos to visit on your travels – genius!
Ever wanted to make therapy sessions just a little bit… weirder? Introducing Lyle. This guy has a therapist unlike any you’ve met before. He’s a gecko. Lyle is a streamer, podcaster, and TikToker, and from time to time, he gets his gecko to run a therapy show. Spoiler alert: he’s not licensed, so it’s best to take his advice with a pinch of salt.
His TikTok account has more than 2 million followers who have all fallen in love with the stoic expression of the gecko while he dishes out heartfelt advice. There’s not much to say about how effective this unusual method of influencer marketing is, but one thing is for sure: it’s darned cute.
Rob runs a YouTube channel called The Quantified Scientist. If it sounds like everything on there might just go over your head, then don’t speak too soon! This channel isn’t – all – about cold hard science. Instead, Rob reviews science-based wearables. You’ll find plenty of monitoring watches on there, but there are lots of other gadgets, too.
This is exceptionally niche, but it’s also a seriously clever technique for striking brand deals. After all, if you were a brand with a scientific wearable gadget, there’s basically only one influencer to go to – and that’s Rob.
There you go – a quick peek into the weirdly amazing world of niche influencer marketing. These micro-stars might not have the massive followings of celebrities, but their impact is undeniable. So, next time you’re thinking about your marketing strategy, don’t overlook the power of these passionate and dedicated influencers. They just might be the key to reaching your perfect audience. Happy marketing!
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A self-proclaimed Swiftian, Instagram-holic, and blogger, Subhasree eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. When she is not imagining dates with Iron Man on Stark Tower (yes, she has the biggest crush on RDJ, which she won’t admit), she can be seen tweeting about the latest trends. Always the first one to break viral news, Subhasree is addicted to social media, and leaves out no opportunity of blogging about the same. She is our go-to source for the latest algorithm updates and our resident editor.
