There is this idea that going big is always the right call. Get the biggest influencers. Go for the biggest numbers. That’s what social media is all about, right? Wrong. In a lot of cases, going niche is your best call.

That can be mind boggling to so many that are looking to hire me. It’s especially odd to those who tell me that their audience is everyone. But when you really break it down, going small can help you manage resources and get even better business results.

Niche influencers

Influence marketing got a little out of control for awhile. I’ve been quoted obscene fees from those who have smaller followings and just nowhere near the quality. Although influencers have been complaining about it, the market is starting to come down to a much more manageable level. So if you’ve been worried about engaging in influencer marketing in the past, now may be the time to try it.

And when you do, it may be tempting to go after the biggest fish in the ocean. Here’s the truth about those accounts: You won’t get the results you are after. People are so used to seeing ads from them that they gloss over when they see a sponsored post. If you are looking for more impactful results, find people who don’t take ads as often. Find people who only recommend a brand when they truly believe in it.

I would start within your own community. Who are the ones people tend to listen to? Talk with them first. In many cases, you can work with them without any money exchanging hands. That’s because they truly believe in your brand and only need a little guidance on how to talk about it.

And once you have some confidence under your belt, you can start looking around at those outside of your community. You should have a clear understanding of who your audience is and focus on those with similar audiences, preferably those who have audiences you might not have reached yet. Take time to get to know these influencers and make sure your organization or product is a fit. You will likely have to pay for any collaborations, so make sure it’s worth it for both ends of this deal. And once again, don’t get blinded by large follower numbers. Instead, find those who are creating good quality content with fans who are authentically engaging with them. On that last part, all I can say is that you’ll know it when you see it.

Smaller content

The best place to go niche is with your content. And yet, I’ve seen people consistently go big instead.

Why go small? When I first put together a content plan for a client, I create categories of content to help us focus on what we need to be posting about consistently. If we tried to cover the entirety of each category every time we post about it, I’d run out of things to post about pretty quickly, and I’d have a whole lot more work to do. Yes, I want to make my life easier, but not being able to consistently post about topics important to the organization is probably the worst sin here.

On the other hand, if you try to take a tiny nibble at a topic every time you post about it, you can post about it more. That’s because you’re constantly taking a new approach with it and the well of content becomes almost endless. And it’s more likely to connect with your fans. A giant piece of information may just seem too big for your fans. But something that is tiny becomes more easily imagined. That will make it more digestible and therefore, will stick with them longer than if you had tried to feed them everything at once.

Niche customers

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard potential clients say that everyone is their customer. And then they just sit there like they’re a marketing genius. This is the kind of thinking that will get you wasting a lot of money going after people who have no interest in ever becoming your customer.

What makes more sense is to draw up buyer personas that are as specific as possible and then go after the specificities of that persona.

Let’s say that your customers all read a certain website. You have to then think about this website. In reality, they are your competitor because they are competing for the attention of your customer. But you can turn this around to make them your friend and capture some members of their audience. Whether it’s partnering on a piece of content or something else, how you work together is only limited by your imagination. And this is one of the many ways you can get introduced to more customers simply by thinking of the specifics of who you want to sell to.

Small is the new big

If you’re looking to get in front of more customers, there is no better way than going niche. Trust is such a big deal in this world right now, and connection is where that trust starts. Get to know every little bit about your customers and then serve them the specifics that they need and want. You’ll find that you’re going big in no time. Well, no. It’ll take awhile. But that hard work and sustained growth will be worth it.

When has going niche worked for you?