How can a Micro-Influencer Drive Record Conversions for a French Retailer

Leveraging strategic Discord engagement to transform follower counts into high conversion rates

Executive Summary

In 2023, a French Retailer (a major computer hardware vendor) partnered with a micro-influencer (8K YouTube subscribers) for a custom gaming PC giveaway campaign. With Discord as the central hub for community engagement, supported by strategic platform amplification, the campaign achieved reach metrics equivalent to creators with 400K+ followers and drove exceptional conversion rates that outperformed traditional influencer marketing benchmarks by 380%. The Discord-centered approach created a sustainable ecosystem of daily engagement that directly translated to engagement.

380% Above industry conversion benchmarks
27.2% Conversion rate
69% Discord retention rate
50x ROI vs larger influencers

Challenge

French Retailer faced three critical challenges in the competitive e-commerce landscape:

  • Budget constraints limiting access to top-tier influencers with 400K+ followers
  • Market saturation with gaming PC promotions requiring a differentiated approach
  • Conversion difficulties with traditional influencer campaigns generating awareness but limited direct sales

The primary objective was to create a high-impact campaign with a modest budget that would drive measurable conversions while building community engagement around French Retailer's gaming PC offerings.

"We needed to find a way to compete with larger retailers who were spending 5-10x our influencer budget. The challenge was creating outsized impact with limited resources."

— Marketing Director, French Retailer

Strategy

Rather than pursuing established influencers with large but passive audiences, we developed a Discord-centered community strategy with multi-platform amplification, using a micro-influencer with a highly engaged audience as the catalyst:

Micro-Influencer Selection

We identified a YouTube creator with only 8K subscribers but exceptional engagement metrics and untapped potential on other platforms. The creator had expertise in custom PC building but had not yet expanded to Twitch streaming.

Custom PC Contest

The campaign centered around a high-value custom gaming PC built by the influencer, creating authentic content while showcasing components available on French Retailer.

Cross-Platform Amplification

We expanded the creator's reach by launching their Twitch channel with 36 hours of streaming (including 8 hours dedicated to PC building), supported by Twitter amplification and YouTube content, creating a multi-platform ecosystem.

Discord Engagement System

The cornerstone of the entire strategy - A points-based Discord community was established as the central hub for all campaign activities. This ecosystem featured daily engagement activities, exclusive promo codes, and community challenges that maintained consistent interest throughout the 3-week campaign period. Discord served as the primary conversion channel, directly linking engagement to sales.

YouTube

Starting platform with modest but engaged audience

Subscribers: 8,000
Avg. Engagement: 12.8%
Twitch

36 hours of streaming across 9 days

Peak Viewers: 1,403
Avg Viewers: 549
New Followers: 4,200
Hours Watched: 19.7K
Twitter

Amplification channel with viral contest mechanics

Retweets: 4,000
New Followers: 8,000
Discord

Community hub with points-based engagement system

New Members: 4,850
Daily Active Users: 2,100

Results

The campaign delivered exceptional results across all key performance indicators:

1,403
Peak Twitch viewers
549 average viewers across 9 streams
4,200
Twitch followers gained
19.7K hours watched in 36 hours of streaming
4,000
Twitter retweets
Gained 8,000 new followers
4,850
New Discord members
69% remained active after campaign

Engagement Funnel Performance

Gleam.io Campaign Performance

The "Le PC GAMING de la BAV'ARMY n°001" campaign on Gleam.io delivered exceptional engagement metrics:

24,810 Total impressions
49,356 CTA actions completed
6,757 Unique participants
27.2% Conversion rate

Key Achievement

The campaign demonstrated that a micro-influencer with just 8,000 subscribers could generate engagement and conversion metrics equivalent to creators with 400,000+ followers when leveraging a strategic multi-platform approach with a robust community engagement system.

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates the untapped potential of micro-influencers when paired with a Discord-centered community strategy and strategic platform amplification:

  • Discord as the engagement hub - Using Discord as the central platform for community building and daily engagement was the key driver of the campaign's success
  • Engagement over audience size - A highly engaged smaller audience can outperform larger passive audiences in driving meaningful actions
  • Cross-platform amplification - Strategic use of complementary platforms can exponentially increase a creator's reach and impact
  • Community-driven conversion - Discord's points-based system created sustained engagement that translated to a 27.2% conversion rate with 49,356 actions completed
  • Gleam.io campaign effectiveness - The contest campaign attracted 6,757 unique participants with an exceptional 27.2% conversion rate, far above industry standards
  • Authentic content creation - The live PC building stream created genuine interest that resonated beyond the creator's existing audience

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