Micro vs Nano Influencers

Out of all the types of influencers, I believe nano influencers will do the most collaborations with brands in the future. As our industry continues to mature and influencer platforms improve, we’re going to see influencer marketing at a scale we’ve never seen before. Let’s dive into the benefits and differences between the two most important influencer types that will be taking us to this new era.

Micro influencers

A micro influencer is defined by anyone who has between 10,000 – 100,000 followers on social media. Micro influencers typically focus on a specific niche rather than a wide variety of subjects. They also have a strong relationship with their followers and receive a higher engagement rate than Mega and Macro influencers. True, these two larger types of influencers might have a larger reach, but their audience engagement is lower. When you have millions of followers, it's impossible to be able to actual relationships with all of them.

Micro influencers have a smaller audience so they typically only post about what they know they would be interested in. For this reason, brands can know that the audience will be interested in reading what the influencer has to say. Up to 82% of consumers are also high likely to follow a recommendation from a Micro influencer compared to that of a celebrity.

Micro influencers also don't charge as much as a Mega or Macro influencer either so you can get more for your money. Micro influencers have their own set rates typically in a media kit or rate card, but the average range is from $50-$500.

Of course these prices can be higher or lower depending on the influencer. These types of prices are better for a client who is on a budget or who wants more bang for their buck. But if you're wanting to get a Mega influencer on board instead, you'll need some serious cash. Mega influencers like celebrities can sometimes cost over $100k just for one social media post.

Nano influencers

Nano Influencers are the newest type of influencers in recent years. They typically have less than 10,000 followers on social media but they have influence in their community as well. For companies that might need word of mouth marketing along with posting online, Nano influencers would be an option. Some examples would be moms who are involved in their kids activity groups, church leaders, PTO members, etc. They could also be described as “normal people” who share with friends and family.

Nano influencers have the highest engagement rate of all the influencer groups. That is because Instagram's algorithms naturally show content to more of their followers due to the small size and they have a real relationship with their followers by answering questions, commenting back and being a part of the conversation. Brands that work with Nano influencers normally get a more authentic feel because of the real life relationship the influencer has with their followers. The more followers you have, the less connected with each of them you get.

But the biggest drawback to Nano influencers is their inability to add links to their stories and their total reach. Their audience is the smallest of all the influencer groups so their posts won't have a large reach. Even though they have the highest engagement rate, you may need to work with about 12 Nano influencers to achieve the same results as using 2 Macro influencers.

For example:

Campaign A hires 2 Macro influencers who have 100K followers each. The influencers charge $1,000 each for a post making the campaign total $2,000 for a total follower count of 200k, average reach of 30K, and an engagement rate of 1.5%.

Campaign B hires 12 Nano influencers who have 5K followers each. The influencers charge $50 each for a post (give or take the price of the product) making the campaign total $600 for a total follower count of 60K, average reach of 30k, and an engagement rate of 4.5%.

In recent campaigns with our partners, the smaller the influencer, the better the engagement rate has been. Brands have become more focused on real engagement rather than total views as in the last 10 years. For example, with a campaign run with a women's health brand, the campaign had high engagement overall because instead of using the largest influencers, the campaign focused on ones that currently had a need for the product. The brand used a mixture of Nano and Micro influencers that were trying to conceive; a very specific niche. In turn, the campaign was able to reach millions of potential customers through the engagement on social media, blog posts and monthly Twitter parties. By using 10 influencers each month with follower ranges of 1K-100K, the campaign was able to have a total reach of 3 million potential customers per month. Typically, retail and entertainment companies average a 50% increase in engagement when using Micro and Nano influencers because they know their audience.

Ultimately, picking the right influencer mix all depends on the ROI your brand is looking for and the resources your team has available. For the best results, overall engagement, and a more authentic feel, using a good mix of Nano and Micro influencers are key.