By now you probably know what an influencer is. However, your definition of an influencer is probably very different than mine.
If I asked you to think of a generic influencer, a very pretty female with hundreds of thousands (or more) followers probably comes to mind – i.e. Kim Kardashian or Kylie Jenner or someone from Geordie Shore.
Now if I was to ask you to think of a ‘content creator’, you would probably think of someone on social media that creates imaginative, well-thought-out content for brands – both for partnerships and for free.
When I think of an influencer, a content creator is usually what comes to mind. Since the term ‘influencer’ has been recently more often associated with those promoting products they don’t use (hello detox teas), and flying off to Dubai for business purposes while the rest of us suffer in lockdown, the term ‘influencer’ has been given a bad rep.
Related post: 15 Influencer Marketing Trends to Expect in 2021
Macro vs Micro
We’ve covered both of these terms before, but macro influencers are those with hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers and who often charge a premium price to have your product or brand promoted on their page.
Micro influencers, are the influencers with 10,000 followers, right up until a 50,000 or so followers. These are the usually a cheaper option to work with but often have a more engaged audience so can prove to be the more worthwhile partnership.
Both are great to work with as with the macro influencers, your brand or product is reaching a large number of people, creating greater brand awareness and hopefully, a lot of sales.
Micro influencers don’t have the same extent when it comes to reach, but usually have more of a niche audience, meaning if your product or brand resonates with their followers, you can expect a lot of sales to come from the promotion.
So, what’s a nano influencer?
If we used some Apple technology as an analogy for this, picture the macro influencer as an iPad, then the micro influencer as an iPhone and a nano influencer as an iPod Nano (or an MP3 player). This post is unfortunately not sponsored by Apple.
Not in terms of popularity or production year, but in terms of physical size. This is the way to view the audience size of these influencers.
The nano influencer has a very small following compared to the micro influencer. Typically, the nano influencer is defined as having between 1,000 and 10,000 followers.
Related post: Five Reasons to Work With Micro Influencers
What are the benefits of partnering with nano influencers?
1. A close relationship with their followers
For starters, they probably have a much more intimate relationship with their audience. Nano influencers are the ‘influencer-next-door’ of social media. You can DM them and they will reply, comment on their stories or posts and get a reply, and be able to craft a relationship from having things in common or similar styles/views.
From this, the influencer usually sees a higher level of trust and and engagement from their audience.
2. Higher rate of engagement
Because of their smaller audience, nano influencers typically have a much higher engagement rate in comparison to micro and macro influencers.
With a more condensed following, the nano influencer’s content is often seen by more of their audience on their homepage and because the influencer interacts with a lot of their followers, their content will be more likely to show higher in the followers’ algorithm.
3. Trusted by their audience
Nano influencers are seen as a trustworthy source of information. Since nano influencers are an ‘influencer-next-door’ type, the person the general public trust the most is their next-door neighbour/close friends.
As the nano influencer is often seen to be very similar, this can also make them the most trusted type of influencer on social media, meaning they would be a great endorsement for your product or brand.
4. A very niche area of influence
The nano influencer could be more relevant for your brand as they usually have a very defined niche. Nano influencers typically influence a very specific area, whether that’s books but only books by Black authors; fashion, but only from sustainable or local brands; beauty products, but with a strong focus on products for oily or sensitive skin; or fitness but focused solely on yoga.
This would mean that this influencer’s followers are also only interested in this very niche area, and if your brand suits this niche, this could prove a very worthwhile partnership.
5. A cheaper partnership
They can also be a more cost-effective option for your brand. Influencers with a smaller following than that of macro influencers, will often provide more content for free or for less than their macro counterparts. Gifting a product to a nano influencer could result in Instagram grid posts, many Instagram stories, a TikTok video and even a blog post feature.
However, if you were to gift a product to a macro influencer, the product might not even be mentioned in their Instagram stories. Nano influencers are therefore great for start-up businesses that don’t have much budget to spend on influencer partnerships.
There are many reasons to work with nano influencers and they can’t be cast aside in promotional strategy due to their smaller following than those of the Kim Kardashian standards. With a more engaged and loyal following, sales for your brand could benefit from working with nano influencers.
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