What is a Nano-Influencer?

In the world of influencer marketing, we often break down the different levels of influencers based on the size of their audience. An influencer’s audience is the most popular way to determine their worth. So we set them into categories. There are nano-, micro-, macro-, and mega-influencers. The focus of this article is on that first category of nano-influencers and a breakdown of who they are, what value they provide, and when it makes the most sense to use them.

Who makes a Nano-influencer?

The easiest way to define a nano-influencer is to look at their audience size or how many followers they might have on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and any others. A typical nano-influencer has anywhere from around 1,000 followers to 10,000 followers, and like anything with influencer marketing, this is not a metric that is set in stone.

Another key factor that sets a nano-influencer apart from a typical social media user is how they present themselves. Typically a nano-influencer will choose a theme for what they post and run with it. That doesn’t mean nano-influencers aren’t able to post about a variety of things and topics but they will all seem to go together to fit a common theme. For example, a nano-influencer might have a main theme of fashion and post their favorite new outfits and shopping hauls from the cute boutique down the road. But they also sprinkle in topics that match their branding like adding a post about makeup or their lifestyle habits. The key to identifying a nano-influencer isn’t just how many followers they have and how they stick to a common theme with their posting.

What makes one worth it?

When you think about it, hiring an influencer of any kind is essentially the same thing as taking out an ad in the newspaper but instead of printing it’s going to a social media platform. The difference between nano-influencers and the rest is like the difference between your local newspaper and the New York Times. One is recognizable around the world and the other is known only to a specific audience based on the city they live in. This makes nano-influencers perfect for when you want to focus on specific locations or certain demographic.

There are a lot of fancy buzzwords that marketers like to use when it comes to how they justify their ad spending. For influencer marketing, the most important one is the engagement rate. Engagement rate equates to how many of someone’s followers are actually seeing posts and interacting with them. The average engagement rate of an influencer on Instagram is around 1.5%. What makes nano-influencers so special is that they average an engagement rate of around 5%. When you combine a higher engagement rate with the hyper localization of an audience you have the ability to create great marketing campaigns targeting specific audiences.

When should I use one?

The first reason that always comes up when deciding to use a nano-influencer over someone with a larger audience is cost. Nano-influencers simply don’t cost as much to hire as some other types of influencers. Because the audience size of a nano-influencer is smaller you are able to keep cost down but still utilize influencer marketing to build social proof for your brand.

The second reason to use nano-influencers is that you can narrow down on a very specific target audience. Because nano-influencers typically have audiences that are located primarily in one or two cities you can use that to your advantage, especially if you are a small business that doesn’t need to advertise to someone across the country. This keeps your marketing dollars going to good use.

The final reason to use nano-influencers is the authenticity of their posting. Because they are early in the stage of their influencing career your campaign very well might be one of their first brand deals where they get paid to post. They come off as more genuine and authentic since they haven’t overloaded their followers with a ton of products yet. They are also pickier with who they work because staying true to their audience is a high priority for most nano-influencers.

Nano-Influencers are another tool in your marketing arsenal that when used properly can create massive gains for your company. With a platform like Reach you can easily manage and scale your influencer campaigns to get the most out of your budget and time. Sign up today or set up a demo to learn more!