Do you have a small business or startup and have been hesitant to implement Influencer Marketing? Such a strategy is not out of reach for anyone, you just need to understand the influencer ecosystem with whom you can collaborate, what type of content you want to create with them, and where.
Micro and Nano Influencers
Just as there are social media celebrities with millions of followers, there are also micro and nano influencers - users with small followings but a high level of authority among their audiences.
Nano-Influencers (between 1K and 5K)
You can find this type of influencer in your close circles; they are passionate about one or more topics and have the ability to sway opinions. They have a closer connection with other users, and working with them is straightforward.
Micro-Influencers (between 5K and 100K followers)
Like nano influencers, they focus on very specific topics, and although they have smaller audiences, these are more loyal and highly interactive. They have authority in their field, and their opinions are highly valued.
Engagement rates decrease as the number of followers a brand or user has increases. This is a premise that many influencer marketing experts have arrived at. The figures from the Benchmark Report of the State of Influencer Marketing 2021 support this premise: "Nano-influencers with less than 1000 followers enjoy an engagement rate of 7.2% on Instagram. At the other end, influencers with over 100,000 followers have 1.1% engagement on Instagram."
What type of content can you create with these influencers?
It is common to see influencers showcasing gifts that brands have sent them; typically, this content comes from the influencer's own social media channels, but it is not the only thing you can do.
Apart from making you visible to your audience, influencers can help you create valuable content that generates engagement on your own social media channels.
For instance, if your brand sells food, and your goal is to increase engagement, you can work with micro-influencers specializing in nutrition, body positivity, and mindful eating. With them, you can generate recipes, meal plans, Q&A lives, and much more content that can originate directly from your social media channels.
Instagram, the queen of influencer marketing
If you are unsure which social media platform to use to create engaging content with micro-influencers, you should know these facts that put Instagram in the lead:
- Instagram was the fastest-growing social media platform in 2019, continuing its extraordinary expansion from 2017 and 2018 (Benchmark Report of the State of Influencer Marketing 2021).
- Its users post 95 million photos and videos daily, along with 400 million stories.
- Engagement is higher on Instagram than on Twitter at all levels of followers.
- 79% of respondents in the Benchmark Report of the State of Influencer Marketing 2021 consider Instagram important for their influencer marketing campaigns.
- 82% believe that the quality of customers from influencer marketing campaigns is better than those from other forms of marketing (Benchmark Report of the State of Influencer Marketing 2021).
Influencer marketing is not just for big brands. You can implement an effective strategy with relevant macro influencers for your market niche through the queen of social media, Instagram, and increase engagement with your content.