When I first got into the world of influencer marketing, I quickly realized that there were huge differences between each strata of influencer. Nano influencers are the smallest group, often not even mentioned by major marketing groups. Micro influencers are the ones with the next-to-last rank as far as followers go. Both can be wonderful for marketing, but what are their benefits?

• The vast majority of marketing agencies suggest using nano influencers, then building up to larger groups. 
• Micro influencers are start at $300 per post on average but reach higher numbers than nano influencers.
• It’s possible to get an influencer marketing campaign for under $100 with nano influencers. 

Working with influencers is not an easy task, so you want to make sure that you get the most out of your money. That’s why it’s important to know the pros and cons of nano and micro influencers.

What is a nano-influencer?

A nano-influencer is a person who has between 100 to ~10,000 followers. This is basically an “everyday joe” who has a lot of followers compared to the average person. They often are beginner content creators who want to get their names out there. 

Nano-influencers are definitely useful when you’re putting together an influencer marketing strategy. We’re going to look at both the pros and cons here. 

What are the benefits of working with nano-influencers?

• Nano-influencers are a great tool for your marketing strategy. Here’s why it might be wise to go with nano-influencers:
• They are eager to please. Most nano-influencers jump at the chance to promote something. This means they’ll be happy to go the extra mile to make sure that your campaign rocks. 
• They are dirt cheap. A lot of nano-influencers will do promotions for free swag. That’s as cheap as it can get. 
• Since nano-influencers are not known for being influencers, their advertisements and promotions are seen as more honest. This makes your brand appear like it’s more integrity-filled. While they still may need to mention that they are sponsored posts, it’s still something you should be aware of. 
• This can also help you get a grassroots-looking campaign. They have highly engaged audiences, so this can be a major perk.

What are the drawbacks of working with nano-influencers?

While I myself am a nano-influencer, I’ll be the first to say that it’s not always easy to ensure that you’re going to have a good time with them. Here’s why you should rethink this…

• They don’t always make much sense. Nano-influencers don’t always make it to the point of having a specific brand before they hit the 10,000-follower mark. There’s a chance that you might end up choosing an influencer that doesn’t actually want to work with your product but will take the swag. 
• There’s always a chance that you may end up with no engagement. Engagement is often a numbers game. Sure, they have all those followers, but there’s not many of them. This can lead to people just...not doing anything with your company. 
• Depending on the sphere, nano-influencers can become nobodies at the drop of a hat. This is particularly true in social media platforms like Instagram or YouTube. Industries like makeup or activism tend to turn on “newbies”on a dime. 
• Nano-influencers can be flaky or egotistical at times. You’re always going to end up working with influencers of this rank directly. This is great in many cases, but in others...It can be bad. Some influencers will flake on you and deliver NOTHING. Others may have premature fame get to their heads. If you run into one of the more ego-driven ones, you’ll want to tear out your hair. 
• It’s also difficult to fully vet your nano-influencers or predict how they will be in the future. I’d like to point out that Nikocado Avocado was once a health food blogger as a nano-influencer. He’s now turned into a violently angry binge eater. If you have an influencer that turns on a dime, you may have a blowback that affects your company’s image. 

How much does hiring a nano-influencer cost?

Every influencer’s pricing is going to be different, but the good news is that you can get a lot of leeway here. Many nano-influencers will do stuff for free, as long as they get some swag. Others may require a fee of $10 to $100 per post. 

What is a micro-influencer?

A micro-influencer is the next step up from a nano-influencer. They are the content creators who have anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 followers. Some people will say that anyone under 100,000 followers is a micro-influencer. In some cases, micro-influencers might have somewhat fewer numbers, though they may have an unusually high rate of interaction. 

What are the benefits of working with micro-influencers?

Most companies prefer to start with micro-influencers and work their way up. Here’s why people prefer to use micro-influencers:

• The numbers game is there. With 10,000 to 50,000 followers, it’s exceedingly unusual to see a campaign that’s a total flop. You will get people looking at your stuff, even if it’s a fringe group. You should expect at least *some* sales. The same cannot be said for nano-influencers.
• Micro-influencers generally tend to expect companies to approach them, and recognize where they are in their influencer game. If you want to get people who are professional about their outreach, a micro-influencer is usually a better choice. They are starting to see this as their full-time gig, or at the least, their part-time gig. As a result, they are less likely to flake or be rude. 
• People recognize them and trust them more. While nano-influencers are great for adding integrity, people really tend to buy into micro-influencers more. Why? Because they tend to have a brand they back.
• There’s also a chance that you could get good ties with someone who could become famous later. This is really important, since some celebrities will stay lifelong backers of brands that helped them “before they were cool.”

What are the drawbacks of working with micro-influencers?

Micro-influencers are often considered to be the bare minimum, but that doesn’t mean that they are perfect. Here’s why you might rethink this:

• They cost more than nano-influencers. Here’s the truth. Most micro-influencers will not be willing to do stuff for free swag. They’ll want at least $50 to $100 per post, if not more. So, you will end up eating your budget faster. 
• You won’t get as many views as you would with regular influencers or macro influencers. If you are looking for the fastest way to get massive reach, hitting up macro influencers or regular influencers is a smarter move. 
• They may be more demanding than nano-influencers. Since micro-influencers have more to lose than nano influencers do, they often will do some digging to find out about  your company. If you are brand new to your industry, you might not end up getting many willing micro-influencers.
• Your influencer might be paying for fake views. Micro-influencers and others may have beefed up their views to get those numbers. 
• You may have to deal with scandals. The larger the influencer, the more likely it is that they will have a scandal that will affect you. Since more people will know the influencer, it’s important to remember that there’s always that risk. If they do something way out of line, you may have to do PR work to distance yourself from them.

How much does hiring a micro-influencer cost?

Micro-influencers will not do stuff for free, which means you will need to consider the amount of money for each promotion. You may have to pay between $100 to $500 per typical Instagram or YouTube post for this. 

What type of influencers should you collaborate with?

The truth is that both micro-influencers and nano-influencers have their place in a solid influencer marketing strategy. Most people try to work with a blend of influencers. Trying to figure out which influencer group you should focus on is important. 

You should focus on nano-influencers if…

• You are looking to hire a LOT of influencers for a wide spread. Nano-influencers are great for people who want to make it seem like something is building up natural steam. 
• You don’t have much money for sponsored posts. An Instagram post from a nano-influencer is the most affordable way to get some kind of influence. 
• You are trying to focus on one social media platform at a time. Nano-influencers are great for beefing up one platform at a time. 
• You’re in need of a niche audience. Many nanos will have extreme nicheness and specialization. 
• Budgeting means you need to keep money exchanges to a minimum. I’m just saying, they might work for free. This might be good for your bookkeeper’s sanity.
• Your company is brand new. Nano influencers are not going to be as picky with sponsors as micro-influencers are. 

You should focus on micro-influencers if…

• Your company is fairly established and has already gained some corporate attention. Most micro-influencers will be picky and will want to associate with established companies. 
• It’s fine if you want to have more generalized stuff. While you might be able to find niche audiences among these guys, they still tend to be more mainstream on average. 
• You are looking to get a lot more views. This is the best route to go if you’re looking to increase brand awareness on a larger scale. 
• There’s a need for you to stick to agencies. Most micro-influencers will have agencies or platforms they use rather than wait for people to chill out and approach them. 
• You have moolah. Money. Dinero. They are going to require it. 

Should you hire someone to run an influencer marketing campaign for you?

Honestly, I’ve seen that this is usually the best way to go. Hiring a digital marketer with a specialization in influencer marketing is a smart move because they’ve already done all this before. They tend to keep up with all the different interactions better than most others and are also more talented at tracking your ROI. 

The next steps

Now that you know what you need to do, you’re going to have to start hiring influencers for your campaign. 

1. Figure out what type of influencers you want to work with. 
2. Determine your best course of outreach. 
3. Work with your influencers to put together a viable campaign. 

Knowing what type of influencer is best for your campaign is only the tip of the iceberg. You can learn more about influencer marketing on SavvySME, through their Influencer Marketing Group.