Many world-renowned brands have already tasted the success of working with nano-influencers — Mac Cosmetics, Clinique, Dyson, Dove, and Gett are just to name some.
No wonder that brands and advertisers do not longer track how many followers a blogger has but evaluate other metrics like engagement rate, number of stories and video views, number of link swipe-ups, clicks on the link in bio (if any), the way an influencer speaks to their followers, and so on.
So, if the follower count is no longer relevant, is this the rise of the so-called nano influencers?
Who Are Nano-Influencers & How Are They Different from Micro-Influencers?
Influencers, unfluencers, micro-influencers, nano-influencers… so many new names. If the first two phenomena are rather apparent, you may be wondering what the difference is between the micro- and nano-influencers.
In a nutshell, nano-influencers have under 5,000 but very engaged followers. Their followers are typically very active because these people are friends, acquaintances, family and people who like their content very much.
Why Do Nano-Influencers Matter?
With nano-influencers, it’s not a number game any longer. An influencer is not an influencer at all if their followers are not engaged. But engagement is not the only metrics.
Likes and comments can be easily bought, so now marketers are smarter: they don’t ignore the account statistics, but in the meantime, they pay attention to more important things: how an influencer talk to their audience and whether they talk to it at all.
In terms of all non-vanity metrics, nano-influencers are better players than all other influencers, since their ER, reach, and ROI are better.
Here’s Why You Should Start Working with Nano-Influencers
#1. Nano-influencers have a real impact on their audience.
Since their audience is not broad, it’s more willingly reacts on and consumes the content an influencer is making. People follow such bloggers because they are interesting for them, not because they are hyped and have a vast follower count. Typically, their followers are a loyal tribe.
The relationships between the audience and the blogger are very close. Bloggers reply to nearly every comment or a DM and do it distinctively, not with a catchphrase or emoji.
#2. Their engagement rate is higher.
And it’s organic. Since the audience is interested, it’s ready to interact. Thus, people watch stories and videos, comment on posts and like them, take part in giveaways, and so on.
Typically, there’s no need for such a blogger to buy likes or comments since the audience is somewhat active. And since the ER is higher, reach and impressions are good as well. This means a lower cost for an impression for you as a marketer.
#3. Nano-influencers' audience’s trust is higher.
Nano-influencers try to be like guys next door and are rather picky in terms of advertising. They don’t want to disappoint their followers or deceive their trust, so the products or services they want to sponsor are chosen very responsibly.
Besides, nano-influencers’ feed is not full of #ads, so the credibility to these bloggers is somewhat higher than to their more famous colleagues.
#4. Their rates for sponsored posts are lower.
Ads bought from such bloggers are cheaper or sometimes free for you. You can just gift your product or become a nano-influencer’s giveaway sponsor, and your marketing expenses will be relatively low.
The reason for this is rather blatant: they are not rolling in money or brands’ offers, so their rates are relatively low.
We in Combin made a little research that shows that many nano-influencers promote products for free with a hashtag #gifted.
#5. You can segment your influencer marketing campaign.
Just like you do it with target ads: pick different small influencers with audiences that are relevant to your brand and products/services.
Thus you’ll save the budget because you can be sure that the audiences of the bloggers are responsive and active. But only in case you’ve picked the influencers properly.
#6. You can use nano-influencers’ mentions of your brands as user-generated content.
UGC is undoubtedly a winning part of any content strategy. By posting UGC on your page, you show other users that your product is popular and is in demand.
Besides, when a nano-influencer tags you on their page, there’s a big chance their audience will follow your account. If they like your content, of course.
#7. You can get promising ambassadors of your brand.
Nano-influencers grow very fast and soon become macro- or micro-influencers. Thus, when you attract a blogger with a small number of followers to be your brand ambassador, think bigger: this blogger will develop, the following will grow, and the number of the loyal customers (their audience) will only get bigger.
Seems like nano-influencers are a new marketing gold mine, right? Not so fast, though.
Things to Know Before Working with Nano-Influencers
As the name entails, they’re too small to carry their voice on a large audience. Are they truly influencers then? It’s up to you to judge. If you want great sales right away, then, probably a 3,500 follower-count blogger is not your choice. The influencer marketing campaign, in this case, may turn into a slog.
They’re not experienced in promoting products or services, and they’ve probably never worked with a brand before.
So you’ll need to control their work and even help with a clearly stated brief, your goals and requirements. BUT what you shouldn’t do is to press too much in terms of tone of voice and a manner of mentioning your product.
Remember, the appeal about nano-influencers is that when they promote something, they give their audience advice from a friend. That’s why many big brands go after nano-influencers: their approach is very native. Don’t ruin that.
And another tip for you here: make sure the blogger you’d like to partner with knows how to track the performance of the promotion. You will need to think in advance how exactly you will track the ROI.
Many nano-influencers have Personal Instagram accounts, not Business ones, so at times, it’s rather challenging to track or evaluate the blogger’s performance.
How to Work with Nano-Influencers
Send your product for a review
Considering that nano-influencer marketing campaigns are typically cost-effective, the most obvious way is to collaborate a nano-influencer is to send them a product for the review. Thus, the influencer will promote your product as native as possible because that would be a recommendation. The blogger will do that in a typical manner.
And since nano-influencers are not yet flattered by many offers, they’ll happily take your products for the review and do it for free.
Be a nano-influencer’s giveaway sponsor
Nano-influencers don’t have a large budget for expensive gifts, so you can help some to host a giveaway. The trick is to find the right influencer whose audience will be relevant to your brand or Instagram account. Once you’ve found the right influencer, you can easily become his/her giveaway sponsor and attract new genuine followers to your account.
Moreover, after you help a nano-influencer grow, be sure that this blogger will never forget you and help your sales grow, as well.
Give a coupon
Another way of partnering with a nano-influencer is to offer them a coupon or a discount that is available for their followers only. People love shopping on sale, so a discount would be an excellent start for a collaborating with a blogger.
But don’t forget to pick a blogger whose audience will find your products interesting.
Should I Work with Nano-Influencers?
There’s no one-size-for-all approach. It depends on your social media marketing goals. Surely, nano-influencers have loads of advantages for brands. The fact that giants like Dyson, Dove, or Tommy Hilfiger partner with nano-influencers and even make them their brand ambassadors is not based on nothing.
When collaborating with a small blogger, be ready that the results will not impress you as much as you expected them to. If your goal is substantial brand awareness or massive and instant sales, then you should consider influencer-marketing as your primary strategy.
But if you’re a small business that has not a huge budget, you should try to collaborate with some relevant nano-influencers.
To read all our updates and get new Instagram marketing tips, follow us on Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, and YouTube.