Who are nano and micro-influencers?

Nano and micro-influencers are social media influencers with a lesser number of followers. Nano influencers are influencers with less than 1K followers. Usually, nano influencers have profiles that have a ‘person next door’ feeling. They generally enjoy a closer relationship with their followers. Further, nano influencers often engage in one-on-one communication with their followers. These nano influencers can also be someone who has an influence within their locality or community. They are usually in a process of strengthening their niche. Micro-influencers are influencers with 1K to 100K followers. They have an established niche and focus on it to generate engaging content. These micro-influencers are usually regarded as niche specialists or industry experts. They usually enjoy a large base of followers than nano influencers. But their size is not too large to make an active engagement with their followers a difficult task.

Why should brands collab with nano and micro-influencers?

There are many reasons as to why brands should or should not collab with nano and micro-influencers. However, there is a rising trend in the market where most of the brands are opting for nano and micro-influencers over mega and macro-influencers. The reason behind this trend is that the positive outcomes that nano and micro-influencers bring to the brands overweigh their any possible negative impact.

Collab with nano and micro-influencers have three major advantages.

1. Higher engagement

Firstly, their follower size is not too large so as to make engaging followers a difficult task. A study by SocialPubli revealed that micro-influencers generate 7 times more engagement than the average of macro-influencers. This is because they know their audience.

2. More reach

Secondly, for instance, a brand used 100 micro-influencers and another brand used one mega influencer (1 to 5 million). Then the former has more probability of achieving a higher reach. That is your brand can grow its reach for the same amount just by switching from 1 mega influencer to 60 micro-influencers. 

3. Less expenditure

Finally, mega influencers will also charge more money.  That is to say, micro-influencers are more affordable than macro (100K to 1 million), and elite (over 5 million) influencers. This made many brands, in recent years, choose micro-influencers for their promotional campaigns. 

What to look for in nano and micro-influencers?

1. Content

The previous content of the influencer should have good visual and audio quality. Check if the content is unique and engaging. The timeline of posting the content should also be regular. Above all, the content has to be relevant to your campaign.

2. Engagement

You need to look at the level of engagement that is generated by the content of the influencers. It includes the number of reactions such as likes, dislikes, shares, etc. You need to also observe the number of comments. Above all, you need to check the engagement rate of the influencer’s social media account. 

3. Previous collabs

You need to check the content posted by the influencers for their previous collaborations with other brands. This gives you an understanding of how many brands the influencer has previously promoted. You also need to ensure that the influencer posts other non-sponsored content too. If not, there is a high chance that your promotional content will become lost in the pool of sponsored content posted by the influencer. This also gives you information on whether the influencer has worked for your competitors.  

How to find nano and micro-influencers for your brand?

Hobo Video lists five different ways for brands to find the right nano and micro-influencers for their promotional campaigns. Before reading on, if interested, you can check out more about nano and micro-influencers here. You can also read Hobo Video’s list of top micro-influencers in India here.

Five ways to find the right nano and micro-influencers

1. Find from your following

As a brand, you must have your own social media presence across several platforms. Observe your social media accounts and look for people who already follow your brand. See if you can find anyone who would fit the personality your campaign requires. Search for nano and micro-influencers who are already following you. This is because, if they are already following your brand, then they like your brand. They will want to readily collab with you as they themselves are fans of your products. Or on the other side, they are looking for a collab with brands and are following the brands they think are relevant to their niches. Hence, it is a great place to start looking for nano and micro-influencers.

2. Search via hashtags

Hashtags make the content on social media searchable and accessible. So you have to identify the hashtags that are relevant to your campaign and brand identity. Search the influencers via these hashtags to find the ones who are already active in the niche you want to focus your campaign on. A Google Search will give you many results from numerous sources/platforms. You can either search directly on those platforms. Or via platform-specific third-party tools. 

Once you identify these nano and micro-influencers, got through their content. This way you can assess based on their current content if they are a fit for your promotional campaign. Moreover, you as a brand can use Instagram analytics tools to search for nano and micro-influencers. In order to do so, you need to use relevant keywords that pinpoint conversations leading you to the target audience.

3. Consult previous influencers

You might have worked with other influencers for your past campaigns. If so, you can reach out and ask them to refer other influencers who they think might sync with your current campaign. It is a known fact that most influencers knew one another and often interact with their counterparts. So there is a possibility that they will refer their fellow influencers to your brand. This way, apart from getting leads on new influencers, you also get to maintain a positive relationship with the ones you’ve worked with, in the past.

4. Check your recent shares and comments

Once again, you can look at the social media presence of your own brand and find the relevant nano and micro-influencers are your campaigns. In order to do so, check the recent shares that your content has received on social media. Observe if you have any followers who consistently share your content or frequently comment on your posts. After identifying them, see if they have got an active following on their social media accounts. See if they have a large following. Observe if they have already promoted any content. In short, check if they are nano or micro-influencers. If so, check out the chances of an active collab between your brand and them. Such collaborations have great potential as these influencers already love your brand.

5. Join influencer platforms

You can join influencer platforms to find nano and micro-influencers relevant to your campaigns. Using their huge database of influencers, you can identify and choose the influencers relevant to your campaign. There are a few platforms where you can get the basic information like names, niches, engagement, etc., for free. You can also tie-up with platforms like Hobo Video. Hobo Video is one of its kind social platform driven by short videos. It is a vernacular fun video-based localized community. It is a driven marketplace for Gen Z and millennials. Hobo Video is a global network of over 900,000 micro and nano influencers in 63 categories with a following of 500 million.

Let us know

Have you ever used any of the above ways to collab with an influencer? If so, what is it? Please share your experience by dropping a comment below. We welcome your feedback and like to answer any queries.