What is a nano influencer?

You may have heard the term “nano influencer” bandied about before but not sure what it actually means.

As an author on influencer marketing strategy, I define a nano influencer as someone who has between 1k-10k followers on Instagram.

There are a number of reasons why companies want to work with nano influencers, which I’ll go through now.

Authenticity

Nano influencers tend to be seen as more relatable, responsive, and authentic with their audience. If someone has 20-50 comments on their post they are more likely to be able to respond to their audiences than someone who has an Instagram following of 100k and far more comments, for example. And because of this, many nano influencers do not earn their living from influencer marketing and also have regular jobs.

High engagement

Companies that want to run influencer campaigns are always looking for influencers with high engagement. What does this mean? Engagement is determined by dividing the total number of likes and comments by the follower number. The industry average on Instagram is around 1.6 per cent. And because nano influencers are more closely engaged with their audience, they will probably reply to every single comment, for example, which helps them build up closer connections with their followers.

Brand advocacy

Nano influencers tend to know their audience in many instances personally and therefore when they are reviewing a product or service, it carries way more weight in encouraging consumers to purchase, which, of course, results in conversions.

Greater return on investment

In most instances, nano influencers are not “professional” content creators, rather they have almost fallen into a passion project or side-hustle. Nano influencers are also typically more receptive to “gifted” campaigns (whereby a company gifts a product or service to an influencer for them to promote, but is not offering payment in return for content creation). Nano influencer campaigns can therefore be very successful due to low implementation costs. If companies are paying nano influencers, they can cast the net of opportunity wider with different influencer niches. The same budget could be spent on just one macro influencer which may deliver huge reach but is more risky if the campaign flops, for example, because you’re essentially putting all your eggs in one basket.

Flexibility

Nano influencers tend to be more flexible compared to more established, larger-scale influencers who will often have pre-set criteria and terms for collaboration.

Easier recruitment

It’s therefore often easier to recruit nano influencers because they are often more receptive and flexible to working with brands. Nano influencers also know that by working in a big brand campaign, they can grow their audience. In some cases, they will proactively reach out to companies with opportunities and ideas to collaborate, they can also spearhead large-scale ambassador programmes.

Below are a handful of nano influencers with different niches who have great engagement with their audiences.